In January 2020, the Inter-Agency
Task Force on Financing for Development (IATF) released the first in a series
of guidance documents aimed at supporting countries in designing and
implementing integrated national financing frameworks (INFFs). The focus of
this first module is the INFF inception phase. It builds on the thematic
chapter of the 2019 Financing for Sustainable Development report as well
as early country experiences in INFF inception and provides an overview of both
the INFF technical dimension – how countries can start the process of
operationalising an INFF – and its political dimension – who should be
involved.
Where and how to
start
The inception phase module
suggests the following three steps:
- Scoping exercise. This involves reviewing and collating data
sources, existing analyses, policies and other relevant information and
basic materials related to each of the four INFF building blocks; as well
as national development strategies and plans, which form the basis the
INFF. The aim is to create a snapshot of financing trends and gaps; map
existing policies and instruments, including targets, commitments and
contributions to sustainable development priorities; determine gaps in
data, reporting and monitoring systems; and identify relevant stakeholders
and governance structures. Typical sources of data and information are
provided in the module to guide this step.
- Identification of institutional arrangements required to
operationalise the INFF. This
involves agreeing on INFF oversight processes and how to establish or
incorporate them within existing governance structures. A central driving
institution – an oversight committee or body at the highest level of
government –will have authority to lead the full INFF process, consult
with other stakeholders, set up a technical secretariat (if necessary) and
shape the country’s financing strategy.
- Roadmap of next steps for INFF
implementation. Elements to
consider include whether further assessment and diagnostics are to be
undertaken; the process and responsibilities for developing a financing
strategy and related monitoring framework; and timelines, milestones and
any required support from development partners. Next steps can be set out
in a separate INFF roadmap document or as part of existing work plans and
can be amended or strengthened following a full assessment and diagnostics
phase (building block 1).
A practical checklist detailing
the components of each step is included in the guidance module, as well as links to major tools and information sources
available at the international level.
Lessons from early
experiences in INFF inception
Experience from early
implementers of INFFs, such as Cabo Verde and Kyrgyzstan, highlight key lessons that can be used to inform
good practices going forward.
- Government needs to be in the driver’s
seat. Political backing is needed from the
highest level, along with leadership at the senior technical level. A
crucial function of the inception phase is to ensure national ownership
of the INFF from the outset. Relevant line ministries and government
departments or agencies beyond those serving on the INFF oversight
committee, which is typically led by ministry of planning or finance,
should be actively involved.
- All relevant stakeholders need to be brought on board from the
start in an inclusive manner to create broad-based buy-in for the INFF. These stakeholders include civil society, the
private sector, political institutions, the legislature, development
partners including international financing institutions and UN agencies,
and academia. The INFF oversight committee may bring representatives
together as members of a consultative body to review and advise on
financing policies and interventions suggested in the context of the INFF.
- National priorities and needs should guide the inception phase. Early experience shows that the initial steps in
the INFF process and the resulting roadmaps vary from country to country.
For example, in Cabo Verde the
inception phase was carried out in conjunction with a Mainstreaming,
Acceleration and Policy Support (for further information on MAPS please
consult the following publication: MAPS - Mainstreaming, Acceleration and Policy
Support for the 2030 Agenda) process and was thus able to benefit from relevant insight on
priority actions and accelerating investments. As a result, a short
inception phase led to a draft INFF roadmap, which proposed a more
detailed assessment and diagnostics exercise to be undertaken. In Kyrgyzstan, a scoping mission outlined the institutional basis for the INFF
and initiated a development finance assessment to carry out an in-depth
inception phase – including a full diagnostic – in support of INFF
development.
