The MCAN is widely seen as changing the national mindset about aid. As one respondent described it, the image of the MCAN is of a hand going from taking a hand-out to offering a hand shake. It is perceived as going beyond the "what" of traditional aid programs that offer inputs to the "know how and know who" of increasing incomes. People attribute this to the fact that the MCAN is focused on helping producers find the tools they need to increase their incomes—technical assistance to improve products, linking to markets and stable buyers, securing higher prices, and creating jobs. But the MCAN is admittedly not the only program using this approach. Others are using a value chain approach to link producers to markets as well. Even the MCAN General Director emphasized "It is not the MCAN against the world! We do not own the truth on this." So what makes the MCAN so notable in this field of aid programs?
On one hand, the answer is innovation. Respondents cited these aspects of the MCAN’s approach as innovative in Nicaragua:
- The MCAN works with the "poor with potential." The northwest was once the engine of growth in Nicaragua with good soil, abundant water, connections to major markets, good basic services, and strong civil society participation. But the region has been in decline for decades due to over-exploitation of the land, environmental contamination and changing national ideologies about development. Thus, while pockets of León and Chinandega are quite poor, the region has enormous potential for production that will not only increase incomes of those in the region, but be a driver of nation-wide growth. This concept of working with the "poor with potential" is also evident in Madagascar and Honduras--that is, targeting regions or beneficiaries that are poised and willing to adopt new technologies, connect to markets, and contribute to a transformation of the national or regional economies. This does not mean working with the richest, because in all of these countries the MCA programs reach a mix of incomes; it means a focus on regions and people that exhibit both the need and the potential for transformation.
- The MCAN is comprehensive. While many aid programs focus on linking producers to markets, few combine this with investments in roads, and none combine it with a focus on regularizing land tenure and securing property rights.
- The MCAN’s scale sets it apart. Of other programs working with a value-chain approach to link small producers to markets in León and Chinandega, the MCAN is by far the largest.
- The MCAN is focused. It has limited itself to a manageable and focused geographic area while other donors and programs tend to pursue a national scope in Nicaragua.
- The MCAN sees beneficiaries as business partners. The MCAN works as a co-financier, working with communities, banks, and other sources to fully fund projects. The MCAN also helps groups learn skills for financial management, and, in the words of one non-governmental organization (NGO) representative, is helping communities gain "economic literacy."
On the other hand, some aspects of the MCAN approach simply reflect best practices. This is evidence of the MCC’s increasing interest in learning from past and current approaches in development assistance. For example the MCAN:
- Has explicit strategies for communications, gender equity, and environmental conservation. The MCAN is apparently the only development program in Nicaragua to mainstream a gender approach into its program. On its environmental emphasis, several respondents described the MCAN in terms of "producing to conserve and conserving to produce." The communications strategy goes beyond the standard focus on the media to include lots of personal outreach with stakeholders.
- Emphasizes monitoring and evaluation. The MCAN has built program activities in conjunction with a strong and ongoing outcome-oriented monitoring and evaluation (M&E) plan that has clear benchmarks. With quarterly and annual measurements of indicators, the plan provides a basis for course-correction during the life of the compact.
- Promotes consultation. The MCAN has built on the formal mechanisms for citizen participation in Nicaragua and has implemented recommendations that emerged from the consultative process. For example, the creation of a gender strategy, a focus on protected areas and watershed management, and the target products for rural business development are all recommendations that emerged from the consultative process.
- Is transparent. By way of public meetings, a strong communications strategy and lots of documents available on the website, the MCAN has made a point of making information about its approach and projects available to the public.
There is one area in which a number of respondents argued the MCC is not being innovative or applying best practices--it is not explicitly taking a regional (i.e., Central America) perspective in its programs in Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador. The MCC is currently defined as a bilateral program with no clear structure for supporting multi-country initiatives. But this should not stop it from applying a regional lens to its investments in Central America, particularly due to similarities in the programs and intra-regional market connections. On a micro level, one respondent argued that if the MCC supports environmental management of watersheds in northwestern Nicaragua, it should also look at the upstream treatment of the Honduran rivers that feed these watersheds. And if the MCC works to promote production of agricultural goods in El Salvador, it should be sure to understand if Salvadorans once bought these products from Nicaraguan producers that the MCC is also trying to support. On a larger scale, there is limited focus on ensuring that the MCC investments in these three countries complement each other in terms of capturing opportunities and addressing risks associated with the Central American Free Trade Agreement, other than some complementarily in transportation infrastructure investments. A regional perspective is not appropriate in all cases. For example, in southern Africa, compact countries Namibia, Mozambique and Madagascar are too distant and too different to make sense as an MCA region. But the MCC has a unique opportunity in Central America since Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador are close neighbors and are already working toward greater economic coordination and integration.
Next Section: The Subtext--Broad and Ongoing Consultation