Strengthening the integrated approach to impact assessments in development cooperation

In development cooperation all donor agencies have defined—in addition to their economic and financial policies—general policies on poverty alleviation, social issues such as equity and gender, and environment. However, evaluations by various bilateral donor agencies and the World Bank reveal that project design does not yet sufficiently reflect these thematic policies. This article analyzses the background and causes of this deficiency and argues that an integrated approach to impact assessments would assist in better implementation of all the thematic policies. Additionally, it describes recent developments in thinking—in The Netherlands and the international arena—about integrated approaches for plan and project preparation and appraisal in development cooperation.