Technical Co-operation: how does it benefit the poor?
Instead of sending money directly to
developing countries,
technical co-operation is aid in the form of provision of expert advice, specialist personnel,
or training and research grants.
Its purpose is to build up knowledge and technical skills in developing countries for the longer-term, so that it makes a real contribution to reducing poverty in their countries, and helps them to stand on their own feet.
Read on for more about what TC achieves
There has been a lively history of criticism of technical co-operation - also known as technical assistance - since the 1970s. Criticism has focused on, for example, high costs, tied aid and the lack of country ownership, sustainable outcomes and transparency.
We believe it is clear that donors need to improve their practice in this area. Too much technical cooperation has been uncoordinated, focused on filling short-term gaps, and not linked to what the recipient country want to focus on.
Given such criticism, why do we spend 17% of our budget (2003/4 figure) - nearly £700 million - on TC? It's because we believe that despite the problems, TC can work. Education, trade, health, security and corruption are just some of the areas where it has made a real difference.
The old development movement proverb puts it like this: "Give a man a fish, and he'll eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he'll eat forever".
DFID is committed to making TC better and more transparent. 
DFID
untied all aid in 2001 (BBC, Dec 2000), signed up to the Good Practice
principles for Capacity Development as part of the Paris
Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (2005).
