Cash on Delivery Aid Update -
March 2010

SEEN AND HEARD

After several months of soliciting and incorporating feedback from individuals around the world (including feedback from some subscribers of these electronic updates!), we released our book Cash on Delivery: A new approach to foreign aid with an application to primary schooling.  Several chapters are electronically available here, and the rest of the book will be available on that page shortly.  The book can also be purchased here.

At the book launch, Nancy, Bill and I were joined by panelists Mauro De Lorenzo; a vice president at the Templeton Foundation; Michael Kremer, a Harvard professor and CGD visiting fellow; and Rakesh Rajani, the founder of Twaweza, a new transparency-focused East African NGO.  Lawrence MacDonald, CGD vice president for communications and policy outreach, moderated the event. 

We had a lively discussion with the panelists and audience, which included some of the people who helped us to develop COD Aid.  Rakesh said that he hoped that the collection and dissemination of outcome data could boost public pressure for progress. Michael suggested that COD Aid, like conditional cash transfers, might be a relatively easy political sell.  Mauro thought otherwise, and he worried that funder impatience would deter many from adopting the approach.  Nevertheless, all three panelists urged that the approach be tried.  Members of the audience suggested new applications, including, as Bill and Katherine explain in their blog post, maternal health.  (You can read this blog post, listen to the audio or watch a short video for a more complete account of the event).

Following the water brainstorm session we hosted in our office last month, Bob Kaplan, the Chief Advisor to the Executive Vice President at the Inter-American Development Bank, drafted a concept note on the application of COD Aid to water.  In the note, which can be accessed here, Bob summarizes some of the issues we discussed in the meeting, and builds on our discussion by suggesting possible indicators and payment amounts.  We will share this note with funders and government officials that have expressed interest in this application, and will keep you updated on progress (and we welcome your suggestions on individuals and organizations that you think would be interested in the application).

ON THE HORIZON

Next month, Bill and I will visit Liberia to meet with government officials, funders and civil society representatives to conduct the third of our country feasibility studies (our Malawi and Ethiopia studies can be found here and here). 

Also next month, I will be sharing the approach at the US Department of Labor and at the All Children Reading by 2015: from Assessment to Action conference in DC.

As always, to learn more about COD Aid please visit the COD Aid page of our website.  We appreciate your continued feedback and welcome additional comments, ideas, and questions in the form of emails to me.

Best wishes,

Ayah Mahgoub
Program Coordinator to the President
Center for Global Development

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