The 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness commits development partners to specific actions aimed at enhancing citizens’ voice and accountability as part of an overall commitment to supporting country-led approaches. The 2006 White Paper reflects this concern to strengthen the ‘demand side’ of domestic accountability. Adrian Wells and the RAPID team have been working with the DFID Effective States team to take stock of how donors have worked to promote citizen voice and accountability. The initiative began with a roundtable at DFID in June 2006, bringing together private foundations and a range of DFID country programmes (see http://www.odi.org.uk/RAPID/Events/DFID_CS/index.html). The discussion generated significant traction amongst the governance advisers and ODI was invited to prepare a background paper and lead a discussion on this topic at the DFID Governance Retreat on 14 November 2006, in Eastbourne.

The briefing paper describes a range of instruments that have been applied in different contexts, and examines the implications of the new aid architecture for future civil society support strategies.

Following the Retreat, Adrian Wells will also work with the DFID Effective States team to prepare a proposal for follow-up work.