Context-sensitive engagement: Lessons learned from Swiss experiences in South Asia for aid effectiveness in fragile scenarios

The following report was generated by the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC) upon the initiative of the Conflict Prevention and Transformation Division (COPRET), for the forthcoming HighLevel Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Accra, Ghana, on 2-4 September 2008. Based on Switzerland’s long-term experiences in South Asia—particularly in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Pakistan—and in collaboration with SDC’s South Asia Division, the Centre on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding (CCDP) at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva was asked to critically assess the work conducted in these countries, and to distil lessons for engagement in fragile, conflict countries. The focus was placed on SDC’s Conflict-Sensitive Programme Management (CSPM), viewed through the lens of the Principles for Good International Engagement in Fragile States and Situations that were established by the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD-DAC) in April 2007. Overall, Switzerland’s decade-long work in South Asia confirms the importance of the ten DAC Principles, whilst also highlighting where certain key aspects may be further refined and elaborated. In particular, an analysis of SDC’s practices emphasised the need for continuous monitoring and assessment of the fragile context in question. It is not enough for projects and programmes to react to changing circumstances. Possible future scenarios need to be developed, conceptualised, and possible means of proceeding incorporated into the management cycle.