Reports
Responding to the Changing Environment in Development Cooperation A Case Study: Organizational Reform of the Japan International Cooperation Agency
2000 Volume 9 Issue 2 Pages 127-143
Details
2000 Volume 9 Issue 2 Pages 127-143
Development aid agencies experienced a “paradigm shift” from input-oriented aid to results-oriented aid during the past decade as OECD/DAC introduced the “Development Strategy toward the 21st Century”. In Japan, Official Development Assistance (ODA) has been faced with a widespread call for more effective and efficient implementation and a shift from “volume” to “quality”. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), which implements most of Japan's grant-based ODA, underwent a restructuring in January 2000 that included the establishment of four Regional Departments. This reform aimed to change JICA's organizational structure from an aid scheme/entities approach to a country-regional approach.
This report explains how JICA's scheme/entities-dominant organizational structure had some difficulties in meeting the aid “paradigm shift”, especially new moves such as the World Bank's CDF and PRSP, and how JICA started the country-and issue-specific approaches in order to resolve this problem. The new country-and issue-specific approaches consist of three pillars; fundamental structural reform, the JICA Country Program Working Paper (Policy Framework, Development Objective Matrix and Project Rolling Plan), and Cooperation Guidelines for Development Issues. These new approaches, introduced in 1999-2000, are in line with the Government aid policy launched in “the Medium-Term Policy on ODA” in 1999 and “the Country Assistance Programs” in 2000. They are expected to result in more effective aid for resolving the development issues of recipient countries more directly.
There are still various issues emerging from changes in the international environment that must be tackled by JICA. Well-balanced knowledge and experience having country-specific and issue/sector-specific perspectives should be further accumulated. Organizational strengthening of the Global Issues Division will be necessary to promote expansion of the Global Issues. Consideration of the utilization of IT and a program for digital divide problems will be also one of the focal issues in operational and organizational arrangements. Aid agencies need to continually pursue innovation.
