Report on foreign aid finds policy too pretentious

The development of a nation is only marginally dependent on foreign aid, states a report by a government think tank that argues for a more modest policy.

Does foreign aid help countries develop? Or does it have the opposite effect? The question is not new, but the debate surrounding it has become almost religious in nature as of late, with believers on both sides proclaiming their own dogmatic truths – both in the Netherlands and elsewhere.

The report Less Pretentious, More Ambitious reads as an attempt to bring the debate back down to earth. High time, according to the Scientific Council for Government Policy (WRR), a government think thank that produced the 352-page report that was published this Monday. The Netherlands has not only become less generous, it has also “fallen from its intellectual pedestal in the development aid debate,” the report warns.

Bono-moments

The WRR has concluded that the choices to be made regarding developmental aid, cannot be condensed to a dichotomy between “a better world at a bargain price,” and the “apocalyptic” views on the bankruptcy of development aid as a concept.

With an academic tone, the think tank notes the former side draws “television personalities that are only looking for their Bono-moment” while the latter has generated a stream of “pamphlet-like” publications that have made the criticising of development aid into a “business worth millions” in itself.

The WRR dryly concludes that a country’s development is “only very minimally” dependent on the aid it receives. Direct foreign investment or money remitted by migrants usually outweighs development aid in financial terms.

The limited significance of aid implies a more “modest” approach, according to the WRR.

A holy number: 0.7

A less pretentious development aid policy, as proposed by the WRR, will have far-reaching implications for both the Dutch government and the many organisations involved in foreign aid, mostly dependent on government funding.

First to go might be the sacrosanct 0.7 percent figure. That is the percentage of GDP the Netherlands spends on development aid annually, or 0.8 percent if international environmental policies are included.

The WRR considers the number of limited significance, but most political parties in the Netherlands have long decided living up to this promise is a matter of civilisation. The fallout from the report will undoubtedly concern mainly this question.

Here too, the WRR argues for a practical approach. The “fixation on the 0.7 percent” figure should be “put into perspective,” according to the report. According to the WRR, a new way of measuring the Dutch contribution, which also accounts for Dutch involvement in establishing international regulations important to development policy, might be more interesting. Energy, food and security are relevant spheres of policy here. “That would make for a more productive debate than the eternal question of whether we should be paying more or less than 0.7 or 0.8 percent,” the report noted.

A tectonic shift for a 4.7 bln euro business

An added beneficial effect would be that budgetary pressures to spend the full available amount annually would dissipate.

Another proposed policy shift would have more far-reaching implications. The WRR has suggested a reduction in the number of countries the Netherlands directly gives aid from 36 to ten, allowing the Netherlands to do more work in fewer countries.

The development aid sector should also be given further organisational autonomy within the foreign ministry, as it has been in the US and UK. The main advantage to this would be that embassies would no longer be involved in doling out aid, which would allow for building long term relationships with relevant experts.

Quality, not quantity

The specific approach proposed by the WRR might have dire consequences for many NGOs active in Dutch development aid, such as Oxfam/Novib and Cordaid. The WRR has questioned the effectiveness of many of these organisations, which it says have spread their activities too thinly.

NGOs looking for government support will need to “demonstrate added value,” the WRR said. “That means becoming more professional and specialising.”

The main message sent by the WRR on Monday: quality, not quantity should be the paramount issue in the debate on development aid. The UK started on a similar journey ten years ago and it is currently a world leader in developmental issues, a position historically held by smaller nations. A position the Dutch should “strive for again” according to the WRR.