At the Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, ministers from over 100 countries, heads of bilateral donor organisations, multilateral development agencies and civil society organisations will review the progress made against the Paris declaration (PD) agreed in March 2005 and commit to further actions for improvements in international aid delivery.

The forum will cover High Level Ministerial Meetings, a "marketplace" to showcase work by countries and nine "Roundtables" for more in depth discussions. The meeting will conclude with a ministerial statement "Accra Agenda for Action" – that will set the target for implementing the Paris Declaration by 2010.

Evidence gathered to inform the Accra HLF indicates that progress against the PD commitments has been slow. Aid recipients continue to express concerns that aid is not being provided in ways that foster ownership of the development process and the influence donors and countries bring can be a major obstacle. For changes to be made, incentives for donor and government agencies need to improve, requiring high level political support on both sides. It is vital that the Accra HLF delivers something concrete to accelerate progress against the PD and answer scepticism from partners and public about aid commitments reaffirmed at the G8 meeting in July this year.

Research carried out by ODI demonstrates that the way in which aid is delivered and received has particular consequences for effectiveness. On-the-ground analysis of particular aspects of the PD confirms that making aid work is complex and finding a solution is extremely challenging. Through our research approach we aim to inform these debates while providing support to aid practitioners.