In the Midst of the Financial Crisis, an Opportunity for Innovative Financing for Development - Cash on Delivery Aid

This is a joint posting with Ayah MahgoubThis week, from November 29th through December 2nd, heads of government and multi-lateral institutions as well as representatives from business, and civil society will convene to evaluate the progress that has been made since world leaders met in Monterrey in 2002 to develop a plan to confront the challenges of international financing for development. Almost seven years later, some progress has been made towards fulfilling the commitments made there, but much is left to be done. In Monterrey, leaders made commitments to mobilize domestic and international resources, increase financial and technical cooperation, improve international trade, and address issues surrounding external debt and systemic challenges to financing international development.Many of the participants to this week's United Nations Follow-up International Conference on Financing for Development to Review the Implementation of the Monterrey Consensus in Doha will be the same, and the topics largely the same, but the challenges and constraints will be greater this year as a result of the global financial crisis. There is widespread concern that international aid flows will diminish substantially in the near future -- this could have a devastating effect on aid recipients at a time when more aid will be needed to deal with the impact of the crisis.We at the Center for Global Development believe this crisis presents an opportunity for better as well as more aid. We propose Cash on Delivery Aid, an approach to aid that will allow recipient governments the flexibility and autonomy necessary to ensure lasting results.At the conference, we will host a side event with the support of the President of Tanzania, the Hewlett Foundation, the African Center for Economic Transformation, the Education for All -- Fast Track Initiative, and the UK Department for International Development for interested representatives from governments, foundations, corporations, and civil society to discuss Cash on Delivery Aid. We look forward to an open discussion on the practical aspects of operationalizing this new approach to aid.At a time when resources are scarce, the Cash on Delivery approach to aid will inspire confidence in donors that their aid can achieve concrete results. We hope they will seize this opportunity.