Briefing Papers Number 13, December 2011 | Page 5

The Paris meeting produced agreement among donors and partners on 56 specific actions, organized according to the 12 indicators mentioned earlier. Targets were set for progress to be made in the first five years, i.e., between 2005 and 2010. Three surveys have been carried out at the country level to gather information about implementation: • The 2006 survey established a baseline for measuring future progress. • The 2008 survey provided data to aid discussions and policy decisions at the Accra Third High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness. It also established a baseline for countries that did not take part in the first round. • The most recent survey, conducted in 2011, monitored whether the targets agreed to in 2005 have been reached. All countries that endorsed the Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda for Action were invited to participate in the survey. Results of the 2011 Paris Declaration survey The 2011 survey, covering 78 countries, finds that at the global level, only one of the 12 targets established for 2010, Indicator 4, has been met.6 There has, however, been significant progress toward many of the other targets. The goal of Indicator 4 was to have 50 percent of all technical cooperation meet the definition of “coordinated,” and the survey found that 57 percent of the technical assistance provided in 2010 was coordinated. There are several reasons for this progress, including the role of sector working groups as coordination platforms, the use of sector-wide approaches (i.e., aligning sectoral initiatives within the country’s overall macroeconomic framework), and donors’ alignment with national plans and/or use of joint financing arrangements. Qualitative evidence from the survey also suggests that many countries are using program-based approaches to help better coordinate their technical cooperation. Criteria for a program-based approach to aid have been established, so that those designing and implementing projects have a clearer idea of what has worked in the past. They include: (i) leadership by the host country or organization; (ii) a single comprehensive program and budget framework; (iii) a forIndicator 4: Coordination of Technical Cooperation To measure