SWAp (Sector Wide Approach)

SWAps attempt to build from government policies, and from the development agency perspective, the plans that underlie SWAps, are meant to engage civil society, to be participatory, and to ensure that they are constructed within a framework that enables stakeholder dialogue and discussion. Hence, the partnership and policy dialogue intended to created within SWAps, is a means of engaging with the recipient government in pursuit of its goals.

SWAp is development cooperation in which:

• All significant public funding for the sector supports a single sector policy and expenditure programme


• Under government leadership


• With common approaches adopted across the sector by all funding parties


• A progression towards relying on government procedures to disburse and account for all public expenditure, however funded

UNESCO is well-placed to assist in education SWAp’s development and supporting Member States governments in the coordination of development partners around education SWAp’s.

Because of UNESCO longstanding work in sector-wide educational planning, and through that organization has no particular strategic interest in any country; it can play the role of ‘honest’ or neutral broker.

In 27 November 2006, UNESCO held the first meeting of the Working Group on Debt Swaps for Education in order to gather and reflect on experiences of debt swaps in various fields and countries, in order to guide the development of recommendations for their value and use in the domain of education.

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Publication date: 05-04-2007