Best opportunity to influence events in the recipient country. Before the government of a recipient country suggests a project formally, it might sound out the donor country’s embassy’s reaction to the proposal. In many cases, the recipient country has to file an application for technical assistance with the embassy. The embassy then considers whether the project is useful for the host country, whether it is feasible, and whether it fits into the budget and policies of the embassy’s home country. If the embassy decides to pursue the project, it submits the project to its authorities at home, accompanied by a report that contains its comments. After the project has been accepted by the competent authorities of the donor country, the embassy is often involved in the negotiations, which are concluded by a formal agreement. In many cases, the ambassador signs the agreement on behalf of his government. After the implementation of the project starts, the embassy follows its progress and assesses the effectiveness of the development assistance. This stage is often the most difficult one. Frequently, the embassy’s aid officers have to remind the host government to make its contributions and fulfill the conditions laid down in the agreement for the project. For example, the embassy tries to assess whether projects of technical assistance, that is, projects aiming at improving the capacity of persons and organizations, fulfill their pilot function by asking the host government to replicate the projects. When a project fails, it is the embassy’s duty to suggest remedies or to discontinue it.
Many developing countries receive development assistance not only from individual states, but also from international governmental organizations, such as the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Bank, and the European Union. A number of mechanisms have been set up in some capitals of developing countries to coordinate the activities of the various donors. The aid officers represent their embassies in these joint committees.
Some countries, such as Germany, have authorized their embassies to decide whether to pursue small technical assistance projects without first clearing the projects at home. The implementation of these projects is left to the embassies as well. This form of development assistance has been successful because it can be rendered quickly and effectively. When proposing and implementing small projects, an embassy’s aid officer can use his creativity to alleviate poverty and remove its cause. Working in an embassy’s development cooperation section is tough, but can be rewarding.