New Aid Approaches, Limitations and the Application to Promote Good Governance

Discussion Paper 14/2012
Results-Based Aid (RBA)
New aid approaches, limitations and the
application to promote good governance
Stephan Klingebiel

New aid approaches, limitations and the application
to promote good governance
Stephan Klingebiel
Bonn 2012

Discussion Paper / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik
ISSN 1860-0441
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This Discussion Paper is a product of the Democracy and Stability in Fragile States programme within the
DIE’s Department of Governance, Statehood and Security.
Dr. Stephan Klingebiel, Head of Department I: „Bi- and Multilateral Development Policy“, German
Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)
E-mail: stephan.klingebiel@die-gdi.de
© Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik gGmbH
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Contents
Abbreviations
Summary 1
1 Introduction 3
2 Conceptual basis 5
2.1 Results-based approaches 5
2.2 Results-based aid 7
2.2.1 The RBA concept 7
2.3 Conclusions: assessment and critical aspects of RBA 13
3 RBA in the area of good governance 18
3.1 The term “governance” 18
3.2 RBA governance results and indicators 21
4 Conclusions 25
Bibliography 27
Annex 1 31
Annex 2 36
List of Figures and Boxes
Figure 1: Results-based approaches 7
Figure 2: RBA: impact chain 9
Figure 3: Results-based aid: main features 11
Figure 4: Comparison of PBA and RBA 12
Figure 5: RBA levels of intervention 25
Box 1: RBA: closing the accountability gap? 14
Box 2: Distortion risks – possible unintended effects 16

Abbreviations
AoD Aid on Delivery
BMZ Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwick-lung
(Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development)
CGD Center for Global Development
CoD Cash on Delivery
CoP-MfDR Community of Practice on Managing for Development Results
DFID Department for International Development (UK)
DIE Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik
EC European Commission
EDF European Development Fund
GDP Gross Domestic Product
IDS Institute of Development Studies
EU European Union
FY Financial Year
GBS General Budget Support
IFC International Finance Corporation
IMF International Monetary Fund
KfW Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau
MDBS Multi Donor Budget Support
MCC Millennium Challenge Corporation
M&E Monitoring and Evaluation
MDG Millennium Development Goals
MfDR Managing for Development Results
OBA Output Based Approaches
ODA Official Development Assistance
PBA Programme-Based Approaches
PEFA Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability
PFM Public Financial Management
PPP Public Private Partnership
PRSC Poverty Reduction Support Credits
P4P Pay for Performance
RB Results-Based
RBA Results-Based Aid
RBF Results-Based Financing
RBM Results-Based Management

Summary
Results-based approaches play an important role in the current development-policy debate.
There are two aspects to this debate: on the one hand, further improving the effectiveness
of development cooperation (aid) is important to the specialists; whereas on the other hand,
many donors (parliaments, the public, etc.) continue to call for the justification of aid ex-penditures.
This creates great pressure to give the most concrete evidence for the utility of
aid budgets.
There are several examples of aid debates in the past where a results-focus was implicitly
or explicitly an important dimension. The discussion on any principal-agent framework, for
example, links aid directly to performance and results.
The current international discussion on results-based approaches differs from debates so
far in as much as in practice, aid has been frequently inputs and progress-oriented. For in-stance,
approaches tend to be geared towards the allocation of funds for investment (e.g. to
build schools) or providing advisory services (e.g. to the education sector), with no way of
accounting for the success of such aid measures based on verifiable “results” (in the sense
of outputs, outcomes or even impact). Success in aid is instead often recorded based on in-put
or progress indicators, such as whether a country has raised its budget for education,
or whether agreed upon reform documents (e.g. a general strategy for the education sec-tor)
have been adopted. Such an approach can indicate how the development activities in
a partner country can be evaluated. But for two reasons its information value is limited:
firstly, it is not always clear whether the intended results have actually been achieved. For
instance, do a larger budget and the advice given really result in more pupils in schools?
What about the quality of their education? Secondly, the question arises as to what role the
development aid has had in the overall situation. If results were achieved, is there a cause-and-
effect relation to aid activities (attribution challenge)?
Results-based aid (RBA) aims to identify outputs or outcomes that can be measured and
quantified, i.e. results that can be directly linked to development activities. RBA is a part-nership
between a development partner (donor) and a partner government (recipient). The
key feature of RBA is the link between the aid intervention and strong incentives to en-courage
results. The main innovation of RBA is based on the introduction of a new condi-tionality
concept: a contract between both partners that defines incentives to produce
measurable results. If these results are achieved, the aid disbursement will be released.
The international debate on RBA is dealing with a variety of different approaches in the
field of development finance. Depending on the definition of RBA, some practical expe-riences
already exist. This applies, for example, to performance tranches in the context of
budget support. In other types of RBA (such as the “cash on delivery” (CoD) concept in-troduced
by the Center for Global Development), practical experience is still in its initial
stages.
The potential benefits of RBA depend very much on the specific approach and design. The
discussion on potential advantages and disadvantages of RBA indicates a number of con-ceptual
weaknesses for those RBA approaches aiming at specific results (“standalone RBA
approaches”). There might be a significant risk of misincentives and non-systematic strate-
German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE) 1

Stephan Klingebiel
gies if aid focusses on only one measurable and quantitative result. In addition, there is a
“bias” of RBA approaches in favour of countries with a good performance. The likelihood
of “good performance” (reaching results) is much more pronounced in those cases where
countries have good leadership structure, planning and implementation capacity and a
functioning public financial management system.
Possibilities to identify measurable and quantifiable results are rather good in social sec-tors
and several (basic) infrastructure-related subjects. The governance sector is, in gener-al
terms, less favourable in this regard. It is quite difficult to identify appropriate objectives
and independently verifiable measures in this area. “Political governance” issues do not
seem to be suitable for RBA approaches, since it would be difficult to reach a consensus
between contract partners on RBA core features (such as specific results and measurable
indicators). However, some other governance areas have the potential to be included; this
applies especially to public financial management and (several aspects of) decentralisation.
2 German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)

1 Introduction
Results-based approaches play an important role in the current development-policy debate. For
example, the term “results” is a crucial term of the outcome document of the Busan High Lev-el
Forum on Aid Effectiveness from 2011. There are two aspects to this debate: on the one hand,
further improving the effectiveness of development cooperation (aid) is important to the spe-cialists;
whereas on the other hand, many donors (parliaments, the public, etc.) continue to call
for the justification of aid expenditures. This creates great pressure to give the most concrete
evidence for the utility of aid budgets.
There are several examples of aid debates in the past where a results-focus was implicitly or
explicitly an important dimension. The discussion on any principal-agent framework, for ex-ample,
links aid directly to performance and results. This applies, for instance, to William East-erly’s
analysis “The white man’s burden” (Easterly 2006). A number of other theories, concepts
and approaches are related to results as well. For instance, the discussion on country selectivi-ty
since the end of the 1990s is based on an implicit results-focus. The underlying idea was
based on a model to reward good performing countries and to create additional incentives for
performance (see, for example, Savedoff 2011a). In addition, attaching conditions to aid (con-ditionality)
is also dealing directly with incentives for the implementation of policies and re-forms
(see, for example, Temple 2010).
The current international discussion1 on practical results-based approaches differs from debates
so far in as much as in practice, aid has been frequently inputs and progress oriented. For in-stance,
approaches tend to be geared towards the allocation of funds for investment (e.g. to
build schools) or providing advisory services (e.g. to the education sector), with no way of ac-counting
for the success of such aid measures based on verifiable “results” (in the sense of out-puts,
outcomes or even impact). Success in aid is instead often recorded based on input or
progress indicators, such as whether a country has raised its budget for education, or whether
agreed upon reform documents (e.g. a general strategy for the education sector) have been
adopted. Such an approach can indicate how the development activities in a partner country can
be evaluated. But for two reasons its information value is limited: firstly, it is not always clear
whether the intended results have actually been achieved. For instance, do a larger budget and
the advice given really result in more pupils in schools? What about the quality of their educa-tion?
Secondly, the question arises as to what role the development aid has had in the overall
situation. If results were achieved, is there a cause-and-effect relation to aid activities (attribu-tion
challenge)?
Results-based aid (RBA) – or aid on delivery (AoD),2 as it is called by others – aims to identi-fy
outputs or outcomes that can be measured and quantified, i.e. results that can be directly
linked to development activities. RBA is a partnership between a development partner (donor)
and a partner government (recipient). The key feature of RBA is the link between the aid in-tervention
and strong incentives to encourage results. The main innovation of RBA is based on
the introduction of a new conditionality concept: a contract between both partners that defines
incentives to produce measurable results. If these results are achieved, the aid disbursement will
1 The reader edited by Kenneth King (2012) provides a good overview on the debate.
2 The term “aid on delivery” is used to some extent in the German debate with regard to results-based ap-proaches.
It is assumed here that both terms are identical to a large extent and, therefore, the present study
does not distinguish between RBA and AoD.

Stephan Klingebiel
be released. The key feature of RBA is the link between the aid intervention and strong incen-tives
to encourage results. In addition, RBA reduces the implementation role and responsibili-ty
on the donor side and strengthens the domestic accountability on the partner side for poli-cies
that are under the control of the recipient. The main innovation of RBA is based on the in-troduction
of a new conditionality concept: a contract between both partners that defines in-centives
to produce measurable results. If these results are achieved, the aid disbursement will
be released; and if they are not, the aid disbursement will not take place.
RBA establishes a close link between aid disbursements and strong incentives to encourage de-velopment
results. Approaches in this regard are intended to contribute to overcoming draw-backs
of input-oriented official development assistance (ODA) such as “no clear result evi-dence
line”, heavy transaction costs of aid and the bypassing of national systems because of in-tensive
use of donors’ implementing capacities.3 The debates on aid effectiveness – as present-ed
in events in Paris, Accra and Busan – have a set of standards and principles in order to make
aid more results-oriented. RBA is one major attempt to apply these aid effectiveness standards
in a new model for aid relationships between development partners and partner countries. It is
disputed in the debate whether RBA is able to overcome traditional aid weaknesses under real
conditions and not create new or additional challenges (see, for example, Renzio / Woods 2008).
The present study provides an overview of the different types of results-based approaches with
a strong focus on RBA and assesses broadly the applicability of these approaches to the gov-ernance
sector. However, the study does not aim to repeat existing definition efforts (see, for
example, Hennin / Rozema 2011; Pearson 2011).
The author experienced two main challenges in the course of conducting the study.
First, the precise focus of the study depends very much on the terminology. RBA (or similar
terms) is sometimes used to introduce a new way of thinking and applying development coop-eration.
In a rigorous sense (such as with the cash on delivery concept of the Center for Glob-al
Development), possibilities for using the concept might be rather limited because of several
requirements and preconditions (e.g. the capacity to implement policies and a strong public fi-nancial
management system). Sometimes the term is used instead to adjust existing approach-es
more towards results orientation. In this case it might be more appropriate to stay with the
original terminology instead of re-labelling existing types of aid in RBA.
Second, the concept of results-based aid was originally created in the context of social sectors
and sometimes other areas of service delivery (access to tap water, etc.). The task of the pres-ent
study to apply the concept to the governance sector is very plausible and desirable. But its
application to the governance sector is much more complicated and, at least to some extent, not
possible for a rigorous RBA approach.
The study focusses on RBA as well as its potential risks and weaknesses. Shortcomings, limi-tations
and challenges that are relevant for other aid approaches are not discussed in the pres-ent
paper.
3 See, e.g., CGD (2006) for an overview on the debate.

The paper is partly based on work for a study on RBA commissioned by the Policy Division
Governance of KfW Development Bank on behalf of the German Ministry for Economic Co-operation
and Development (Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und En-twicklung
/ BMZ). The author has evaluated the international state of the art (research work,
concept notes, etc.) and conducted a number of interviews with experts in Germany and
abroad. The participation in events related to the subject (ODI workshop, 21 September 2011;
OECD/DAC workshop in Berlin, 28–29 September 2011) has also contributed to the concep-tual
preparation of the paper. Together with the Center for Global Development (CGD) and the
author on behalf of the German Development Institute (Deutsches Institut für Entwick-lungspolitik
/ DIE) organised an international two-day expert workshop on results-based aid
(Bonn, 18–19 April 2012). Furthermore, colleagues of the CGD had kindly agreed to provide
comments in the course of the study.4 Even though the present study is limited to general con-siderations
on RBA and governance, a number of interviews conducted for a case study on
Malawi in September 2011 contributed to this general assessment on the use of RBA in the
governance sector.
2 Conceptual basis
This section provides an overview of the conceptual basis of results-based approaches in gen-eral
and of results-based aid in particular. It then presents different individual concepts and con-cludes
with a critical assessment of results-based aid.
2.1 Results-based approaches
Definitions
Terminology is a challenge in the debate on results-based approaches. The key feature of these
approaches is that payments are only made once a pre-defined result is achieved. In this regard
results-based approaches differ from other aid approaches where funds are used to finance spe-cific
inputs for achieving results (e.g. schools to improve education, medical equipment to im-prove
the health situation of the population, etc.). Results-based approaches should not be con-fused
with results orientation because many approaches that finance inputs are also oriented to-wards
results and indeed do achieve these results.
Many terms and concepts are used in the context of the discussion of results-based approach-es
(output-based aid, performance-based aid, etc.). Nevertheless, there is a growing interna-tional
consensus on definitions (see, for example, Pearson 2011; Hennin / Rozema 2011;
Birdsall / Savedoff 2011). Against this back¬ground, the understanding of RBA in the present
study is as follows.
4 The author wants to thank all interviewees and the CGD, especially William Savedoff for very profound
comments.

Stephan Klingebiel
Results-based approaches – as a term – cover a number of different concepts. Two main sub-groups
can be distinguished: (i) results-based aid (RBA) and (ii) results-based financing
(RBF).
(i) Results-Based Aid (RBA)
In general terms, RBA is a partnership between a development partner (donor) and a partner
government (recipient). The main innovation of RBA is based on the introduction of a new con-ditionality
concept: a contract between both partners that defines incentives to produce meas-urable
results. Aid disbursements or non-disbursements are directly linked to these independ-ently
verified measures of results. If these results are achieved, the aid disbursement will be re-leased;
and if they are not, the aid disbursement will not take place. It is necessary to agree up-on
a “unit price” in advance (e.g. how much aid is provided per student passing the final ex-am).
Donors are not involved in the implementation process (“hands off ”). The CoD concept
is one specific form of RBA.5
(ii) Results-Based Financing (RBF)
In general terms, results-based financing (RBF) is based on a contract between an entity of the
partner government and a service provider offering specific services. RBF schemes include dif-ferent
types of services to beneficiaries, such as conditional cash transfers and voucher
schemes. As in the case of RBA, a “unit price” is needed. RBF is not necessarily an aid rela-tionship
between a development partner and a partner government. The funding for RBF
schemes might come from aid or from the domestic resources of the partner country.
In principle, a combination of RBA and RBF (RBA/RBF hybrid) is possible and – at least to
some extent – is being applied in several cases (see annex 2).
In addition to RBA and RBF, results-based management (RBM) is a crucial instrument for the
implementation of results-focussed management, for example when it comes to monitoring and
evaluation (M&E) systems or results-oriented budgeting approaches. RBM is characterised by
its crosscutting focus and is used to mainstream results orientation. Managing for Development
Results became one of the five principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.
The study focusses on RBA; in contrast, RBF approaches take quite a different angle in this de-bate.
Thus, they are not dealt with in detail in the present paper.
5 For specific donor approaches, see annex 1.

Figure 1: Results-based approaches
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2.2 Results-based aid
2.2.1 The RBA concept
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Rationale for Results-Based Aid
The main rationale of RBA is based on the following three assumptions:
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(i) RBA can facilitate progress on key results because of strong incentives.
(ii) RBA reduces transaction costs for aid. It requires fewer reporting processes;
the national systems of the partner country concerned are used to a large extent.

Stephan Klingebiel
(iii) Partner countries maintain a strong ownership of the RBA programmes and
the related policies during the implementation process in order to achieve the
agreed results. RBA clarifies the division of labour between recipients and
donors and their responsibilities.
These assumptions might be plausible for a number of countries (especially good performers).
However, practical experiences with new types of RBA, such as CoD, are not yet available.
Those approaches are still in their infancy. Available information mainly exists with regard to
performance-oriented programme-based approaches (PBAs) (such as general and sector budg-et
support, pool arrangements).
From inputs to results
The key characteristic of RBA is the link between aid intervention and strong incentives to en-courage
results. The main underlying assumption in this regard is as follows: in the past, ODA
approaches focussed mainly on inputs or processes, and only in some cases on outputs. Exam-ples
of ODA interventions that are directly oriented towards results are rather rare.
To illustrate this kind of concept, the following example will be used to explain the main
arguments.
Typical ODA interventions, for example in the education sector, focus on the provision of in-puts
necessary to achieve a desired result. Inputs in this regard might be to provide advice to
the Ministry of Education in order to develop a new educational concept or a strategy for in-creasing
school enrolment rates. On the investment side, an input-based intervention might be
the funding of new primary schools or establishing a specific target for a minimum share of the
education budget in the total national budget (e.g. in the context of sector budget support).
However, providing inputs does not always lead to the desired results, for example even with a
lot of consultancies and investment in school buildings, the school enrolment rates and the in-dividual
educational achievements of children might not increase. Reasons for this might be in-centives
on a household level to keep children at home or a ministry in charge of education that
has had no real political will to implement an effective sector policy that ensures that schools
are staffed with adequately trained teachers and equipped with teaching materials. And even if
the enrolment rate did improve after the donor intervention, it might not be possible to deter-mine
whether this success can be attributed to the donor intervention or whether it would have
taken place as well without the donor support.
RBA tries to deal specifically with this challenge. At least on the level of the concept, the link
between the donor intervention and the aspired objective in terms of measurable results is close,
since the donor intervention might provide strong incentives for results.
In the present paper, results are defined as the direct and indirect effects of inputs and activi-ties.
We can distinguish between different levels of results. Outputs are normally technical re-sults
(for example, a newly constructed school). This output might lead to the next level: out-comes
(for example, increase in enrolment rates because new school facilities are available).
The most ambitious level of results is impact. Impacts are defined as the wider developmental
effects (for example, poverty reduction because of improved educational outcomes).

In reality it might be difficult to always make a clear distinction between different categories
of an impact chain. For example, depending on the point of view, an increase of a sector budg-et
share might be defined as an input (e.g. to give more priority to a sector).6 At the same time,
the increase of a sector budget share might be also regarded as a result. This result might be
seen as an input on the next higher level of a strategy.
Figure 2: RBA: impact chain
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Results orientation and results management in the framework of aid might be feasible in many re-gards.
On a technical level, aid agencies have developed a number of tools for focussing on re-sults
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strategies, results-oriented planning and operations tools, and M&E systems focussing on results.
Structure of RBA approaches
Results-based aid is organised mainly in three steps.
The first step of RBA is the preparation and finalisation of a contract between a development
partner and the partner government. This step is crucial in several respects. (i) Both contract
partners have to identify an area / sector / subsector or a specific objective that is important for
the development process of the country and suitable for RBA at the same time. The selection
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6 “Finally, results could be defined in terms of inputs (e.g. allocating a minimum share of the budget to health,
as is often the case in budget support mechanisms)” (Pearson 2011, 4).

Stephan Klingebiel
process presents several challenges. For example, social sectors such as education and health
quite often receive more donor support than other sectors. If reasonable support in a given sec-tor
is available, it might be difficult to identify a relevant “result” on the one hand, and a situ-ation
where substitution of RBA supports by another development partner would not be a chal-lenge,
on the other hand. For instance, if a donor is, in principle, ready to substitute non-dis-bursement
from another donor in case of non-performance, the incentives of RBA will be di-luted.
Other important aspects are related to the duration of the contract and the sustainability
prospects of the supported area (e.g. the question of how the partner country is going to deal
with the situation if and when donor support comes to an end). (ii) The contract partners have
to agree upon a measurable result and an appropriate indicator or set of indicators. Baseline da-ta
has to be available or collected. The data collection and data analysing process for the future
have to be agreed upon. (iii) A “price per unit of progress” has to be identified. In addition, the
contract partners have to discuss and agree upon a performance level for results that is appro-priate
(At what level do we reward, for example, “additional” students passing the final exam?
Is the level achieved last year an appropriate starting point, or should we use an average of the
last few years? etc.).7
The second step is characterised by the implementation of the activities that are necessary to
achieve the results. The nature of the activities might be different. One major bottleneck might
be inadequate funding for a task, and the government might now be willing to provide more re-sources.
Perhaps insufficient capacity is a major obstacle and the government would now agree
to take specific remedial action (additional staff, training for staff, implementation of a reten-tion
strategy, etc.). Other possible drawbacks might be related to an overall power game with-in
the government. However, since aid disbursement now depends on results, it might have an
impact on internal decision-making processes. All in all, the partner country is in charge of the
whole implementation process.
The third step is an assessment of the progress made. This should normally be done by a third
party in order to ensure high-quality and incontestable data. The data will serve as the basis for
the calculation (price per unit of progress) of the aid disbursement, since incremental progress
is to be rewarded. The progress assessment is to be done on a regular basis (e.g. annually).
7 At least in some cases, setting a balanced target might be a challenge in order to avoid a level of performance
that is too ambitious or too easy to reach.

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Programme-based approaches (PBA) and RBA can be interpreted as both aid instruments and
aid modalities. When understood as aid instruments, there can be a great degree of overlap be-tween
PBA and RBA. When seen as aid modalities, their premises and priorities might differ.
• Aid instruments (instrumental way of providing aid): PBA instruments that
are used in a results-based manner (performance tranches in budget support,
etc.) are mostly congruent with an RBA approach. Equally, RBA ventures
that are based on joint donor approaches and a common approach to finance
are almost identical to PBA.
• Aid modalities (set of norms that ODA practice is based on): when seen as
aid modalities, PBA and RBA do not automatically adhere to a common set
of priorities (specifically the international standards that developed based on
the Paris Declaration). This can result in conflicting goals (e.g. harmonisation
vs. orientation towards results).
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Figure 3: Results-based aid: main features

Figure 4: Comparison of PBA and RBA
PBA8 RBA
Criteria
1. Leadership is with the partner
2. Use of standard overall programme
3. Formalised process for coordinating
4. Use of at least two of the following local
Basic principles
1. Shift in focus of aid away from specific
2. Mutual policy dialogue and a clear
3. Common funding (partner and other
4. Payments based on conditions
Goals
1. Governance goals (e.g reform of public
2. Efficiency and effectiveness
3. Financial goals (e.g. resources for
Country type and
operative
objectives
Preconditions/
criteria
Manifestations
1. Macro programmes: (i) contributions to
2. Sector programmes: (i) sectoral budget
frameworks and budgets
donors and harmonising the approaches
with respect to at least two of the
following systems: (i) reporting, (ii)
budgeting, (iii) financial management
and (iv) procurement
systems: (i) programme design, (ii)
implementation, (iii) financial
management and (iv) M&E
1. Leadership is with the partner
2. Responsibility for results is
with the partner
3. Responsibility for
implementation is with the
partner (use of national
systems)
4. Quantifiable results
5. Independent evaluation of
results
6. Payments only upon
achievement of goals
projects and towards the programme and
political system level
strategy of reform
donors) of a single plan of expenditures
1. Quantifiability
2. Focus on specific results (not
the overall context)
3. The results can be attributed
to a specific measure
4. Independent verification
financial management systems)
poverty reduction strategies)
1. Generating relevant incentives
2. Results preferably at the level
of outcomes
Selective implementation in low-income
countries eager to reform
= Goal: implementation in all
country types
= Focus on sectors that are
easily quantifiable
Basic conditions:
1. Political (good governance)
2. Fiduciary risks
3. Macro-economical
Depends on the specific measure
Poverty Reduction Support Credits, (ii)
Multi Donor Budget Support
support, (ii) basket funding
1. Performance tranches as part
of general or sectoral budget
support
2. Performance-based basket
funding
3. Specific measures
8 For the PBA column, see BMZ (2008) and Klingebiel / Leiderer / Schmidt (2007).
8 For the PBA column, see BMZ (2008) and Klingebiel / Leiderer / Schmidt (2007).
Stephan Klingebiel

RBA sector-specific considerations
Typically, RBA approaches such as CoD are associated with interventions in social sectors (of-ten
education and health) and sometimes with interventions concerning other direct service de-livery
activities (such as access to tap water). These intervention areas have some specific fea-tures:
• It is rather easy to identify development results. In many areas, reference can
be made to international and national objectives (e.g. Millennium Develop-ment
Goals or national poverty reduction strategies) and / or international
standards.
• These results are measurable.
• Data and baseline information is available, or rather easy to collect. High
additional transaction costs can normally be avoided.
• Intense disputes between the different parties around the definition of results,
the indicators, the applied methods and data are not expected.
The application of RBA in other areas seems to be more demanding. A more detailed discus-sion
of the practicability regarding the area of governance is presented in section 2.3.
2.3 Conclusions: assessment and critical aspects of RBA
In general terms, the international debate is dealing with a number of different RBA cases on
different levels. Some approaches are not presenting new ways to organise aid but rather offer
advancements in existing instruments; this applies, for example, to the variable tranches as part
of the European Union’s general and sector budget support. Other approaches are much more
focussed on a specific result. This applies, for example, to the CoD concept, which is in reali-ty
still in its infancy.
Against the background of ongoing aid debates, some general considerations can be discussed
concerning RBA – considerations that might be relevant for one specific RBA type but not for
another (see Klingebiel 2011b).9
9 The list of potential advantages and disadvantages should not be read as a list that always applies to all types
of RBA. The identified advantages / disadvantages might, of course, also apply (in some cases even to a larg-er
extent) to other aid approaches.

Box 1: RBA: closing the accountability gap?
Stephan Klingebiel
Accountability is of considerable interest in the context of the debate on more effective development co-operation.
In general terms, accountability is the obligation of a person, group or institution to justify de-cisions
or actions taken. It is associated with sanctions in the event of compliance / non-compliance and
is therefore based on incentives.
Accountability is relevant in three respects:
- accountability on the part of the donor;
- accountability in partner countries (domestic accountability);
- mutual accountability between partner and donor.
Accountability on the part of the donor (in the case of a bilateral donor; but in the case of multilateral
donors, the structure of accountability is sometimes arranged differently) and in partner countries con-cerns,
in particular, parliaments, the electorate, civil society and national audit offices.
In the debate on effective aid (i.e. the Paris Declaration, the Accra Agenda for Action, and the Busan
Partnership document), mutual accountability as well as accountability to the actual target groups in part-ner
countries play particularly vital roles.
The aforementioned levels of accountability do not automatically complement each other. In some cas-es,
they may even compete. Challenges are encountered especially in the following respects.
In the past the (implicit) focus was on the accountability of aid recipients to donors. Conceptually, this
changed primarily with the debates on aid effectiveness (Paris Declaration, etc.); however, the new con-cepts
have yet to be fully implemented. This donor-oriented focus detracts from the effectiveness of aid
(risk-aversion, bypassing of partners’ national systems, functioning “project islands”, donors’ imple-mentation
interests, etc.).
Any emphasis placed by development policy on accountability in partner countries themselves is often
confronted with structures in the various countries that do not function satisfactorily (weak roles played
by parliament and the media, etc.). Partner governments do not necessarily have an interest in function-ing
accountable systems in their own countries, since they may be associated with demands for gover-nance
reforms.
In some cases, mutual accountability is costly, entails numerous compromises and has shortcomings.
This is true, for example, of coordinated national development strategies and of joint monitoring ap-proaches
and policy analyses.
It is possible, in principle, to identify ways of strengthening accountability in the aid context. To begin
with, functioning public financial management systems (including budgetary planning processes and
value-for-money auditing) are a justified concern of partner countries and their actors.
The principles underlying aid effectiveness wisely focus on partner countries’ national systems; not the
least important aspect of this is that it increases the importance of parliaments, civil society actors, etc.
Where the donors are concerned, there continues to be considerable room for improvement. Aid can help
to strengthen accountability systems and to reduce unintended effects likely to weaken them. External
actors are primarily able to support the “supply” of accountability, but are less capable on the “demand”
side.
Donors have a legitimate and serious desire for accountability in their own countries. That accountabil-ity
is essential if political and societal backing is to be gained for the provision of public funds for de-velopment-
policy tasks. As a general rule, a distinction should be made in this context between the some-times
complex – and frequently abstract – development cooperation systems and effect chains (in which
donor administrations and the appropriate parliamentary bodies must have an interest) on the one hand,
and the legitimate need for transparency and information for a wider public on the other.
Results-based approaches to development cooperation can, in principle, strengthen mutual and national
(in the partner country) accountability, since both forms are based on the partners’ implementation of
policies and their activities; this may also concern M&E systems, which are very important for ac-countability.

Potential advantages of results-based aid:
• Action is directly aimed at providing incentives for results: the behaviour of
all actors (development partners as well as partner governments) is signifi-cantly
influenced by the results. There are direct links between the aid inter-ventions
and incentives (which might lead to results); the benefits might be
more immediate and quantifiable.
• Incentives for performance: the input of aid creates incentives to perform for
the partner country. This performance orientation can have a spillover effect
into other sectors of the partner country.
• Strengthened ownership on the part of the partners / partner government re-sponsible
for implementation: the task of achieving the goals lies with the
partner government. The donors have no responsibility for implementation.
This strengthens the partners’ political and administrative systems. At the
same time, the approach might be supportive of more mutual accountability.
• Better verification of the results of aid: closing the “attribution gap” (proving
a direct causality of aid measures and incentives that lead to results) might be
more successful in specific cases. This can help the donor countries to
demonstrate the concrete benefits of aid (visibility of the development part-ner).
However, there might be a risk of “short-sighted attributions” even in
those cases where results were reached; RBA does not lead to an easy and au-tomatic
attribution of results to aid interventions.
Possible disadvantages and limitations of RBA:
• Responsiveness of the partner’s political system to incentives: the concept as-sumes
that the partners are open to incentives to perform better. This applies
to those partner countries that show a strong performance orientation (“good
performers”), or at least where there are areas of access, such as in specific,
viable institutions (“pockets of effectiveness”, see Roll 2011).
However, literature provides evidence – especially regarding low-income and
high aid-dependent countries – where those favourable conditions are non-existent
or only partly assured. Particularly, research on political systems in
a number of sub-Saharan African countries shows evidence for systemic non-performance
in core areas of service delivery (see, e.g., Walle 2005; Chabal /
Daloz 1999).
• Misincentives, unintended consequences and non-systemic strategies: gener-ally
speaking, there is a danger of misincentives; a strong focus on a specif-ic
outcome might tend to result in non-systemic analysis and strategy. The
pressure to achieve certain goals can thus lead to the neglect of other priori-ties
in the same sector. Indicators that might not be entirely suitable to this
approach jeopardise the implementation of policies that are too heavily fo-cussed
on quantitative goals.

Stephan Klingebiel
Box 2: Distortion risks – possible unintended effects
Whether incentives might do good or harm depends very much on the specific setting in a country. For
example, normally we assume that an increase of available resources at the local level can contribute sig-nificantly
to development. Money can be spent in accordance with local needs and priorities. Decision-making
processes in close cooperation with the people might improve participation. However, if an in-crease
in resource transfers to the local level is considered by local or national elites as available “rents”,
it might just create conflicts over “access to rents”. If local structures are not prepared for – and experi-enced
in – managing an increase in resource transfers, this approach might also fail because of limited
capacities on the ground. If aid provides strong incentives for an increase in own resources (local taxes,
etc.), this might also contribute to serious problems (for example, for small businesses), because inex-perienced
staff on the local level push very much for local revenues that, for example, affect farmers who
sell their products.
These possible distortion risks might not always be relevant, and quite often “more resources” for the lo-cal
level can contribute in a positive way to the development. However, possible risks and side-effects
should be given attention if an aid approach provides a lot of incentives for reforms and changes.
• Capacity: the approach implies that the partner countries have the capacity to
achieve the results. If their capacities and their public financial management
system are deficient, this does not seem realistic.
• Sectors and data: results-based aid cannot be implemented equally well in all
sectors. Social sectors, such as education and health, as well as sectors with
infrastructure services that can more easily be measured (transport, public
water supply, etc.), are quite qualified. In other sectors it may be harder to
measure these results or to come to an agreement on them with the partner
countries (such as complicated agreements on good governance), and the di-rect
effects cannot always be clearly shown as wider outcomes. This applies,
for example, to various areas of public financial management. This approach
may further create an incentive to manipulate data.
• Losing entry points for policy dialogue / de-linking (some) RBA approaches
and the political context: where RBA approaches involve an automatic mech-anism
for payment following the achievement of certain goals, difficulties
might arise if a development partner were forced to pay out, even if faced
with an unfavourable political environment, including massive governance
problems (such as serious human rights abuses). RBA is not an instrument to
expand possibilities for policy dialogue.
• Insufficient pre-financing capacities / “financial hijacking”: in the context of
this approach, pre-financing by the partner country is intended, or even nec-essary.
Because of very tight budgets in a number of low-income countries,
this could be a major hurdle.10 There is the further risk that other aid resources
in a country might be redirected to this end.
• Fiduciary risks: RBA risks might be similar to programme-based approaches
(such as budget support or pooled funding mechanisms) in terms of fiduci-
10 In this case, it could be possible to develop schemes for start-up financing.

ary challenges. Since aid disbursements are not tied to specific activities or
procurement procedures, fiduciary risks might be a relevant challenge.
• Time horizon: RBA can create a shortened perspective, because it might
cause only those results to be considered that can be achieved quickly. Re-sults
that can only be achieved in the medium or long term might clash with
short-term political rationales (desire for re-election, etc.).
• Factors out of the government’s control: in those cases where results agreed
upon are not reached because of factors not under control of the government,
the effect of incentives for performance vanishes because disbursement of
RBA funds does not take place, regardless of how development-oriented the
government acts. For example, if there is a strong need to cut a budget be-cause
of the overall economic situation (due to an international crisis situa-tion
or unfavourable terms of trade), there might also be the need to reduce
the budget line, which is an important measure to reach the intended results.
• Danger of non-ambitious results: whether results are realistic or unrealistic is
probably quite often vague. Since partner countries and donor agencies have
an interest in disbursing the rewards, there might be an implicit tendency to
identify less ambitious results.
Some limitations and technical challenges mentioned above might be tackled. For example, in
those cases where insufficient pre-funding capacity would not allow the use of RBA, an ad-justment
of the approach is reasonable. In this case several options might be considered. (i) The
donor could set up a system where (a partial) pre-funding is provided, for example for the first
expected cycle of results. However, this course of action might contribute to a significant re-duction
in the intended incentive and pose a challenge if results are not achieved (How to or-ganise
reimbursement in case of non-performance? Is this procedure really enforceable?, etc.).
(ii) Another option might be the reimbursement of the paid interest in those cases where the re-cipient
borrows from the capital market in order to be able to make the necessary investments.
However, even if a reimbursement was agreed upon in advance, there might be other effects on
the recipient’s budget (e.g. due to borrowing limits set by the IMF).
Further provisions might be included in order to specifically support the capacity aspects and
the reliability of data; regulations in this regard are included, for example, in the new World
Bank approach. An upfront investment earmarked for building the capacities of the concerned
institutions could be integrated into RBA. This amount could be provided in advance and spent
in line with an agreed approach (such as tendering of capacity-building activities in the specific
area). A similar approach might be used in order to improve the quality of data needed; for ex-ample
requiring an agreed amount or share of aid to be used to ensure the regular provision of
reliable data.
Regarding RBA, there seems to be a rather high probability of a low disbursement level due to
poor or non-performance (at least in those cases where ambitious targets were set). On the one
hand, the possibility of partial or non-disbursement is an important feature of RBA. It is the in-

Stephan Klingebiel
tention of the approach to establish a strong link between performance and the provision of aid.
If the aid amount is finally made available to the partner country in some way, even in case of
non-performance, there might be an adverse impact on the incentive structure from the begin-ning.
On the other hand, partial or non-disbursement is a crucial challenge for the partner coun-try
in terms of predictability of aid.11 In addition, such a situation might also lead to challenges
for the donor (aid management) and to questions about the impact of the country strategy. For
example, if the government of the partner country is not able to perform (i.e. to provide results
in accordance with the RBA agreement) due solely to the background of exceptionally un-favourable
international conditions (reduced budget because of adverse international market
prices for relevant commodities), the donor might be under pressure not to add further burdens
to the situation of the country.
3 RBA in the area of good governance
The discussion on RBA does not provide many ideas on the sectoral areas of intervention. Im-plicitly,
preference is given to education, health and some other areas for direct service deliv-ery
on a household basis (such as access to energy and tap water).
On the contrary, the international debate does not pay much attention to governance or good
governance as a possible area for RBA interventions.
3.1 The term “governance”
The debate on the meaning and content of governance is complex and not a new one.12 For the
purpose of the present study, governance is defined in the following way:
“Governance consists of the traditions and institutions by which authority in a country is
exercised. This includes the process by which governments are selected, monitored and re-placed;
the capacity of the government to effectively formulate and implement sound poli-cies;
and the respect of citizens and the state for the institutions that govern economic and
social interactions among them.”13
In addition to this definition, it is useful to mention that there is also an emerging consensus on
the term “good governance”. Against this background, the term indicates that the governance
concept is based on universal human rights and the principles derived from it:
“We talk about good governance when state actors and institutions earnestly endeavour to
frame policies in such a way that they are pro-poor, sustainable and in line with the MDGs.
11 However, one could argue that the predictability risks can mainly be managed by the recipient government,
since it is in charge of implementing necessary policies to reach the expected results.
12 For an overview see, e.g., Türke (2008), Kaufmann / Kraay (2007), Baland / Moene / Robinson (2010), IDS
(2010).
13 See the World Bank, http://info.worldbank.org/governance/wgi/index.asp (7 Sept. 2012).

(…) A state acts in a development-oriented manner if it respects and protects all human
rights and earnestly endeavours to fulfil them for all its citizens (…). Its action is guided
by democratic and rule-of-law principles. (…) The state should be capable of managing
conflicts constructively and non-violently. Key elements are the efficiency and transparen-cy
of state administration” (BMZ 2009, 6).
More specifically, it is helpful to identify concrete areas of governance. The widely accepted
and used Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) project14 distinguishes between five di-mensions:
• Voice and Accountability
• Political Stability and Absence of Violence
• Government Effectiveness
• Regulatory Quality
• Rule of Law
• Control of Corruption
In general terms, the definition and the specific dimensions are in line with the international
debate on (good) governance (see, e.g., Baland / Moene / Robinson 2010) and similar to a num-ber
of donor concepts.15
RBA and governance-specific issues
There are a number of sector-specific issues for the application of RBA in the context of
governance:
(i) Defining agreeable results between donors and partner governments in the
governance sector might be difficult – at least in some areas – because of the
political sensitivity and the low likelihood of reaching a consensus between
the contract parties. Against the background that RBA depends on non-dis-putable
results and independently verifiable indicators, this might be a chal-lenge.
This issue might be relevant, for example, with regard to a result re-lated
to political governance dimensions, such as “voice and accountability”;
a number of concepts use more specific governance dimensions such as “pro-tection
and fulfillment of all human rights” or “democracy” (see, e.g., BMZ
2009).
In other areas of governance, it might be easier to agree on aspired results.
There might be rather promising entry points for RBA, especially in two ar-eas:
(a) administrative reform and decentralisation; (b) public financial man-agement.
14 See: http://info.worldbank.org/governance/wgi/index.asp.
15 See, e.g., the German governance concept (BMZ 2009).

Stephan Klingebiel
(ii) Particularly in comparison with the social sectors such as education and
health, the definition of a plausible development result might be more diffi-cult
in some areas of governance because of technical reasons. For example,
we can define an increase in generating own revenues on the local level as a
result of an intervention. However, this result might be more disputable than
a result from the social sector (school enrolment) regarding its final develop-mental
impact. For instance, it might still be a basic question as to whether
an increase of resources on the local level will really be used for develop-mental
purposes or whether the central level is reducing its contributions to
the local level because of new means of income. Especially the social sectors
have the advantage of being able to provide a chain of evidence for direct
benefits of individuals on the outcome (results) level. On the opposite side,
governance deals with the question of how decisions are taken and policies
are framed and implemented in a state. This is essential for any development
efforts, but to a certain extent less tangible in terms of “final beneficiaries”.
(iii) Several governance results are difficult to measure, at least in some areas
(again, especially with regard to political governance issues) (see, e.g., Gar-cia
2011; Arndt / Oman 2006). There are a growing number of governance
indicators that are similar to the World Governance Indicators compiled by
the World Bank. Nevertheless, several difficulties remain: (a) there are hard-to-
measure governance areas such as “human rights”; (b) they are quite often
disputed (e.g. indicators on “political freedom”); (c) frequently, the available
data is outdated and does not reflect the present situation (or account for the
present administration and government in charge of policies). At least in part,
these challenges are less relevant for some indicators with regard to decen-tralisation
and public financial management (PFM).
(iv) RBA is not a tool to compensate precisely for the costs that are needed in or-der
to achieve the intended results. “Thus, the COD Aid payment is not real-ly
aimed at covering the cost of schooling. It is aimed at relaxing constraints
that hold back progress.” (Birdsall / Savedoff 2011, 53) A basic consideration
of the CoD approach is to provide a sufficient incentive, but at the same time
to provide enough resources, for example, to expand existing programmes
(such as teacher training, school construction). Therefore, the “payment per
unit of progress” is not an exact measure for the investments needed.
In principle, this assumption is also useful for the governance sector. In some
governance areas, we can expect a clear need for resources, for example, in
the area of decentralisation (e.g. provision of funding for local infrastructure).
At the same time, some governance results are not strongly – or only to a
small degree – related to the need for resources (e.g., more effective pro-curement
regulations in order to strengthen the PFM system). In this case the
“payment per unit of progress” would be primarily a reward or incentive to
perform. Therefore, a payment per unit of progress can provide an essential
incentive to implement related policies, even in a case where funding might
be not an essential bottleneck to achieve the intended results.

3.2 RBA governance results and indicators
In principle, the identification of results and related indicators for RBA should be deducted
from a specific country situation. However, with regard to areas of governance, it might be use-ful
to consider the following general options.
Public Financial Management
Result: improved PFM system
Indicator: PEFA scoring
The Public Expenditure and Financial Accountability (PEFA) assessment framework has es-tablished
itself as an internationally renowned analytical tool (see Klingebiel / Mahn 2011). Be-ing
a standardised approach, PEFA enables an overview of trends to be obtained at comparable
intervals on the basis of 28 indicators. The PEFA assessment could be used in two regards: (a)
an improved assessment could be defined as a result; (b) the assessment of the 28 indicators –
or a subset thereof – can serve at the same time to measure the performance on an incremental
basis.
For example, the outcome of the latest PEFA assessment (excluding the three indicators for
“donor practices”) could serve as the baseline. A reward system for changes to future PEFA as-sessments
could be created in the following way.
Each PEFA score is equal to a “translated score”:
A 3 points
B/B+ 2 points
C/C+ 1 point
D/D+ 0 points
No score 0 points
The sums of “translated scores” for the baseline PEFA assessment and the new PEFA assess-ment
would be calculated. A positive change from the baseline to the actual situation would be
rewarded. An agreement on RBA for improved PEFA scores could provide for a reward in the
amount of X euros for each additional point in the next (or second or third) PEFA assessment.
To make sure that, at least in theory, a very significant improvement is rewarded, a rather am-bitious
maximum should be calculated (e.g. up to 20 points can be rewarded).
A strong advantage is the high reputation of the PEFA assessment for the overall PFM situa-tion
in a country.16 In addition, it would be possible to focus on a smaller number of specific
PEFA indicators if attention were given to a specific issue. Disadvantages are mainly related to
the intervals. Only in some cases are PEFA assessments done every second year. More often,
16 See, e.g., the debate on the role of PEFA: Renzio (2009); Klingebiel / Mahn (2011).

Stephan Klingebiel
an interval of once every three years (or even less frequent) is chosen. However, a reward sys-tem
could provide an incentive to establish a regular two-year interval.
Procurement
Result: improved procurement system (completion, value for money and controls in procurement)
Indicator: PEFA Indicator 19 measures three dimensions: (i) use of open completion for award-ing
of contracts that exceed the nationally established monetary threshold for small purchases,
(ii) justification for the use of less competitive procurement methods, (iii) existence and oper-ation
of a procurement complaints mechanism.
Advantage: procurement is a crucial and sensitive dimension of a PFM system. In several coun-tries
it might be an advantage to select this specific PFM issue. PEFA measures the status in a
comprehensive way (three different aspects). Disadvantage: information is only available in ac-cordance
with regular PEFA intervals. However, it might be feasible to collect information in
accordance to the PEFA methodology on a regular basis (e.g. annually) by an independent, cer-tified
PEFA consultant.
External auditing
Result: improved external auditing (scope, nature and follow-up of external audit)
Indicator: PEFA Indicator 26 measures scope, nature and follow-up of external audits
Advantage: a functioning external auditing mechanism is a key pillar for PFM systems. The re-lated
PEFA indicator covers several relevant aspects in this regard, including the coverage,
timeliness and follow-up on audit recommendations. Disadvantage: information is only avail-able
in accordance with the regular PEFA interval. However, it should be feasible to have in-formation
collected in accordance with the PEFA methodology on a regular basis (e.g. annual-ly)
by an independent, certified PEFA consultant.
Domestic revenues
Result: increase of domestic resources
Indicator: Option 1: tax revenue as a percentage of gross domestic products (GDP)
Option 2: increase in domestic revenues (percentage change)
Advantage (depending on the level of domestic resources respective of the tax / GDP ratio): ef-forts
to increase domestic resources are important for development processes in two ways. (i)
The size of the national budget can be extended. Additional resources are available for devel-opment
investments. (ii) The use of domestic resources contributes to an improved domestic
accountability system in a country and a stronger role of citizens and parliaments (and their
budget functions). Normally, the data is available; this information is provided by national rev-enue
authorities and confirmed by IMF missions. Disadvantages: qualitative aspects (impact of
revenue efforts on the poor population / vulnerable groups; effects on the private sector, etc.)

are important, but are mostly not reflected by the indicator; it might be possible to partly ad-dress
some distributional issues, for example, through periodic independent reports on tax in-cidence
by income group. The ratio might be affected significantly by factors (partly) outside
the control of a government. At least in some cases, reliability of data (e.g. data for GDP) might
be a critical issue.
Decentralisation
Result: increase of resources available on the subnational level17
Indicator: Option 1: average transfer payment to subnational level per inhabitant
Option 2: local expenditure as share of total government expenditure
Advantages: many subnational governments are lacking sufficient resources, since central gov-ernments
are frequently reluctant to furnish the local level in particular with unconditional re-sources.
Disadvantages: low resources often mean reduced capacity to manage a budget cycle
in many regards. An increase in resources might have negative side effects (such as distorting
and negative effects on local incentive structures); it is difficult to assess the outcome of high-er
amounts of available resources for the local level.
Economic governance
Result: improved economic governance
Indicator: calculations based on “Doing Business” data
RBA might be applicable in order to provide incentives to improve economic governance. The
Doing Business reports prepared by the International Finance Corporation can be used in two
ways18: (a) an assessment indicating progress of a country by the data of the report could be
defined as a result (not the ranking, but the changing performance of a country over time); (b)
the data of the report can serve at the same time as a measurement of the performance (indica-tor).
One advantage is the availability of data and the annual reassessment. The report measures core
dimensions of economic governance and has a favourable international reputation. Disadvan-tages
are the methodological challenges related to the indicator. As with many other indicators,
the indicator has methodological weaknesses because a fictitious enterprise (with specific fea-tures)
serves as an example. In addition, the assessments are conducted on the basis of expert
opinions. This fictitious case only partially reflects the reality of a country.
17 The rationale to support decentralisation processes (depending on a specific country setting) is mainly as fol-lows:
in terms of political participation and service delivery (access to administrative services, health servic-es,
etc.), the local level is crucial in many countries. If aid can provide incentives to strengthen the legitima-cy
and the effectiveness of the local level, people outside urban centres and vulnerable groups would benefit
in particular.
18 See the KfW memo on “Aid on Delivery, Ansätze im Bereich ökonomische Governance zur Verbesserung des
Investitionsklimas in Sub-Sahara Afrika” (5 May 2011).

Stephan Klingebiel
Statistics / M&E systems
Result: functioning and reliable national statistics systems / M&E system
Indicator: country-specific
Advantages: in principle, an important precondition for reliable planning and decision-making
processes. Disadvantages: no appropriate general indicator available. National statistics offices,
ministries of planning, etc., are heavily dependent on a number of data providers. It might be
difficult to provide specific incentives for improved results.
4 Conclusions
General conclusions on RBA
The international debate on RBA is dealing with a variety of different approaches in the field
of development aid. The spectrum ranges from a more results-oriented approach in the area of
budget support (macro and sectoral levels) to new types of projects that are intended to push
one specific result (sub-sectoral level or “one result”-specific RBA). All approaches have one
common feature: they try to create incentives in order to make results happen.
Figure 5: RBA levels of intervention
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From the perspective of the author of the present study, the potential benefits of RBA depend
very much on the specific approach and design. For example, experiences with performance
tranches in the context of budget support indicate a reasonable approach. There is little experi-ence
with regard to “one result”-specific projects.
The discussion on potential advantages and disadvantages of RBA indicates a number of con-ceptual
weaknesses, at least for some RBA approaches. There might be a significant risk for
misincentives and non-systematic strategies if aid focusses too heavily on one measurable and
quantitative result.
In addition, there is a clear bias of RBA approaches in favour of performing countries. The like-lihood
of “good performance” (reaching results) is much more pronounced in those cases
where countries have good leadership structure, planning and implementation capacity, and a
functioning public financial management system.
Conclusions on RBA and the governance sector
Possibilities for identifying measurable and quantifiable results are rather good in social sec-tors
and several (basic) infrastructure-related topics. The governance sector is, in general terms,
less favourable in this regard. “Political governance” issues such as political freedom or human
rights do not seem to be suitable for RBA approaches. However, some other governance areas
have the potential to be included; this applies especially to public financial management and
fiscal decentralisation. There might also be some potential for economic governance topics and
in the area of statistics / M&E systems.
RBA might be regarded as a potential approach to dealing with countries not suitable for budg-et
support or other pooling arrangements. In those settings where a country has a comparably
“mixed” or even “insufficient” record (e.g. because of the political governance performance or
high fiduciary risks), the following aspects might apply:
• RBA standalone approaches of one donor might be inappropriate, especially
in challenging settings. Frequent and close collaboration with other develop-ment
partners might be essential. There is a strong need to work closely to-gether
with other donors in order to have an influential and constructive dia-logue
with partner governments. Any attempt to focus just on a few specific
issues might be difficult in a complex situation; harmonised and sector-ori-ented
strategies are important also in the context of RBA approaches.
• Countries might show a low level of “incentive receptivity” and limited op-portunities
for “pockets of effectiveness”. RBA relies on “driving forces” for
reforms in the government structure, including at the top level. If government
structures are not receptive to performance orientation, the likelihood of fail-ure
(non-performance) is high. In principle, one could think about some nich-es
of government where this approach might work and could have spillover
effects, at best. However, since the governance situation dominates all public
structures, the scope is very limited.
• A challenging country situation might be due to high fiduciary risks in all im-portant
areas. This is a major limitation, since RBA approaches rely on the
use of national systems.

Stephan Klingebiel
• At present, there are few possible entry points for RBA; this applies to some
activities in the area of PFM. Most important are the harmonised and sector-oriented
strategies. A “standalone RBA” approach (e.g. outside the sectoral
discussions) is not recommended. Any concept for RBA should be prepared
closely / jointly with other major development partners in the sector.

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Stephan Klingebiel

Annex 1
RBA: individual concepts and instruments
During the last few years, several forms of results-based aid-instruments have been designed
by development partners and development policy think tanks. This section offers some differ-ent
examples:
- the new World Bank instrument Program-for-Results
- the MDG Contract of the European Commission, which includes a perform-ance
tranche
- the Cash on Delivery aid approach, which was developed by the Center for
Global Development; practical experiences do not exist to date
- efforts by the UK’s Department for International Development to pilot
several RBA activities
- the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) approach, which is based on
a performance-based selection process
The World Bank approach: Program-for-Results financing19
In July 2011, World Bank management proposed a new lending instrument: Program-for¬-Re-sults,
which was approved by the Board of Executive Directors in January 2012. Under Pro-gram-
for-Results, World Bank support will help member countries improve the design and im-plementation
of their own development programmes in infrastructure, education, health, and
other sectors; in local government and community development; and in cross-sectoral areas
such as public sector management and private sector development. While results are at the cen-tre
of all World Bank activities, Program-for-Results will place direct emphasis on development
results by linking disbursements to results or performance indicators that are tangible, trans-parent
and verifiable. Program-for-Results will work directly with the programme’s institutions
and systems and, when appropriate, seek to strengthen those institutions’ governance and their
capacities and systems over time. Finally, Program-for-Results will be an instrument for
strengthening partnerships with government and development partners as well as other stake-holders
by allowing the World Bank to effectively support larger programmes and co-finance
pooled funding arrangements.
Key features of the new instrument are as follows:
(i) Finances and helps strengthen development programmes with clearly defined
results. Programmes to be supported by Program-for-Results can be sectoral
or sub-sectoral programmes, national or subnational, community develop-ment
programmes, and so on. They can also be ongoing or new programmes.
With other development partners, where relevant, the World Bank will assess
the quality of programmes, their supporting systems, their ability to deliver
19 This part is from World Bank (2011a: iii-iv) with some minor adjustments having been made.

Stephan Klingebiel
the desired results, and the scope for system-strengthening measures and oth-er
improvements.
(ii) Disburses upon achievement of results and performance indicators, not in-puts.
Disbursements will finance the defined borrower programmes that are
designed to achieve the programme’s specific results. Disbursements will be
pooled with funds from other sources (including government and develop-ment
partners) and will not be attributable to individual transactions. Dis-bursements
will be determined by reference to progress on monitorable and
verifiable performance indicators, rather than by whether expenditure has
been incurred.
(iii) Focusses on strengthening the institutional governance, capacity and systems
that are essential to ensuring that the programmes achieve their expected re-sults
and can be sustained. A priority area for both preparation and imple-mentation
support will be to strengthen the institutional capacity of the pro
gramme’s own systems, and thereby enhance development impact and sus-tainability.
This will include focussing on transparency, accountability, par-ticipation
and other governance aspects of the programme.
(iv) Provides assurance that World Bank financing is used appropriately and that
the environmental and social impacts of the programme are adequately ad-dressed.
The World Bank will assess the programme’s fiduciary and environ-mental
and social management systems and, as necessary, will agree with the
government on additional measures needed to provide reasonable assurance
that the loan proceeds are used for programme expenditures, that these ex-penditures
are incurred with economy and efficiency, and that the affected
people and the environment are protected.
Development-policy lending will remain the primary Work Bank instrument for supporting
policy actions to achieve a country’s overall development objectives, with rapidly disbursing
general budget support to help address overall development financing needs. Investment lend-ing
will remain the Bank’s main instrument to support projects, with disbursement against spe-cific
expenditures and transactions. Program-for-Results will be the instrument of choice when
the objective is to support the performance of a government programme using the government’s
own systems; when the results require expenditures; and when the risks to achieving the pro-gramme’s
objectives relate to the governance and capacity of the systems to achieve better re-sults,
including with respect to fiduciary, environmental and social issues.
The MDG Contract of the European Commission20
The MDG Contract is a longer-term, more predictable form of general budget support that the
European Commission (EC) launched in a number of countries at the start of EDF (European
Development Fund) 10. It is part of the Commissions’ response to international commitments
to provide more predictable assistance to developing countries.
20 This part is taken from the following source with minor adjustments having been made:
http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/what/millenium-development-goals/contract_mdg_en.htm (2 Sept. 2011).

The MDG Contract has the following key features:
• six-year commitment of funds for the full six years of EDF 10
• base component of at least 70 per cent of the total commitment, which will
be disbursed subject to there being no breach in eligibility conditions for gen-eral
budget support (GBS), or in the essential and fundamental elements of
cooperation
• variable performance component of up to 30 per cent, which would comprise
two elements:
1. MDG-based tranche: at least 15 per cent of the total commitment would be
used specifically to reward performance against MDG-related outcome indi-cators
(results, notably in health, education and water) and PFM reforms fol-lowing
a mid-contract review of progress against those indicators. Perform-ance
would continue to be monitored annually, but any possible financial ad-justment
would be deferred to the second half of the programme.
2. Annual performance tranche: in case of specific and significant concerns
about performance with respect to implementation of the Poverty Reduction
Support Programmes, performance monitoring (notably data availability),
progress with PFM improvements, and macroeconomic stabilisation, up to 15
per cent of the annual allocation could be withheld.
Eligible countries are those with general budget support programmed under EDF 10. They have
a successful track record in implementing budget support; show a commitment to monitoring
and achieving the MDGs as well as to improving domestic accountability for budgetary re-sources;
and have active donor coordination mechanisms to support performance review and
dialogue.
The Commission signed MDG Contracts in seven countries (Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali,
Mozambique, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia) in the first half of 2009 and is about to finalise
its agreement with Tanzania. Collectively, these account for EUR 1.8 billion, or about 50 per
cent of all General Budget Support commitments in EDF 10 national programmes, and some
14 per cent of all EDF 10 national programmes.
Coverage may be expanded to other countries as we learn from experience and as countries’
monitoring frameworks improve. But alternative approaches will still be needed for countries
not yet eligible for budget support. The MDG Contract is thus only one important part of the
solution towards improving aid effectiveness and accelerating progress towards the MDGs.
Cash on Delivery
CoD aid can be seen as a “pure” type of approach to results-based aid. The concept is quite
elaborate and promoted by the Washington-based Center for Global Development (CGD). Ac-cording
to the CGD (Birdsall / Savedoff 2011, 17), the concept is a funding mechanism based
on a contract between donors and recipients to agree on a mutually desired outcome and a fixed
payment for each unit of confirmed progress.

The five key features are as follows (Birdsall / Savedoff 2011, 17–20):
(i) The donor makes payments for outcomes, not inputs. The outcome(s) must
be agreed between the donor and the recipient. It must also be measurable
and continuous, making it possible to reward incremental progress. At no
point does the donor specify or monitor inputs.
(ii) The donor embraces a hands-off approach. A donor may make available, or
help obtain, other resources for technical assistance, ideally in a pooled fund.
But it is up to the recipient to choose whether to contract for technical help
and advice from any party.
(iii) The progress towards the agreed outcome is independently verified by a third
party. Progress is the trigger for payments. So, both donor and recipient must
have confidence in the way progress is measured.
(iv) Transparency is achieved by publicity disseminating the content of the CoD
contract itself, the amount of progress, and the payment for each increment
of progress. The indicator or measure should be as simple as possible.
(v) CoD complements other aid programmes. It could be introduced in addition
to current aid flows without disrupting ongoing programmes.
The government of the partner country has full discretion on the use of the CoD contribution.
Therefore, the donor contribution is not tied to specific activities, reforms or purchases.
From the perspective of CoD protagonists, the approach has a number of significant advan-tages.
First of all, it provides a strong incentive to perform. Secondly, domestic accountability
is encouraged. The recipient government is accountable for the implementation; the perform-ance
of the government is transparent to the citizens. Thirdly, since a “hands-off approach” is
essential, the approach directly supports the institutions and capacities of the partner country.
Finally, CoD can work in most low-income countries, including fragile states. Since CoD pro-vides
a strong incentive – especially in the poorer and more aid-dependent countries – the ben-efits
are likely to be the greatest in this country group.
Just to illustrate how the concept should be applied to a specific situation, the following ex-ample,
normally used by the CGD, might be useful (Birdsall / Savedoff 2011, 45–65).
A CoD contract includes four essential elements:
(i) A shared and clearly defined goal. For example: children complete primary
education of good quality in country X.
(ii) A unit for measuring progress. For example: “assessed completer”: a student
who is enrolled in the last year of primary school and who takes an approved
standardised test.
(iii) Payment per unit of progress. For example: the donor agrees to pay US$ 20
for each student who takes a standardised test in the last year of primary
school up to the total enrolment in the base year and US$ 200 for each as-sessed
completer in excess of that number.
Stephan Klingebiel

(iv) A system for measuring and verifying progress. For example: the recipient
government commits to disseminating its information on student enrolments,
assessed completers and disaggregated test scores. The donor commits to
contracting a third party to verify the accuracy of the recipient’s reports.
DFID’s RBA pilots
The UK Department for International Development (DFID) is in the process of preparing four
different RBA pilots21:
(i) CoD in Ethiopia in education (results: additional girls / students passing
exams)
(ii) RBA in Rwanda in education (results: additional students completing pri-mary
school and passing a secondary (S3) exam)
(iii) RB (results-based) public private partnership (PPP) in health (results: preg-nant
women and children provided with health care)
(iv) RB-PPP in India for climate change (results: number of poor households pro-vided
with clean energy)
Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC)
The MCC forms partnerships with some of the world’s poorest countries, but only those com-mitted
to:
• good governance
• economic freedom
• investments in their citizens
MCC provides these well-performing countries with large-scale grants to fund country-led so-lutions
for reducing poverty through sustainable economic growth. MCC grants complement
other US and international development programmes. There are two primary types of MCC
grants: compacts and threshold programmes.
• Compacts are large, five-year grants for countries that pass MCC’s
eligibility criteria.
• Threshold programmes are smaller grants awarded to countries that come
close to passing these criteria and are firmly committed to improving their
policy performance.
MCC is managed by a chief executive officer, who is part of the nine-member Board of Direc-tors.
The Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the US Trade Representative, and the
USAID Administrator serve on the board along with four private-sector representatives.
21 Status: End of 2011.

Annex 2
Examples of results-based funding schemes
Source: Pearson (2011)
Stephan Klingebiel

Publications of the German Development Institute
Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft
Messner, Dirk / Imme Scholz (eds.): Zukunftsfragen der Entwicklungspolitik, 410 p.,
Nomos, Baden-Baden 2004, ISBN 3-8329-1005-0
Neubert, Susanne / Waltina Scheumann / Annette van Edig, / Walter Huppert (eds.): Inte-griertes
Wasserressourcen-Management (IWRM): Ein Konzept in die Praxis
überführen, 314 p., Nomos, Baden-Baden 2004, ISBN 3-8329-1111-1
Brandt, Hartmut / Uwe Otzen: Armutsorientierte landwirtschaftliche und ländliche Ent-wicklung,
342 p., Nomos, Baden-Baden 2004, ISBN 3-8329-0555-3
Liebig, Klaus: Internationale Regulierung geistiger Eigentumsrechte und Wissenserwerb
in Entwicklungsländern: Eine ökonomische Analyse, 233 p., Nomos, Baden-
Baden 2007, ISBN 978-3-8329-2379-2 (Entwicklungstheorie und Entwicklungs-politik
1)
Schlumberger, Oliver: Autoritarismus in der arabischen Welt: Ursachen, Trends und in-ternationale
Demokratieförderung, 225 p., Nomos, Baden-Baden 2008, ISBN
978-3-8329-3114-8 (Entwicklungstheorie und Entwicklungspolitik 2)
Qualmann, Regine: South Africa’s Reintegration into World and Regional Markets: Trade
Liberalization and Emerging Patterns of Specialization in the Post-Apartheid Era,
206 p., Nomos, Baden-Baden 2008, ISBN 978-3-8329-2995-4 (Entwicklungsthe-orie
und Entwicklungspolitik 3)
Loewe, Markus: Soziale Sicherung, informeller Sektor und das Potenzial von
Kleinstversicherungen, 221 p., Nomos, Baden-Baden 2009, ISBN 978-3-8329-4017-
1 (Entwicklungstheorie und Entwicklungspolitik 4)
Loewe, Markus: Soziale Sicherung in den arabischen Ländern: Determinanten, Defizite und
Strategien für den informellen Sektor, 286 p., Nomos, Baden-Baden 2010, ISBN
978-3-8329-5586-1 (Entwicklungstheorie und Entwicklungspolitik 7)
Faust, Jörg / Susanne Neubert (Hrsg.): Wirksamere Entwicklungspolitik: Befunde, Reformen,
Instrumente, 432 p., Nomos, Baden-Baden 2010, ISBN 978-3-8329-5587-8 (Ent-wicklungstheorie
und Entwicklungspolitik 8)
[Books may be ordered only through publishing house or bookshops.]
Book Series with Routledge
Brandt, Hartmut / Uwe Otzen: Poverty Orientated Agricultural and Rural Development,
342 p., Routledge, London 2007, ISBN 978-0-415-36853-7 (Studies in Develop-ment
and Society 12)
Krause, Matthias: The Political Economy of Water and Sanitation, 282 p., Routledge, Lon-don
2009, ISBN 978-0-415-99489-7 (Studies in Development and Society 20)
[Books may be ordered only through publishing house or bookshops.]
Springer-Verlag
Scheumann, Waltina / Susanne Neubert / Martin Kipping (eds.): Water Politics and De-velopment
Cooperation: Local Power Plays and Global Governance, 416 p., Ber-lin
2008, ISBN 978-3-540-76706-0

Studies
69 Lundsgaarde, Erik et al.: Private Foundations and Development Cooperation:
Insights from Tanzania, 118 p., Bonn 2012, ISBN 978-3-88985-506-0
68 Leiderer, Stefan / Jörg Faust: Evaluation of Budget Support in Zambia: Imple-mentation,
direct effects and political economy, 194 p., Bonn 2012, ISBN 978-3-
88985-505-3
67 Vollmer, Frank: Increasing the Visibility and Effectiveness of Development Co-operation:
How to reconcile two competing objectives?, 86 p., Bonn 2012, ISBN
978-3-88985-504-6
66 Vidican, Georgeta: Building Domestic Capabilities in Renewable Energy: A case
study of Egypt, 163 p., Bonn 2012, ISBN 978-3-88985-503-9
65 Van de Sand, Isabel: Assessing Vulnerability to Climate Variability and Change:
Participatory assessment approach and Kenyan case study, 149 p., Bonn 2012,
ISBN 978-3-88985-502-2
64 Ashoff, Guido et al.: Evaluación del „Fondo de planificación estratégica e
implementación de reformas autofinanciadas en Chile”, 92 p., Bonn 2012, ISBN
978-3-88985-501-5
63 Ashoff, Guido et al.: Evaluierung des deutsch-chilenischen “Fonds zur strategi-schen
Planung und Umsetzung eigenfinanzierter Reformen”, 94 p., Bonn 2012,
ISBN 978-3-88985-500-8
62 Fues, Thomas / LIU Youfa: Global Governance and Building a Harmonious World:
A comparison of European and Chinese concepts for international affairs, 215 p.,
Bonn 2011, ISBN 978-3-88985-499-5
61 Weikert, Jochen: Re-defining ‘Good Business’ in the Face of Asian Drivers of
Global Change: China and the Global Corporate Social Responsibility Discussion,
378 p., Bonn 2011, ISBN 978-3-88985-497-1
[Price: 10,00 Euro; books may be ordered directly from the DIE or through bookshops.]
Discussion Paper
13/2012 Koch, Svea: From Poverty Reduction to Mutual Interests? : The debate on dif-ferentiation
in EU development policy, 42 S., Bonn 2012, ISBN 978-3-88985-
556-5
12/2012 Altenburg, Tilmann / Tobias Engelmeier : Rent Management and Policy Learn-ing
in Green Technology Development, 22 p., Bonn 2012, ISBN 978-3-88985-
555-8
11/2012 Gehrke, Esther: Short-term Effects of the Global Economic and Financial Crisis
on Households in three Developing Countries, 50 p., Bonn 2012, ISBN 978-3-
88985-554-1
10/2012 Breuer, Anita: The Role of Social Media in Mobilizing Political Protest: Evidence
from the Tunisian revolution, 31 p., Bonn 2012, ISBN 978-3-88985-553-4
9/2012 Becker, Bastian / Doris Fischer: Promoting Renewable Electricity Generation
in Emerging Economies, 19 p., Bonn 2012, ISBN 978-3-88985-552-7
8/2012 Hoang, Ha: How to Evaluate Budget Support Conditionality and Policy Dia-logue:
Using the qualitative approach to causality, 51 p., Bonn 2012, ISBN 978-
3-88985-548-0
[Price: 6,00 Euro; books may be ordered directly from the DIE or through bookshops.]
A complete list of publications available from DIE can be found at:
http://www.die-gdi.de

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