New Zealand Aid Tools What’s in a SWAp? 

SWAps | Sector Wide Approaches

What’s in a SWAp?

What are the components of a SWAp?

While every SWAp is different, there are a number of identifiable “components” that tend to be common to all SWAps. Remember though that a SWAp is a complex process: these “components” may not come together at the same time, and the partner government may require time and support in developing them. In a sector-wide approach the process of supporting partner country planning and practice represents a step towards country-led development.

A key issue to be considered is the role of government in a particular sector. To date, sector-wide approaches have developed in sectors where the partner government plays the predominant role in setting policy directions and is the major provider of funding.

This is typical in education and health, for example. In sectors where the government does not play this role, it has relatively less ability to influence practice directly, at least in the shorter term. Such an example is agriculture, particularly in countries with large numbers of subsistence or small-holder farmers.

The following are some of the key components. With these components in place - or a clear plan of action to establish them - development partners can progressively provide programmatic support, and increase their reliance on partner country systems and timetables:

  • Multi-year sector strategy. See Solomon Islands Education Strategic Plan 2004 - 2006.
  • Independent assessment of public financial management standards, for fiduciary purposes
  • Medium-term expenditure framework, linked to the sector strategy
  • Performance monitoring, with agreed indicators for measuring achievement of results
  • Broad consultation mechanisms that involve all key stakeholders
  • A process for moving increasingly towards the use of partner government systems for reporting, budgeting, financial management and procurement Partner government-led process for development partner coordination, at sector level
  • Memorandum of Arrangement or Understanding (or equivalent) between government and development partners. See

Underlying Factors

In order for a development partner to support the move to programmatic support and sector-level engagement, there generally need to be some “underlying factors” which include:

  • “Champions” within the partner government, ideally at higher levels of authority
  • Strong and effective leadership at sector ministry level
  • Commitment to the SWAp elsewhere in government (particularly in the Ministry of Finance and in Cabinet)
  • Broad areas of agreement on policy and strategic priority between government and the development partners.

Know where you are: Do a stock-take

Keep in mind that there is no simple step-by-step process that can be applied to all situations. Indeed, it is possible for many of the “components” and “underlying factors” to be already in place, well before anyone names this environment a SWAp.

Since a SWAp is an organic process, it is important to do a careful stock-take of which policy and planning achievements may already exist. This avoids re-inventing the wheel, and provides an opportunity to celebrate successes to date. The stock-take also allows you to focus on the areas of greatest priority.

Steps for developing a sector-wide approach

There are a number of steps to consider in developing the settings for a sector-wide approach. These are summarised below.

  • Partner government and participating development partners develop and agree on the concept of the SWAp for the particular context. See Samoa Partner Harmonization Framework

    • Ensure common understanding by all partners of what a SWAp means in this context
    • Identify leaders or ‘champions’ from the partner government
    • Carry out extensive stakeholder consultation
    • Explore and agree co-ordination mechanisms. See Timor Leste Framework for Education For All Partner Coordination

  • Agree Sector Policy framework, identify main strategies and allocate resources

    • Develop and agree content and focus of programme over the medium- to long-term. See Tonga Education Support Program
    • Establish level of funding required from partner government and development partners
    • Develop Medium-term Expenditure Framework

  • Review management and institutional implications

    • Agree roles and responsibilities of different levels of government
    • Explore and agree roles of other stakeholders (e.g. CSOs & NGOs)

  • Agree procedures for approving expenditure, disbursement and procurement

    • Review partner government’s systems. See Assessment of Financial Management Arrangements in World Bank-Financed Projects and Fiduciary Approaches to Sector Wide Approaches
    • Support a strengthening of existing systems, where necessary
    • Agree modified procedures

  • Agree monitoring and reporting arrangements. See

    • Review partner government’s current systems
    • Support a strengthening of existing systems, where necessary
    • Agree on key results focussed indicators
    • Collect baseline data, to establish a benchmark from which to review progress

  • Agree funding mechanisms. See example

    • Agree on how the various development partner funds will be managed
    • Agree on conditions and criteria for management of funds
    • Agree mechanisms/triggers for release of funds

  • Draw up Memorandum of Arrangement (MoA), or equivalent. See Consolidated Funding Agreement Samoa Education Sector

    • Agree principles on which to base MoA
    • Build in flexibility for modifying in light of lessons learned

  • Develop annual work-plan and Funding Schedule. See Timor Leste Strategic Plan for Universal Primary Completion by 2015

    • Include planning, implementation and review milestones
    • Establish regularity of and schedule for ‘sector consultative forum’
    • Identify sources and levels of funding (partner government and development partners). See Consolidated Funding Agreement Samoa Education Sector

  • Agree on capacity building strategy. See Section 7 of Samoa Education Sector

    • Assess existing capability
    • Identify gaps
    • Agree capacity building programme

  • Actively manage the partnership

    • Communicate to staff and public on changes that will come from introduction of SWAp
    • Phase out development partner driven projects, outside the SWAp
    • Collect sectoral data on an ongoing basis and compare against baseline data, to assess sector progress

Capacity building and institutional strengthening: The role of Technical Assistance in a SWAp

One of the principal objectives of a SWAp is to enable partner governments to develop the capability to manage their own development activities. As such, it is useful to consider carefully the capacity building and institutional strengthening needs of the partner government, and plan the necessary support to smooth the transition to partner government leadership, and the use of partner country systems.

Ideally, this should result in the development of a coherent government-led capacity building strategy. In the initial stages of a SWAp, the capacity building needs may be significant, requiring a considerable amount of technical assistance (TA). As such, it is important that capacity building activities are planned in a coordinated and systematic way. If too much is done too quickly, the system may be swamped with TA, or the capacity building imperative may inadvertently cripple the government”s ability to function (e.g. by providing a large amount of out-of-country training or scholarships).

Particular care must be taken in Pacific Island countries, where sector ministries may consist of a small number of personnel. With too many well-meaning TA, the partner government may easily be overwhelmed, and lose the sense of sectoral ownership.

Good Practices for Capacity Building and the Use of TA

  • Make capacity building an explicit focus of the SWAp
  • Ensure capacity building is linked to national strategies and priorities
  • Balance the need to fill critical staffing gaps (e.g. with international TA) against the longer term effort of building country-level human resource capacity
  • Be clear about the objectives of the TA (e.g. short-term filling of gaps or peer support?)
  • Sequence carefully: determine the capacity building and institutional strengthening that needs to happen first, and develop a cascade of the TA support that will follow, with clear linkages to the Sector Plan
  • Encourage the use of nationally and regionally available expertise whenever appropriate
  • Ensure development partners collaborate in providing TA

Connection between SWAps and the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness

One of the reasons for the increased interest by many development agencies in SWAps and programme-based approaches is that they provide a practical mechanism for implementing the partnership commitments outlined in the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, in which New Zealand is a participating country. For further details on the Paris Declaration and its Partnership Principles, please see the NZAID Aid Effectiveness Guideline.