Sector wide approaches (SWAps)

Definition

A Sector Wide Approach (SWAp) is a process where donors give significant funding to a government’s comprehensive sector policy and expenditure programme (for example on health or education), consistent with a sound macro-economic framework. SWAps typically have a joint review mechanism and performance monitoring system relying on the government's own performance assessment framework.
Donor support for a SWAp can take any form - budget support, projects, technical cooperation, policy dialogue. DFID believes that donors should commit to progressive reliance on government procedures to disburse and account for funds (helping governments to strengthen its disbursement and accounting procedures as necessary).
A 'sector programme' is a specific, time bound and costed set of actions and activities in support of a sector strategy.

SWAps offer potential advantages over stand-alone projects, including: greater government ownership and leadership; greater alignment of donor activities with government sector policies and budgets, and greater opportunities to link sector support to national policies and poverty reduction plans; greater focus on sector-wide issues affecting performance; enhanced transparency and predictability of aid flows; enhanced donor harmonisation and reduced transaction costs; and greater opportunities for civil society engagement in sector policy and planning.
The recent DFID Africa Policy Department Review of Health and Education in Selected African Countries(377 kb) says that SWAps have been generally positive: they have improved harmonisation, policy dialogue (for example Malawi Education), alignment with national systems and processes (for example Ghana Health), and predictability (for example Zambia Health).

In March 2005, DFID had 80 approved SWAp projects and programmes. This includes budget support, projects and technical cooperation.
SWAps have been used mostly, but not only, in Africa, and in the education and health sectors (other sectors include agriculture, infrastructure, public financial management, and legal / judicial reform).

DFID is committed to harmonising its aid with other donors, aligning its aid with partner country poverty reduction priorities, and to putting more of its aid through government systems where conditions are right. SWAps are a good way of doing this, particularly when embedded in a national poverty reduction strategy. Budget support is DFID's preferred means for transferring financial aid within a SWAP, combined with policy dialogue and technical cooperation, where appropriate.

There is broad international endorsement for SWAps, although donors differ on which instruments they prefer to use within a SWAp (for example the US and Japan prefer project aid over budget support).
A 2004 Oxfam survey of donor practices in 11 developing countries found that in 52% of cases, donor procedures mean that government officials spend 'too much' or 'excessive' amounts of time reporting to donors. In Tanzania in 2002-03, the government received 275 donor missions (123 from the World Bank). A sector plan and pooled fund for primary education has reduced this burden and increased transparency

SWAPs are not always the best instrument to support poverty reduction in partner countries. They are most likely to succeed where the public sector plays a substantial role in the process, a clear sector strategy is agreed by the key stakeholders, the donors' contribution is significant, institutional relationships are manageable, and sector policy is consistent with a sound medium term expenditure framework.
The principles and effectiveness of SWAps can be compromised by donor aid being fragmented (for example multiple projects) and donor-driven. They may also encourage sector ministries to focus on accountability to donors, instead of to their own Parliament or Ministry of Finance.
A SWAp may not be able to tackle public financial management and civil service reforms, which may be essential for real improvement in the sector concerned.
If there is a breakdown in trust or communication during a SWAp, sector performance - for example in health or education - could suffer

Last updated: 6 February 2006