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For the purpose of guiding the RIP meeting deliberations, the Secretariat is preparing a Program Implementation Concept Note for each of the programs and initiatives. Each note focuses on two main tasks: (i) in-depth but concise analysis of the main issues and challenges in the sector or development policy area that is targeted under a given program/initiative; and (ii) review of the lessons and experiences among African countries, as well as outside of the continent where relevant, in dealing successfully with such issues and challenges.
The main tasks of the RIP meetings are the following:
(A) to review the issues, lessons, and experiences that are analyzed and presented in the various Program Implementation Concept Notes;
(B) to agree on best practices to adopt in defining the investment programs;
(C) to identify the knowledge and operational gaps that need to be covered;
(D) to draft the terms of reference and establish a work program to fill the gaps and revise the Implementation Concept Notes to produce the final Program Implementation Documents, within a three-month time frame, which will guide investment project preparation and financial assistance planning; and
(E) to define a governance structure for each region to ensure effective coordination of program implementation and tracking of progress.
Four main fundamental outcomes are expected from the above meetings:
Outcome Number One: thorough review: (a) of issues identified in the concept notes to determine their relevance with respect to regional priorities and realities; and (b) of best practices presented therein in order to determine their applicability and scalability as well as identify eventual operational gaps that need to be bridged. The above review would be carried out against the background of ongoing efforts to address the priorities in each of the program areas. This would not only allow the participants to take stock of such efforts but also to better appreciate the real gaps in meeting the underlying objectives. In other words, it will help answer the questions of: (i) what needs to and can be done to raise investment project implementation efficiency and get more value and impact from current investments; and (ii) how additional resources should be allocated to achieve CAADP objectives and move towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
Outcome Number Two: complete endorsement of and commitment to the agreed-on principles and procedures to implement individual programs and initiatives by member countries and RECs. Such principles and procedures would emphasize:
- greater allocation of resources to agriculture by member countries;
- exploitation of regional resource complementarities;
- pursuit of consistency and coherence between national strategies;
- adoption of best practices and benchmarks for policy and strategy design and implementation, and project preparation and implementation.
Moreover, the rules and procedures would specify arrangements for:
- the preparation of investment projects by RECs and member countries
- the access to funding by individual financial partners
- the prioritization and coordination of national and regional investment programs
- the review of implementation performance by the RECs.
Outcome Number Three: commitment by individual development partners to provide the required long term financial assistance to implement the programs. This would also include arrangements for coordination of financial assistance and review of implementation performance by the lead financial partners. The commitment by lead financial partners would be with respect to:
- alignment as soon as possible of their ongoing efforts in member countries with the CAADP agenda;
- focus on raising the effectiveness of using their existing development resources to reach CAADP objectives under the main programs and initiatives;
- provision of additional resources to meeting the financing needs of individual programs and initiatives, as implementation progresses.
Outcome Number Four: short term action plan, including identification of an initial set of investment projects that can be processed immediately to launch the implementation phase in each region. Such projects could be based on ongoing efforts and may involve adjustment, refinement, and/or scaling up of such efforts by individual countries and development partners to speed up the implementation process.
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