This report, written by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and commissioned by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), provides an overview of recipient governments’ perspectives on the key characteristics of an effective multilateral donor. In recent years there has been an increased recognition of the importance of donor effectiveness for development results – including in the 2005 Paris Declaration (PD) on Aid Effectiveness (AE) and the 2008 Accra Agenda for Action (AAA). However, while both provided opportunities for recipient stakeholders to express their views, there remains a shortage of studies and forums specifically focused on the perspectives of recipients. This report seeks to reduce this gap.