Unintended Effects of International Cooperation

Duration: 1 January 2018 until 1 January 2028
Project member(s): Dr Z.A. Rana (Zunera)
Project type: Research
Organisation: Radboud Social Cultural Research, Cultural Anthropology and Development Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences

The OECD stipulates in its evaluation guidelines that the evaluation of development programs should focus on unintended effects. However, research suggests that this is not systematically taking place; a meta-evaluation of USAID evaluations showed that only 15% pay attention to this. A better understanding of positive unintended effects can contribute to making better use of positive multiplier effects. Similarly, more profound insights into adverse unintended effects can lead to better anticipation and the development of accompanying preventative and mitigating measures. Using this research, we aim to put the study of 'unintended effects' of international cooperation on the agenda of policymakers, evaluators and scientists and advance it.

Results

The project consists of the following elements:

Donor-commissioned research (e.g. GIZ and ENABEL) on the unintended effects of their operations.
A special issue of the journal Evaluation and Program Planning
A working paper series
An OpenAccess book published by Routledge: ‘Foreign Aid and Its Unintended Consequences’.

This research project is in its execution phase, and we hope to be able to work with you and offer you more research and activities moving forward. Please share with us any ideas you might have on this topic through dirkjan.koch [at] ru.nl (dirkjan[dot]koch[at]ru[dot]nl)

1. Donor Commissioned Research

Various donor agencies have commissioned research for this project, such as the Belgian development agency ENABEL and the German Development Agency GIZ. The Dutch government was the first to come on board, and an assessment of the unintended effects as captured in their evaluations can be found via https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/21/11571

2. A special issue of the journal Evaluation and Program Planning

The special issue of the journal Evaluation and Program Planning is now available online. All articles are available online, such as an article by Geske Dijkstra, in which she argues that the unintended effects of aid are sometimes exaggerated: she shows that aid didn't have the pernicious effects of the quality of governance, as many have claimed. Significant articles, such as those by Jonathan Morell, Melle Leenstra, and Niels Keijzer, are also available. An important read could be the one of Sumera Jabeen, where she proposes a new method to map unintended effects. Also, the contribution by Adrienne Lemon and Melanie Pinet is relevant as they show how, within their organization, the attention to unintended effects in evaluations was doubled in just a couple of years.

3. A working paper series

We have launched a working paper series, based on the submissions to the conference and additional research. Please find the peer-reviewed working papers below. The topics are quite diverse and range from the side effects of migration management and climate change mitigation programs to research into the difficulties of researching unintended effects (for instance, tax avoidance). Feel free to submit your suggestion for a working paper to dirkjan.koch [at] ru.nl (dirkjan[dot]koch[at]ru[dot]nl)

Boersma, Meindert, Louise Kroon, Dion McDougal, Gijs Verhoeff & Yue Wang. How Does the European Union Trust Fund for Africa Manage Potential Unintended Effects of Its Programmes?
Dierikx, Marc. Like a Fish Out of Water: Experimenting Fishery in Lake Victoria, 1964-1974.
Dijkstra, Geske. Aid and Good Governance: Aggregate Unintended Effects of Aid.
Espinosa, Alejandra. Exploring the Unintended Effects of ICC Intervention on the Domestic Politics of the DRC, Sudan, and Kenya.
Gunn, Anna, Dirk-Jan Koch & Francis Weyzig. A Methodology to Appraise the Quality of Case Studies in Corporate Tax Avoidance.
Hilhorst, Dorothea & Nynke Douma. Beyond the Hype? Legal Responses to Sexual Violence in DRC in 2011 and 2014. file (pdf, 267 kB)
Hoebink, Paul. Unintended Effects of Development Cooperation: Some Historical Notes.
Kamanzi, Adalbertus. Are Unintended Effects of International Development Cooperation sustainable? Evidence from a Dutch District Rural Development Program in Tanzania.
Keijzer, Niels & Erik Lundsgaarde. When Unintended Effects Become Intended: Implications of ‘Mutual Benefit’ Discourses for Development Studies and Evaluation Practice.
Koch, Dirk-Jan. Do Transactions to Tax Havens and Corruption Attract Officially Supported Export Credit? Evidence from Three European Export Credit Agencies.
Koch, Dirk-Jan & Lau Schulpen. A Literature Review.
Koch, Dirk-Jan & Lau Schulpen. Unintended Poverty Effects of Aid on National Staff of Aid Agencies.
Koch, Dirk-Jan & Marloes Verholt. Limits to Learning: The Struggle to Adapt to Unintended Effects of International Payment for Environmental Services Programmes.
Leenstra, Melle. Serendipity and the Human Factor: The Unintended, Unplannable and Unforeseeable Consequences of Development Cooperation.
Lemon, Adrienne & Mélanie Pinet. Measuring Unintended Effects in Peacebuilding: Innovative Approaches Shaped by Complex Contexts.
Morell, Jonathan A. From Firefighting to Systematic Action: Toward A Research Agenda for Better Evaluation of Unintended Consequences.
Santpoort, R., R. Bosch, G. Betsema & E. Zoomers. The Developmental Impact of Private Sector Investments in East-Africa: A Bottom Up Assessment of Intended and Unintended Effects