Development effectiveness

What is development effectiveness?

Development effectiveness is about increasing the impact of our development cooperation. Aid is a limited resource, which needs to be spent as effectively as possible in order to achieve the best, fastest and most sustainable impact for those most in need.  Better policies in developing countries, coupled with effective development cooperation, ensure that aid will be more effective in reducing poverty and achieving sustainable development.

Our approach

We strive to strengthen the effectiveness of our development cooperation by:

• defining our objectives based on our partner countries’ own development priorities;
• supporting the policy processes through which these priorities are formulated, as well as the results frameworks established to manage and report on them;
• strengthening and building on partner countries’ own systems deliver on policy objectives and implement development programmes; and
• providing more of our support through coordinated aid modalities, such as budget support.

Development effectiveness principles

The GPEDC was established in 2011 at the Busan High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, which defined the four development effectiveness principles that form the basis of the partnership’s work:

• ownership of development priorities by developing countries
• focus on results
• inclusive partnerships
• transparency and mutual accountability

All forms of development cooperation should be founded on these four principles. Development cooperation includes all international public and private finance targeted at development outcomes, as well as domestic finance and policy. This includes not only official development assistance (ODA), but non-ODA climate finance, other official flows, South-South and triangular cooperation, funds and blended public/private finance, civil society actions and some non-financial co-operation including policy measures and private sector engagement. All of these resources should complement each other and work together as effectively as possible.

The development effectiveness principles defined at the Busan High-Level Forum build on the aid effectiveness principles in the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (2005) and the Accra Agenda for Action (2008). These principles were further reinforced in the Mexico communiqué (2014) adopted during the first high-level GPEDC meeting, the Nairobi outcome document agreed at the second high-level meeting in 2016, and the Geneva Summit Declaration adopted in 2022 at the third high-level meeting. They were also reaffirmed in the 2025 Sevilla Commitment of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, which underscores the need for development effectiveness and the role of the GPEDC.

The EU role in GPEDC

The EU plays an active role in the Global Partnership:

• We have been a member of its steering committee since its foundation - representing European development aid providers.
• We contribute to key areas of its work programme.
• We support the update of the effectiveness monitoring indicators, to better align them with the Sustainable Development Goals.
• We support the implementation of the 2023-2026 Global Monitoring Round, which assesses countries adherence to the effectiveness principles.
• We support the formulation of principles and guidelines to ensure private sector engagement is effective in delivering on development outcomes, the Sustainable Development Goals and the commitment to leave no-one behind.

In addition to our work to build global consensus on development effectiveness, we also pursue greater effectiveness in our own development cooperation and that of EU Member States, in the context of our Global Gateway strategy and through the Team Europe approach.

The Team Europe approach

The Team Europe approach is a practical way for the EU and its Member States working together at country, regional and global level to increase the impact of Europe’s external action. Through Team Europe, the EU, its Member States, their implementing agencies, the European Investment Bank and other European development finance institutions jointly plan and deliver support, combining policy dialogue, grants, loans, guarantees, technical assistance and expertise. In close partnership with partner countries and other stakeholders, we identify shared priorities and design Team Europe Initiatives that bring together our political, technical and financial means behind a common vision.

By acting as one, Team Europe reduces fragmentation, strengthens coordination and promotes a more strategic, coherent and results‑oriented European engagement. It enhances transparency, visibility and mutual accountability, and helps build stronger, long‑term partnerships based on shared interests and values.

Results

To keep track of the results of our cooperation, DG INTPA introduced the Global Europe Results Framework (GERF) under the NDICI – Global Europe instrument. The GERF defines a harmonised set of indicators used to collect, aggregate and present data on external EU‑funded interventions and to inform our annual reporting. It supports the identification of clear and measurable results and strengthens transparency and accountability for the collective performance of EU external action