Polish aid

The MDCP is a government document covering the entire Polish Official Development Assistance (ODA); it is a continuation of the 2012-2015 Multiannual Development Cooperation Programme. The document specifies the aims, thematic and geographical areas of Polish development cooperation and identifies the key principles and forms of providing assistance through bilateral and multilateral instruments. On its basis, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs drafts annual development cooperation programmes.

The MFA has done a mid-term evaluation of the MDCP. The evaluation covered the aims and priorities that have been adopted, implemented, are in the process of implementation or await implementation under the programme.

The presented conclusions follow from an analysis of Polish Aid strategic and operational documents, interviews with representatives of institutions engaged in the implementation of Polish development cooperation, positions developed during workshops, as well as comparative analyses of multiyear programming applied in other countries.

The thematic priorities identified in the 2016-2020 Multiannual Development Cooperation Programme follow from the overriding goals identified in the Development Cooperation Act of 16 September 2011. The document covers development assistance, humanitarian aid and global education. The programmes, initiatives and actions adopted for implementation correspond to specific priorities.

Evaluation results

The MDCP is both an operational and a strategic document. Its structure and scope need to be improved so that it follows assumptions of a strategic document. The programme in its assumptions covers the entire ODA, but in practice it focuses on the financial part of a targeted reserve. It does not sufficiently show the aims and outcomes to be accomplished through development assistance. It does not make clear references to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Polish development assistance is recognisable more at the local level than at the level of countries that receive assistance. The instruments and forms of assistance identified in the MDCP need to be better adjusted to modern-day operation of international organisations engaged in development cooperation.

Polish entrepreneurs show little involvement in PDA; they do not see the potential benefits to be gained from implementing projects and have no knowledge about the possibilities of their implementation. Past activities related to Polish Aid do not include those that would create conditions for decent work on a larger scale and thus impact the economic development of recipient countries.

Key recommendations presented by evaluators

• Polish development cooperation should clearly identify the outcomes to be achieved through development cooperation, based on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) defined by the United Nations. The choice of goals should correspond to those areas where Poland has an advantage over other donor countries. Next, countries where these advantages could best be used and the type of assistance to be offered should be identified. The relatively small amount that Poland allocates to development assistance is an argument in favour of concentrating resources in a limited number of countries. Linking them to the SDGs can mean that the next strategic document will cover the years 2021-2030.
• In the context of the dynamically changing global environment and Polish foreign policy challenges, it is necessary to apply appropriate development instruments to the next multiannual document. Both international institutions and highly developed countries are moving away from some previously used forms of assistance. It is also recommended to resort to new and more effective financial instruments in Polish Aid such as blending or loan guarantees and specifically to gradually replace tied loans with those instruments. It would also be worthwhile to engage in activities carried out as part of the External Investments Plan (EIP), financed out of the European Fund for Sustainable Development.
• It seems necessary to improve the document’s information functionality – specifically through a more precise identification of the expected outcomes of development initiatives and to present them in an understandable language. It is recommended also to strengthen the promotion of development cooperation both in Poland and abroad. It would be worthwhile to continue carrying out promotion activities together with media outlets. When drafting the message, more attention should be given to stressing the source of financing (Polish Aid). In the communication process, opinion-makers (journalists, scholars) should become more involved in the process. Global education initiatives should also be an important way of communicating information about Polish development cooperation and its outcomes. While so doing, attention should be paid to properly tailoring messages and communication channels to target groups.