Tal
ABCDE - Konferensen Sverige 31 maj 2010
Gunilla Carlsson, Biståndsminister

Gunilla Carlssons tal vid ABCDE - Konferensen (engelska)

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

Let me start by adding my voice to the chorus of welcomes. I can only agree with Finance Minister Anders Borg when he expresses how happy we are to be hosting the ABCDE 2010. For me, it is also a great opportunity to discuss the development challenges of today and tomorrow with some of the greatest minds - you.

As we continue to reform Swedish development cooperation, we depend on open, creative engagement with others: researchers, representatives from other branches of civil society, friends from international institutions, government colleagues, and the private sector.

ABCDE Sweden offers a unique opportunity to do this, and a source of inspiration for policy-makers, practitioners in the field of development, researchers and students.

It is obvious that policy-making and action in response to major global challenges should be based on the best available research. And yet international studies demonstrate that the links between research and policy are not as strong as they need to be.

To effectively tackle the current global challenges, there is a great need for systematically researched knowledge to guide policy-making, political decisions and implementation. It should be underpinned by context-specific analyses.

Domestic analytical capacity and country-specific and region-specific expertise through research are also key, if countries are to take part on an equal footing in international discussions on joint strategies to tackle shared global challenges. The amount and quality of the research produced that is of relevance to developing countries is often insufficient.

This is due to a lack of research capacity in developing countries, but it is also linked to the inadequate international production of science-based knowledge concerning poverty-related development issues.

Evidence-based policy approaches have a clear potential to impact strongly on outcomes in developing countries. Better use of evidence in policy-making and practice can help reduce poverty and improve economic performance. Finding innovative ways to make better use of research results in policy-making is therefore a necessity.

My hope and expectation is that this ABCDE conference will deepen discussions on how to better stimulate communication and collaboration between researchers, evaluators, policy-makers and practitioners in all parts of the worlds and in different disciplines, to effectively tackle the major global challenges we face.

Sweden is proud to co-host this event with the World Bank, one of our main partners in international development cooperation. What distinguishes the World Bank as an institution for me is its combined role as a knowledge bank and as a provider of development finance.

One excellent illustration of this is the Bank's work in low-income countries through its International Development Association or IDA.

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, better known as the World Bank, was established in 1944 to help Europe recover from the destruction of World War II. By the 1950s, it became evident that the poorest countries needed loans on softer terms than could be offered by the World Bank.

IDA was established for this purpose on 24 September 1960 with 15 signatory countries - and I am proud to note that Sweden was one of them. Since then, IDA has become the leading source of concessional lending to 79 of the world's poorest countries. Since its inception, IDA credits and grants have totalled over USD 200 billion, averaging USD 14 billion a year in recent years.

IDA is the largest multilateral recipient of Swedish official development assistance.

This year, IDA celebrates 50 years of operations, and it has every reason to look back with pride on its achievements. To give just a few examples, between 2006 and 2009, thanks to IDA:

• 1 million additional primary school teachers were trained;
• more than 7 million people gained access to basic health, nutrition and population services;
• almost 8 million women received ante-natal care;
• 60 500 new piped household water connections were established.

In the last five years, IDA has built, repaired or maintained 60 000 kilometres of rural roads, benefiting 60 million people in low-income countries.

During its 50 years, one quarter of its borrowing countries have graduated completely from IDA. In 1991, China was IDA's biggest borrower. By 2007, China had not only graduated, but was a donor to IDA. Reflecting the increasingly multi-polar world economy, I expect to see more new donors following this example, and donors increasing their contributions. The current replenishment round is an opportunity for these emerging donors to play a bigger role. With our combined efforts, we can eradicate poverty more quickly.

In fact, with all due respect, I sincerely hope that our successors won't be standing here in another 50 years' time celebrating 100 years of IDA. The very rationale of international development cooperation is, after all, to render itself obsolete.

For this to happen, we need to make the necessary enhancements to IDA's Results Measurement System and make sure it is accompanied by a more robust results framework. We need to work hard together during this latest replenishment period to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. We must continue to target Africa, the continent that is lagging furthest behind on the MDGs.

Together with other donors, Sweden has encouraged IDA to highlight three particular issues in the coming three years.

Firstly, post-conflict and fragile states present the greatest development needs and the most challenging circumstances. These are the states in which it is hardest to obtain good results, but IDA has to make good use of our money here, too.

Secondly, gender equality needs to be seriously addressed in order for IDA's poverty reduction efforts to be as effective as they possibly can be.

Thirdly, IDA and the entire World Bank needs to develop a coherent approach, to help address climate change.

IDA represents, and is an excellent expression of, multilateral cooperation. It is also the product of the intellectual work of many people, including participants at this Conference. I trust that IDA will continue to evolve and contribute to a world free of poverty by translating the latest academic findings into best practice on the ground.

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

Having cited some challenges in the way we do business together in the multilateral system and through international financial institutions, let me now turn to some of the key priorities for the further improvement of Swedish bilateral aid.

When I first took office as Minister for Development Cooperation, I had one overarching priority - to ensure that Swedish aid would be efficient and effective and deliver concrete development results for people living in poverty. We have made progress, but I still feel frustrated at times. Why does change come about slowly, or at least slower than we hope and need? Why have we not come further?

As you may be aware, one of the first measures I undertook was to limit the number of Swedish partner countries: increased country focus. I have also been very strict in ensuring that Swedish aid will be provided in a maximum of three sectors in each partner country.

Furthermore, we have launched a strategy for our participation in multilateral development cooperation. A fundamental premise for all of these measures was the focus on efficiency, effectiveness and results.

The world is changing rapidly. Looking back only a couple of decades, there are things we take for granted now that we could only imagine then. The Internet is probably the most obvious example. However, and this is of great concern to me: the way we do development cooperation changes slowly, and not at the same pace as the changes in the world.

It is only natural that bureaucratic structures are slow to change, but in this area there is really no time to lose. Poverty is acute today. And yet here we are, working with development cooperation models often developed decades ago.

We are certainly trying to improve in many ways. Within the EU we are, for example, working on division of labour and complementarity. We are promoting the use of partner country systems to limit transaction costs and increase ownership - and all of this is very useful and important work. But is it enough?

I think we need to approach development cooperation from a new point of view - and the ABCDE conferences can assist in this.

A basic issue for me, as Minister for International Development Cooperation, is ensuring that we get the very best possible value for money. I need to know how the resources made available by Swedish taxpayers are spent.

This spring I have therefore focused on three issues that are key to ensuring effective development cooperation:

1. Corruption, and the absolute need to tackle it
2. The need for increased measuring and understanding of results from the projects and programmes to which we contribute - both as an objective in itself, to ensure that we're doing the right thing, and as a means to continuously improve our methods and strategies.
3. The challenge of development contributions to a changing world, including through innovation in a broad sense of the term.

I have launched an agenda to respond to these obstacles: an agenda to further improve Swedish development cooperation. I have chosen to call it 'Open Aid'. Openness is needed in development cooperation for at least three important reasons:

1. Increased openness through active transparency promotes accountability, scrutiny and improved knowledge about aid;
2. Increased openness for participation promotes innovation and ensures that expertise from different spheres of society can benefit aid; and
3. Increased openness promotes increased cooperation with more and new actors in Swedish development cooperation.

This means that every aspect of 'Open Aid' is underpinned by transparency, participation and cooperation.

The reform process and the 'Open Aid' vision is an ongoing effort. Your deliberations during these coming days will make an important contribution - and I would like to challenge you to reflect on the matters I just mentioned. Share your ideas. Argue, agree - or disagree. Only then can we make sure that we make full use of the resources around us, and that we are equipped in the best way possible to reach our objective: to eradicate poverty, and to give every individual the opportunity to develop.

Thank you and, once again, I wish you most welcome to ABCDE Sweden.