Improving China’s Aid Effectiveness Through Strengthening Strategic Management of Developmental Public Private Partnerships

Abstract

A prominent feature of China’s evolving aid system has been the involvement of Chinese firms in implementing diversified development cooperation projects. Chinese aid managers face challenges in managing the burgeoning partnerships effectively, particularly in health aid, where the public-private partnerships (PPPs) have brought both opportunities and risks, requiring much more robust decision making and implementation support systems to secure the effectiveness of the aid. An in-depth analysis of the situation indicated that the challenges were rooted in the multiplicity of China’s aid goals and its changing aid architecture. Meanwhile, the human mind and cognitive behavior also interact with the context and influence the quality of PPP decisions. The DELTA project aimed to ameliorate this situation by adapting a multi-criteria decision-analysis tool for improving the quality of aid decisions by structurally assessing various aspects of PPP and systematically organizing PPP decision-making processes to reduce human error. The tool was further reinforced by a set of policy and technical frameworks developed to regulate the planning, management, measurement, and reporting of aid activities under a PPP model, including health PPPs. On reflection, the DELTA project provided new knowledge about China’s global aid by shedding light on serious problems in PPP-related development cooperation, and put forward concrete management actions for China’s aid agencies to overcome these challenges. By engaging in global partnerships and dialogues, the project further facilitated mutual learning and paved way for further improvement in the effectiveness of PPP-related aid.