The purpose of the study is to provide the Third High Level Forum in Acra in September 2008, the DAC and the 2009 High Level Meeting, as well as the wider development community, with a comprehensive assessment of current donor policies and practices regarding the tying status of aid and an assessment of the effects of the untying status on aid effectiveness. Phase I of this study focused on the results of untied aid and asked whether and to what extent the present effort for untying aid had contributed to aid effectiveness. The study also explored the prospects for increasing the share of untied aid, and sought to provide policy recommendations on how to achieve this objective.