What do Private Companies Prioritise When Implementing International Development Projects? Evidence from Four Central and Eastern European Donors

Abstract

As donors channel more of their development assistance through private companies, a discussion is growing on what this shift means for international development. This paper focuses on four Central European donors, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, who have recently implemented new incentives to promote the greater engagement of the private sector in their international development programmes. The paper uses new survey data of project managers at organisations implementing aid projects funded by these four donors to explore how private actors differ in their approaches to aid implementation. The analysis reveals that the type of implementing organisation does not affect their focus on internal project goals (budget, schedule, and scope), but project managers at private firms consider long-term impact and economic sustainability of the project less important. These findings support claims that for-profit organisations exercise a short-term approach to satisfy funders, but lack a deeper focus on long-term development.