Country Level Political Economy Analysis – EC (2011)

This annex to the draft concept paper presents an analytical framework for undertaking political economy analysis at the country Level. The framework consists of a list of structured questions to help the analyst investigate key aspects of the political and economic processes at work in a given country context, and to understand relationships as well as assess how they influence incentives and capacity for collective action, and therefore development outcomes. The framework is intended to deepen EC staff's understanding of the country context and to promote discussion of how EC development assistance can best interact with national political economy dynamics. It is intended to fulfil several operational purposes:

• Providing a better understanding of the countries where the EC works, improving the knowledge of existing staff in country and providing a detailed induction tool for new staff.
• Contributing to the drafting of a more grounded and realistic National/Multiannual Indicative Programme.
• informing choices about priorities, objectives and expected results for EC support as well as implementation arrangements, and better define linkages between EC interventions and modalities.
• Enabling better assessment and management of country programme level risks and opportunities.
• Informing EC's strategy on country level policy dialogue.