2. A brief introduction
to the PDG

3. www.oecd.org/pdg
• The PDG works with fragile states to improve public service delivery
(e.g. basic education, healthcare, water and sanitation) and core
government functions (e.g. managing public finances and human
resources), with the ultimate goal of consolidating fragile democracies to
ensure a sustainable path of development.
What is the PDG?

4. www.oecd.org/pdg
• developing knowledge and practical tools to more effectively
support the service delivery efforts of countries in fragile
situations;
• identifying good practices drawn from direct interventions at
country level and providing innovative advisory services
based on knowledge development work and practice; and,
• building relationships with all international partners pivotal to
making service delivery successful (e.g. national governments,
NGOs, civil society, donors and the private sector).
It does this by …

5. www.oecd.org/pdg
• The PDG builds upon and supports ongoing work at the OECD and
elsewhere on fragile states, aid effectiveness, service delivery and
state building.
• In order to assist in carrying out these functions, an Advisory Unit was
established within the OECD. The Unit is composed of a dynamic team of
experts with diverse backgrounds and specialities.
• Our location within the OECD allows us to capitalise on access to expert
knowledge on issues including anti-corruption, development,
governance, public procurement and taxation.
What is the PDG?

6. www.oecd.org/pdg
• Membership: 10 countries and 5 international organisations:
Australia AfDB
Canada IDB
Chile OAS
Denmark OECD
Japan UNDP
Korea
Mexico
Poland
Turkey
United States
• Observers:
Brazil New Zealand
Italy United Kingdom
What is the PDG?

7. www.oecd.org/pdg
• Developing knowledge products and practical tools to share good
practices are essential to ensure the effectiveness of implementation, to
evaluate results, to encourage the drive toward reform, and to identify future
weaknesses and challenges.
• The Partnership for Democratic Governance Series
was established through OECD Publishing in 2009 in
order to increase the visibility of the work of the
Partnership and to bridge the gap between theory
and practice.
PDG Knowledge & Practical Tools

8. www.oecd.org/pdg
Contracting Out Government Functions and Services
in Post-Conflict and Fragile Situations (2010)
The contracting out of government functions and services to external
providers is an established practice in many developed and developing
countries. On the one hand, it can offer pivotal alternatives to states that
must urgently deliver services; on the other, it risks bypassing
governments and undermining their long-term recovery.
This handbook does not take a view for or against contracting out;
nor is it a technical manual. The handbook has been developed
for field practitioners and government policy makers in countries
that are either emerging from conflict or are otherwise considered
to be fragile. Its aim is to help them make more informed choices
about the types of contracting that are best suited to their country.
PDG Handbooks

9. www.oecd.org/pdg
PDG Handbooks
Documentary on Contracting Out in Fragile States (2010)
In order to support the messages of the OECD-PDG Handbook on
Contracting Out Government Functions and Services in Post-Conflict
and Fragile Situations, the PDG Advisory Unit has developed a short
documentary film (20 minutes).
The documentary — which was identified by
members of the PDG Experts Group as one
way to make the OECD-PDG handbook more
user-friendly — is based on case studies from
Haiti (provision of education services by non-
state providers) and Liberia (government-led
contracting out programme in the health sector).
Preview available online at
www.oecd.org/pdg

10. www.oecd.org/pdg
Partnership for Democratic Governance Series
Bridging State Capacity Gaps in Situations in Fragility:
Lessons learned from Afghanistan, Haiti,
Southern Sudan and Timor-Leste (2009)
Contracting Out Government Functions and Services:
Emerging Lessons from Post-Conflict and Fragile Situations
(2009)
The Recruitment and Deployment of Civilian Capacity
in Early Recovery: Lessons from the Democratic Republic of
the Congo, Haiti and Timor-Leste (2010)

11. www.oecd.org/pdg
Bridging State Capacity Gaps in Situations in Fragility:
Lessons learned from Afghanistan, Haiti,
Southern Sudan and Timor-Leste (2009)
Partnership for Democratic Governance Series
Contracting Out Government Functions and Services:
Emerging Lessons from Post-Conflict and Fragile Situations
The Recruitment and Deployment of Civilian Capacity
in Early Recovery: Lessons from the Democratic Republic of
the Congo, Haiti and Timor-Leste
As a follow-up to a joint PDG-AfDB conference held in Tunis in
June 2009, the second volume in the PDG Series was published
in October 2009. This volume investigates whether “contracting
out” core government functions and services has been
conducive to capacity development. Each case study discusses
the evidence and emerging lessons of contracting out in post-
conflict and fragile situations. The volume also includes a special
contribution from Prof. Paul Collier.
Cited by the American Library Association as a
Notable Government Document for 2009.

12. www.oecd.org/pdg
Partnership for Democratic Governance Series
Bridging State Capacity Gaps in Situations in Fragility:
Lessons learned from Afghanistan, Haiti,
Southern Sudan and Timor-Leste (2009)
Contracting Out Government Functions and Services:
Emerging Lessons from Post-Conflict and Fragile Situations
(2009)
The Recruitment and Deployment of Civilian Capacity
in Early Recovery: Lessons from the Democratic Republic of
the Congo, Haiti and Timor-Leste (2010)

13. www.oecd.org/pdg
The Contribution of Diaspora Return
to Post-Conflict and Fragile Countries:
Key Lessons and Recommendations (2010)
Partnership for Democratic Governance Series

14. www.oecd.org/pdg
Lessons on Contracting Out Government Functions and Services (2009)
PDG Policy Notes
Supporting Haiti’s Reconstruction and Development:
A New Paradigm for Delivering Social Services (2010)
Strengthening Government Capacity through Diaspora
Return in Post-Conflict and Fragile Countries (2010)

15. www.oecd.org/pdg
Providing Innovative Advice
• Since 2008, a number of countries, lacking certain capacities, have
approached the Advisory Unit to obtain support to strengthen their
capacities in government service provision and core functions.

16. www.oecd.org/pdg
Providing Innovative Advice
Georgia
Enhancing Capacities for Donor Co-ordination and Public Financial Management
Grenada
Public Procurement Reform
Guatemala
Reinforcing Municipal Governance
Haiti
Improving Delivery and Co-ordination of Basic Social Services
Liberia
Supporting the Training Capacities and Co-ordination Mechanisms
of the Liberia National Police

17. www.oecd.org/pdg
Providing Innovative Advice
• Our strength lies in our neutrality and ability to
establish a close advisory relationship with the host
government.
• Donors and partner countries alike benefit from
our role as ‘translators’ of expertise: In order to
translate, one must be able to speak both
languages (i.e. to understand the viewpoints of
both donors and partner countries)

18. www.oecd.org/pdg
Building Relationships
• We believe in building coalitions for policies, projects
and activities that build on the strengths and needs of
every stakeholder (i.e. governments, donors, NGOs, the
private sector).
• Our advice leads to efforts that foster ownership among
the range of stakeholders.
• Two examples are our activities in Grenada and Haiti…

19. www.oecd.org/pdg
From Providing Advice to Building Relationships
Providing Advice
• Analysis of the existing procurement legislation
• At the request of the government, new legislation
drafted and implementation strategy paper
developed
• Policy Note on Service Delivery in Haiti developed
immediately following the January 2010
earthquake and disseminated at the UN Donors’
Conference held in New York in March 2010.
• Government Strategy Paper developed to present
options for improved service delivery given the
new post-disaster context.
Building Relationships
• Manage multi-stakeholder effort to establish new,
effective and modern public procurement system
• Broker efforts to build long-term Grenadian
capacity for an effective and transparent
procurement system
• Organised multi-stakeholder conference in Port-
au-Prince to discuss ways to improve the delivery
of basic services
• Helped establish a follow-up group with the
Government of Haiti, NGOs, donors and the
private sector to co-ordinate service delivery
• A project aimed at improving service delivery has
been developed by the follow-up group and will be
implemented by the government following OECD-
PDG policy recommendations.
GrenadaHaiti

20. www.oecd.org/pdg
PDG Update Newsletter
The Advisory Unit regularly publishes the latest information on its work in
the form of an e-newsletter: PDG Update. Back issues of the newsletter
may be viewed online at www.oecd.org/pdg/update. To be added to the
distribution list, please send a message to pdgcontact@oecd.org.
For more information
To request copies of PDG publications
Print copies of all PDG publications may be requested free of charge from
the Advisory Unit. These publications are also available as free downloads
online at www.oecd.org/pdg/publications.

21. www.oecd.org/pdg
For more information
PDG Advisory Unit
2, rue André-Pascal
75775 Paris CEDEX 16
France
Tel. +33 (0)1 45 24 90 81
Fax +33 (0)1 44 30 61 73
pdgcontact@oecd.org
www.oecd.org/pdg