Itad has completed the evaluation of budget support in Tanzania and the final report has been released. Between 2005/06 and 2011/12, 14 Development Partners collectively provided almost US$5 billion in budget support to Tanzania.
The overarching objective of this support was to assist the Government of Tanzania in strengthening its policies, strategies, and spending actions to achieve its objectives of economic growth and poverty reduction.
An evaluation team conducted the analysis over a twelve month period from February 2012. The team applied the OECD-DAC methodology for the evaluation of budget support, using a combination of methods, including document review, compilation of an aid database and qualitative and econometric analysis of the available data.
The evaluation found that Budget Support has had an important influence on growth, on improved outcomes in the education sector and on improvements in non-income poverty. Budget Support funds have allowed the Government to maintain a high level of development spending throughout the period, without increasing domestic borrowing, contributing to a sustained level of public investment and a fast recovery from the global financial crisis.
One of the key findings of our evaluation was that the primary contribution of budget support has been in the form of increased funding. However, the complementary inputs of budget support, which might have helped to generate a greater impact, have not functioned effectively. The evaluation made a number of practical recommendations for how to improve the effectiveness of future budget support in Tanzania.
You can read the report here.
