Sida – the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency – is a government agency. It implements national policy pertaining to international development cooperation, reform cooperation and humanitarian assistance as decided upon by the Swedish parliament. These policies aim to create preconditions for better living conditions for people living in poverty and under oppression.

The purpose of this operational strategy is to clarify how Sida will contribute towards the achievement of the Swedish parliament’s objective for developmentcooperation and the strategic direction set by the government in Development Assistance for a New Era: Freedom, empowerment and sustainable growth. Theintended audience for the operational strategy is Sida’s staff, partners, and the Swedish government and parliament. Chapter 2 describes both the global issuesthat affect Sida’s work as well as how the agency is governed. Chapter 3.1 clarifies how Sida has interpreted and converted the Swedish government’s thematic prioritiesinto external objectives that the agency will contribute towards. These objectives set the preconditions for Sida’s operations using results-based management.

Sida’s internal objectives, introduced in chapter 3.2, reflect the agency’s priorities during the upcoming three years. They will guide the agency’s development.The operational plan will on an annual basis specify how Sida will contribute towards the internal objectives that year. Sida will place emphasis on thegeographical context, and work together with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, other government agencies, academia, civil society, and the private sector in order toachieve results. Sida operates in a global and increasingly complex context, and is well equipped to work with partner countries, and other development actors.Sida will further be strengthening its cooperation with the EU.

In chapter 4, the operational strategy highlights the agency’s working methodsin relation to the objectives described in chapter 3. Sida monitors all objectivesoutlined in the operational strategy using indicators, and makes sure to learn byevaluating the results that are achieved. Working in this way creates the necessaryconditions that Sida needs to operate in a transparent and results-oriented way.During Sida’s operational strategy’s implementation period the governing boardintends to simplify the agency’s governance by providing clarity to the agency’smission, strong internal control and relevant reporting.