OECD Development Assistance Peer Reviews: Portugal 2010

The report recommends that it transform today’s fragmented approach – in which numerous organisations are involved – to one in which a single main player manages a smaller number of larger projects.



Portugal has improved its aid programme significantly over the last five years. It has established a whole-of-government approach to security and development challenges, and new legislation to ensure that domestic and international policies, such as trade and migration, do not undermine development in poor countries. This legislation puts Portugal ahead of many other donors in addressing coherency challenges, and now needs to be implemented vigorously. Portugal is a significant donor in six countries: Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, Sao Tome & Principe and Timor Leste. This focus on fragile and least developed countries means that Portugal is involved in some of the most challenging and important issues in international development.

Table of contents
DAC’S Main Findings and Recommendations
Secretariat Report
Chapter 1 Strategic Orientations
The strong historical roots of Portuguese development co-operation
Building a strategic framework for development co-operation
Growing recognition of the importance of external engagement
Increasing dialogue with Portuguese civil society on development issues
The ongoing challenge of engaging the private sector
Fledgling efforts to integrate cross-cutting issues
The importance of building public and political awareness
The need to develop a strategic approach to communication
Portugal has prioritised development education at home
Future considerations
Chapter 2 Policy Coherence for Development
Building political commitment to policy coherence for development
Enshrining Portugal’s commitment to PCD in a new law
Commitment to PCD at European level can help promoting it at national level
Co-ordination mechanisms should be used to support PCD
The need to monitor, analyse and report the impacts of its policies on development
Future considerations
Chapter 3 Aid Volumes, Channels and Allocations
Overall official development assistance
Portugal is not on track to meet its international ODA commitments
External and domestic constraints hold back aid growth
Setting and sticking to a realistic growth path
Official development assistance is outweighed by private financing Bilateral co-operation
A strong geographical focus
A fragmented programme despite sectoral concentration
Technical co-operation is the mainstay of Portuguese ODA grants
An increased use of loans might harden the financial terms and conditions of Portuguese aid
Multilateral co-operation
An important component of Portuguese ODA
The European Union is Portugal’s biggest multilateral partner
Portugal is trying to make its multilateral aid more strategic
Future considerations
Chapter 4 Organisation and Management
Co-ordinating a fragmented organisational structure
The system involves many players
IPAD has a challenging co-ordination mandate
The importance of organisational structure and internal communication
The need to find efficiencies
Improving the programming process
Country strategy papers as a framework for co-ordination
Introducing programme management tools
Reforming a complex and inflexible budgeting system
Changes in the overall budgeting approach
Improving IPAD’s ability to secure and disburse funds
Fragmented budget management and minimal delegation to the field
Human resource management is a major constraint
Human resources in the field are particularly limited.
Inflexibility in recruitment and a lack of staff mobility are fundamental obstacles
Building a culture of evaluation and introducing results-based management
Clear progress in building a culture of evaluation
Future considerations
Chapter 5 Aid Effectiveness
A clear commitment to aid effectiveness in principle
Mixed progress in implementing the aid effectiveness agenda in practice
Organisational barriers to increasing aid effectiveness
Ownership and alignment: good results but more progress needed
Mixed progress in harmonising with other donors
Managing for results and mutual accountability are ongoing challenges
The need to continue to untie Portuguese aid.
Future considerations
Chapter 6 Special Issues
Capacity development
Capacity development in Portugal’s policy framework
Closing the gap between new policy and established practices
Future considerations
Security and development
Moving from a history of ad hoc engagement to a strategic priority
Portugal’s involvement in security and development in practice
Future considerations
Annex A Progress Against the 2006 Recommendations
Annex B OECD/DAC Standard Suite of Tables
Annex C Portugal and the Good Humanitarian Donorship Initiative
Annex D Field Visit to Cape Verde
Annex E Portuguese Lines of Credit Issued to Date
Annex F The Organisational Structure of the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Description of Key Terms
Bibliography