This is a summary of the meeting of the SPA Steering Committee on June 17, 2008.

Working Groups.  The meeting began with a review of current work and plans for the rest of 2008.

Budget Support Working Group

• 2008 Survey has been completed and results, as well as five years of data are available on web-site
• 2009 survey will be conducted between July and September
• GBS Learning Assessments, led by Switzerland, has completed three studies (Mozambique in 2004, Tanzania in 2006 and Zambia in 2007);  the Government of Benin has indicated interested in the Swiss conducting one in Benin this year.
• The EC announced that the work on Learning from the Budget Support Groups has been completed.  A final report is expected soon.

Sector Budget Support Work

• French-Dutch study on Sector Budget Support in Action has been completed with four country/sector studies, a regional workshop and a synthesis report.  This report will be translated from French to English soon.
• DFID is moving ahead with plans to undertake similar work in Anglophone and lusophone countries.  Five preliminary cases have been identified (Rwanda education, Mozambique health, Zambia roads and health, Tanzania HIV/AIDS and Malawi education), and work will be conducted this fall.

Sector Support Working Group

• The SPA-CABRI Report on Aid on Budget has been very favorably received and CABRI intends to take the work forward;
• DAC Joint Venture on PFM is working on a report on using country systems.
• CABRI 2009 meeting will focus on issues of dealing with aid.
• Vertical Health Funds consultant is currently integrating Malawi case study into synthesis;
• Two new studies are planned; financing will probably be provided by AFDB; there is a need to modify existing terms of reference to increase the quantitative aspects of the study.
• USAID is working on completing its growth studies; data needs to be analyzed.

Capacity Development Working Group

• AFDB funds have been released and AERC is functioning as an effective intermediary.  By end of January four studies (Ghana, Tanzania, Gabon and Zambia) will be completed.

Good Practice Notes

A discussion arose around the plans of some task teams to produce good practice notes.  Peter Dearden pointed out that the Aid on Budget “Good Practice Note” was widely vetted with key institutions including the World Bank, IMF, CABRI, PEFA and the DAC Joint Venture on PFM.  He suggested that any good practice notes produced by a task team needed the same type of vetting in order to have any validity.  The group agreed to this suggestion.

Accra High Level Forum.  The Committee then turned to a discussion of SPA’s links to the HLF in Accra. The HLF process is well under way and SPA has had important involvement both through the working groups and through the participation of key individuals.  The remaining institutional connection between the SPA and the HLF will be the Marketplace.  The following decisions have been confirmed:

• USAID will provide someone to take care of a booth at the HLF marketplace
• All documents produced by the SPA to be showcased at the HLF will have a common title page and a common disclaimer
• The SPA Secretariat will have all SPA fact sheets edited, translated, and printed (need to decide on number of copies).
• The SPA Secretariat will likewise print copies of WG papers and an SPA Overview (this will be circulated to Steering Committee for comment)

Financial Report.  Members were provided a financial report for the first six months of 2008; several members requested a report for all of 2008 which will enable them to discuss with their membership the financial needs for SPA between July and the 2009 Plenary.  The Secretariat agreed to produce such a report by June 24.

SPA Review.  The rest of the meeting was spent discussing the plans for the SPA Review.  The Review team and the Steering Committee reviewed time lines, the interview process and key issues.  The Review Team plans to distribute an inception report the week of June 23 which will provide a workplan and a timeline. 

The Committee also discussed the dates and venue for the 2009 Plenary.   It was agreed that the SPA would approach the Government of Tanzania to confirm their interest and hosting the Plenary.  At that time, we would also determine the most suitable dates for the Plenary.  The Committee also discussed with the Review Team the question of how to move from the Options Paper they will produce in the fall to a decision about SPA 8.  What remains to be decided is whether the SPA will need a meeting to discuss the Options Paper prior to the 2009 Plenary.