The origins of Austria's official development assistance go back to private contacts and development aid activities in the 1960s. In addition to its commitments in Africa, Asia and Central America, since the 1990s Austrian Development Cooperation (ADC) has also supported countries in South-Eastern Europe on their way to joining the European Union. Six million people benefit from ADC worldwide.

Partner countries in six priority regions

Today, Austrian Development Cooperation is engaged in partner countries in six priority regions. It contributes to improving conditions of life and promoting sustainable social, economic and democratic development. The main activities relate to water management and sanitation, energy, rural development, education and science, private-sector development and governance. In addition, ADC helps its South-Eastern European partners in convergence with the European Union.

The Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs (MFA) develops ADC strategies and programmes. The Austrian Development Agency (ADA) implements these in cooperation with non-governmental organisations (NGOs), enterprises and increasingly also with partner governments. The projects are coordinated and the efficient use of funds overseen via coordination offices abroad. ADC also makes significant contributions to coshaping common development cooperation in the EU and is engaged in the United Nations, in international financial institutions and in development-policy platforms.

The legislative framework for ADC

The legal framework for ADC is the Federal Development Cooperation Act adopted in 2002 and amended in 2003. It contains a specific list of goals that stipulates development-policy criteria for the whole federal administration. The key points are the reduction of global poverty, safeguarding peace and human security and preserving the environment. It also sets out the basic principles governing programmes and projects: the right of partner countries to choose their own way of development, respect for cultural diversity, gender equality and consideration for the needs of children and persons with disabilities.

The central development-policy positions and strategic framework of ADC are defined in the Three-Year Programme on Austrian Development Policy. This is updated every year by the MFA and serves as ADA's workplan.

Financing Austrian Development Cooperation

In addition to Austrian Development Cooperation, ministries, federal states and municipalities also contribute with public funds to the development assistance budget. Austria reports these contributions to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as official development assistance (ODA). Which contributions count as ODA is decided by the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC), which was established in 1961 as a forum for member donor states.