Doing 'us-them' differently : The identity work of frontline aid bureaucrats in translating aid effectiveness policy rhetoric into practice
Iao-Jörgensen, Jenny LU
(2023)
In Development Studies Research
10(1).
- Abstract
- Bilateral aid agencies often face implementation challenges in internal efforts to address long-standing aid fragmentation and effectiveness issues. This article introduces the organisational identity concept to understand better these challenges by examining how Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) frontline staff understand their role and organisational goals in light of shifting demands to coordinate and align Swedish government agencies’ (SGA) aid engagements. SGAs implement 10-15% of Swedish bilateral aid annually. A recent government strategy prioritises strengthening partner countries’ public institutions and partnerships in line with the Agenda 2030 for sustainable development. Analysis of interviews and... (More)
- Bilateral aid agencies often face implementation challenges in internal efforts to address long-standing aid fragmentation and effectiveness issues. This article introduces the organisational identity concept to understand better these challenges by examining how Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) frontline staff understand their role and organisational goals in light of shifting demands to coordinate and align Swedish government agencies’ (SGA) aid engagements. SGAs implement 10-15% of Swedish bilateral aid annually. A recent government strategy prioritises strengthening partner countries’ public institutions and partnerships in line with the Agenda 2030 for sustainable development. Analysis of interviews and focus group data reveals a general shift among bureaucrats beyond the traditional us-them funder identity, to embrace a range of other identity orientations in the Sida-SGA relationship. The various orientations reflected Sida frontline bureaucrats’ diverse interpretations of their individual authority and socialised sense-making of ambivalent organisational changes, as they grapple with questions of 'Who we should be?' and 'What we should do?' on the frontline. The study provides a fine-grained view of the essential attitudes, skills and behaviour on the frontline that influence aid relationships and the implementation of aid effectiveness principles, adding nuance to the existing aid effectiveness literature. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/6488969d-284a-4b25-92c4-26f78cfa4b35
- author
- Iao-Jörgensen, Jenny
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2023-03-10
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Frontline bureaucrat, Bilateral aid, Organisational theory, aid effectiveness, aid relationship, Sweden, Sida
- in
- Development Studies Research
- volume
- 10
- issue
- 1
- article number
- 2186210
- pages
- 12 pages
- publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85149993612
- ISSN
- 2166-5095
- DOI
- 10.1080/21665095.2023.2186210
- project
- Navigating Open Polities for Change in Swedish Bilateral Develpment Cooperation Projects (PhD research project)
- PhD research project
- Ongoing Evaluation of Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) International Training Program Disaster Risk Management
- Swedish Public Agencies Capacity Development Programmes
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 6488969d-284a-4b25-92c4-26f78cfa4b35
- date added to LUP
- 2023-02-27 10:07:13
- date last changed
- 2024-02-18 02:09:27
@article{6488969d-284a-4b25-92c4-26f78cfa4b35,
abstract = {{Bilateral aid agencies often face implementation challenges in internal efforts to address long-standing aid fragmentation and effectiveness issues. This article introduces the organisational identity concept to understand better these challenges by examining how Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) frontline staff understand their role and organisational goals in light of shifting demands to coordinate and align Swedish government agencies’ (SGA) aid engagements. SGAs implement 10-15% of Swedish bilateral aid annually. A recent government strategy prioritises strengthening partner countries’ public institutions and partnerships in line with the Agenda 2030 for sustainable development. Analysis of interviews and focus group data reveals a general shift among bureaucrats beyond the traditional us-them funder identity, to embrace a range of other identity orientations in the Sida-SGA relationship. The various orientations reflected Sida frontline bureaucrats’ diverse interpretations of their individual authority and socialised sense-making of ambivalent organisational changes, as they grapple with questions of 'Who we should be?' and 'What we should do?' on the frontline. The study provides a fine-grained view of the essential attitudes, skills and behaviour on the frontline that influence aid relationships and the implementation of aid effectiveness principles, adding nuance to the existing aid effectiveness literature.}},
author = {{Iao-Jörgensen, Jenny}},
issn = {{2166-5095}},
keywords = {{Frontline bureaucrat; Bilateral aid; Organisational theory; aid effectiveness; aid relationship; Sweden; Sida}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{03}},
number = {{1}},
publisher = {{Taylor & Francis}},
series = {{Development Studies Research}},
title = {{Doing 'us-them' differently : The identity work of frontline aid bureaucrats in translating aid effectiveness policy rhetoric into practice}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21665095.2023.2186210}},
doi = {{10.1080/21665095.2023.2186210}},
volume = {{10}},
year = {{2023}},
}