In the current financial crisis donor budgets are coming under pressure. Poor countries see their trade, investment, and remittance flows declining and face rising social and political unrest. Africa’s growth has been cut by half. In this environment, each aid dollar will need to go further – aid effectiveness will be critical.

Combined, the United States and the United Kingdom account for nearly one-third of aid flows worldwide, yet they each have unique aid systems and structures. An aid agency mediates between interest groups in the donor country and in the recipient country. Legislatures are key stakeholders in this process with important implications for aid delivery and effectiveness.

At this event, we launched a new report by the Overseas Development Institute and the German Marshall Fund of the United States on aid effectiveness and accountability. The report titled ‘The Impact of US and UK Legislatures on Aid Delivery’ will present the findings of a recent study examining how domestic accountability structures impact both positively and negatively on the way in which bilateral aid agencies such as DFID and USAID deliver development assistance.