HOW MANY PEOPLE DOES IT TAKE … …TO ADMINISTER LONG-TERM CLIMATE FINANCE?

The report analyzes 11 international funding entities to determine the staffing intensity needed to manage climate finance. It finds that official staffing figures often underestimate actual needs due to the exclusion of contract workers and the channelling of funds through other agencies. Based on these findings, the authors estimate that administering US$ 30 billion in annual funds would require between 7,500 and 12,000 staff, while US$ 100 billion would require 25,000 to 40,000 staff. The report argues that to improve cost-effectiveness and country ownership, administrative capacity should be delegated to recipient nations, supported by capacity building via fast start finance.

• Based on a survey of 11 international funding entities, the average official staffing intensity is 25.6 full-time equivalent staff per US$ 100 million in disbursements.
• The report finds no evidence that larger funding entities benefit from economies of scale that allow them to use fewer staff per US$ 100 million in disbursements compared to smaller entities.
• A time-series analysis of seven agencies suggests that funding entities can incrementally increase disbursements without a proportional increase in official staff, adding an average of only 13.4 staff per US$ 100 million increase in disbursements.
• Case studies of JICA, DFID, and USAID indicate that official staffing figures are often conservative underestimates because they exclude contract workers and do not account for the transfer of staffing responsibilities when funds are channelled through other agencies.
• Analysis of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) reveals that the agency employs significantly more contractors than core staff, with 9,131 contractors compared to 1,664 official employees in 2009.
• The UK Department for International Development (DFID) increased the percentage of disbursements channelled through multilateral institutions from 38% in 2006 to 62% in 2009, which artificially lowered its official staffing intensity.
• For the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), 53.8% of Official Development Assistance (ODA) funds are channelled to other national and international agencies, likely resulting in a higher actual staff-to-disbursement ratio than official figures suggest.
• The report estimates that administering US$ 30 billion in new annual funds would require between 7,500 and 12,000 staff, and US$ 100 billion would require between 25,000 and 40,000 staff.
• To maximize cost-effectiveness and ensure country ownership, the authors argue that the administration of climate funds should be delegated to funding entities within recipient countries.
• The report concludes that 'fast start finance' should prioritize building the capacity of recipient countries to effectively manage and implement these funds.

APA

Ciplet, D., Müller, B., & Roberts, J. T. (2010). HOW MANY PEOPLE DOES IT TAKE … …TO ADMINISTER LONG-TERM CLIMATE FINANCE? Climate Strategies. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/ecbi-cs-how-may-people-does-it-take-final-report.pdf

Chicago

Ciplet, David, Benito Müller, and J. Timmons Roberts. HOW MANY PEOPLE DOES IT TAKE … …TO ADMINISTER LONG-TERM CLIMATE FINANCE? Climate Strategies, 2010. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/ecbi-cs-how-may-people-does-it-take-final-report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ciplet |first1=David |last2=Müller |first2=Benito |last3=Roberts |first3=J. Timmons |title=HOW MANY PEOPLE DOES IT TAKE … …TO ADMINISTER LONG-TERM CLIMATE FINANCE? |publisher=Climate Strategies |date=October 2010 |url=https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/ecbi-cs-how-may-people-does-it-take-final-report.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ciplet2010how, author = {Ciplet, David and Müller, Benito and Roberts, J. Timmons}, title = {{HOW MANY PEOPLE DOES IT TAKE … …TO ADMINISTER LONG-TERM CLIMATE FINANCE?}}, institution = {Climate Strategies}, year = {2010}, month = oct, url = {https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/ecbi-cs-how-may-people-does-it-take-final-report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }