Development Assistance Committee (DAC) Ms. Susanna Moorehead
1.
What is the mission and mandate of your Committee?
The DAC’s mandate is to promote development cooperation and other relevant policies that contribute to the delivery of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in developing countries. This means helping partner countries create better lives for their citizens, including by supporting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, poverty eradication, improved living standards and access to services. The DAC also promotes the importance of global public goods and policy coherence for sustainable development. The DAC achieves its objectives in a number of ways:
As the custodian of Official Development Assistance (ODA), the DAC sets the rules, standards and norms that govern its use. It monitors and reports on the provision of resources that support sustainable development by collecting and analysing data on ODA and other official and private flows, in a transparent way.
The DAC reviews development cooperation policies and practices, particularly in relation to internationally agreed targets, upholds international norms and standards, protects the integrity of ODA, and promotes transparency and mutual learning.
The DAC provides analysis, guidance and good practice to assist DAC members as donors and the wider international cooperation community to enhance innovation, impact, development effectiveness and results in development cooperation.
The DAC analyses and helps shape the global development architecture, to maximise sustainable development outcomes, in support of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the mobilisation of resources in line with the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on financing for development.
All DAC members are peer reviewed every five years. These provide in-depth examinations of member development systems and policies to ensure accountability and to maximise opportunities for lesson learning.
2. You have been designated Committee Chair. What is your background and what has convinced you to take up this post? How do you consider your background and experience contribute to such a role and function? The position of DAC Chair is elected by the DAC’s 30 members. While a British national, I am a neutral representative of the whole Committee. Over a 35 year career in international diplomacy and development, I have held a wide variety of senior executive, strategic, policy and operational roles - from the Board of the World Bank to delivering famine relief and rehabilitation in rural Africa. I’ve worked for CSOs, as an academic and applied policy researcher, for the multilateral system and bilaterally. I held a variety of senior roles in the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID), including as Head of DFID India when it was the UK’s largest bilateral aid programme. Before joining the DAC, I was British Ambassador to Ethiopia and
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