Sector-Wide Approach is an approach to international development

International development

International development or global development is a concept that lacks a universally accepted definition, but it is most used in a holistic and multi-disciplinary context of human development — the development of greater quality of life for humans...

 that "brings together government

Government

Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...

s, donor

Donation

A donation is a gift given by physical or legal persons, typically for charitable purposes and/or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including cash, services, new or used goods including clothing, toys, food, and vehicles...

s and other stakeholders within any sector. It is characterized by a set of operating principles rather than a specific package of policies or activities. The approach involves movement over time under government leadership towards: broadening policy dialogue; developing a single sector policy (that addresses private and public sector issues) and a common realistic expenditure program; common monitoring arrangements; and more coordinated procedures for funding and procurement." (World Health Organization, World Health Report 2000).

SWAp's are represented in the basic principles of programme-based approaches (PBAs), which must form 66% of aid from signatories to the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. While research in sectors, such as in agriculture, demonstrate improvements in process and dialogue there is a debate over whether these results are substantial enough to justify the investment. This concern has created a fatigue amongst certain policymakers. SWAp principles are also threatened by shifts in the source of international aid, with the growing importance of Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 and NGOs such as the Gates Foundation.

Criticisms

The problem of implementing the sector wide approaches (SWAPs) is the top down policy, which is the most common cause of the aid ineffectiveness (aiding democracy abroad - Thomas Carothers

Thomas Carothers

Thomas Carothers is one of the most noted international experts on international democracy support, democratization, and U.S. foreign policy. He serves as vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he founded and currently directs the Democracy and Rule of...

)

SWAps in Agriculture

Specifically in agriculture SWAp has produced very limited increases in aid effectiveness. Problems include:

1. narrow ownership;
2. a failure to coordinate all relevant sector players;
3. excessive emphasis on systems, processes and institutional capacity-building initiatives has made service delivery a secondary concern while turning SWAps into expensive experiments.

These problems are argued by researchers at the Overseas Development Institute

Overseas Development Institute

The Overseas Development Institute is one of the leading independent think tanks on international development and humanitarian issues. Based in London, its mission is "to inspire and inform policy and practice which lead to the reduction of poverty, the alleviation of suffering and the achievement...

to be caused by a variety of political, institutional and operational factors.

• Political factors: SWAps sought to address aid management concerns (e.g. aid fragmentation and donor harmonisation), but this has created a donor-centred processes which often fails to involve the recipients. Furthermore, even if all parties are involved, ideological differences of policy priorities complicate the ability to create a combined approach based on consensus.
• Institutional factors: typically SWAps in the agricultural sector are managed by Ministries of Agriculture. However, in most countries, the ministries fail to mobilise other actors relevant to the agricultural sector and hence to a sector-wide approach. There is also a tendency for ministries of agriculture to adopt an interventionist approach to policy and resist influence from outside the ministry.
• Operational factors: processes and systems are implemented without reference to 'local realities'. This leads to a focus on systems development and institutional capacity-building and less on the actual services delivered.