Sector Investment Program (SIP) is anintegrated program comprising: i) a management frameworkproviding for common implementation procedures for donors tothe sector; and ii) funding commitments from donors (ofteninvolving the World Bank playing a role as 'donor oflast resort' to ensure the agreed program is fullyfinanced). SIPs have been seen as an instrument forovercoming weaknesses in the management of developmentassistance that are especially severe in many countries ofSub-Saharan Africa (SSA). These include lack of ownership ofprograms by governments and other local stake holders, weakpublic expenditure management, and fragmented management ofdonor assistance. In practice, SIPs are often also a vehiclefor radical institutional reforms, such as decentralizationof planning and decision-making to the district level. Thestudy found that while the preconditions of macroeconomicstability and allocations of public expenditure betweensectors identified for SIP implementation were broadly metin the case studies, institutional capacity remained weakcompared to the requirements to achieve donor acceptance ofcommon implementation arrangements. As a result, littleprogress was made in establishing common financialarrangements, with the exception of the district basketwhich formed part of the Zambian health program. Commonreview and reporting procedures were however established inall four cases. There appeared to be only partial linkagesbetween the sector expenditure program and the broadermedium- and long-term macroeconomic framework, although itis recognized that the review processes established providean opportunity for adjusting expenditure programs over time.
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