Spending cuts achieved in development cooperation
Spending cuts on target, result measurement open to improvement
The spending cuts in the development cooperation budget for 2012 proposed by the government have been achieved: the Netherlands spent €823 million less on development cooperation in 2012 (out of a total of €4.4 billion). The number of developing countries receiving aid was also lower and the focus on four priority themes is gradually becoming sharper. Measurement of the results of development cooperation, however, is open to improvement. Result measurement is vital if lessons are to be learnt from development projects and their effectiveness is to be improved. The Court of Audit presents these findings in its report, Monitoring development cooperation policy, State in 2012, which it published on 13 November 2013.