KOICA Research Quarterly Update(Q2 2026) → READ MORE
 
[Publications]

ㆍWater Digitalization: MDB Strategies and Implications for Korea’s ODA│Climate and Economic Development Team, KOICA
This report highlights how water digitalization is transforming water management from traditional infrastructure investment into data-driven operations through AI and advanced sensors. It emphasizes that while digital technologies significantly improve service reliability, leakage management, and disaster resilience, a critical implementation gap persists between mere data collection (digitization) and its practical integration into operational decisions (digitalization). Many utilities in developing countries possess digital tools but lack the necessary institutional capacity, processes, and data governance. In response, Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) are shifting their focus from hardware deployment toward comprehensive operational transformations. Ultimately, the report suggests that Korean ODA can play a vital role by moving beyond the simple supply of equipment, instead focusing on human capacity building, data governance, and long-term operational sustainability to ensure these digital water systems succeed in practice.
ㆍ Change and Pressure: Global Gender and Development(GAD) cooperation into the fog │Digital, Health and Social Development Team, KOICA
This report outlines the key discussions from the Annual Meeting of the OECD DAC Network on Gender Equality (GENDERNET), which was convened amid complex global crises and an anticipated decline in ODA volume. It introduces the critical need to mobilize funding "beyond ODA"—including private investment—and to frame gender equality as a strategic development agenda driving economic growth. To effectively bridge the gap between political rhetoric and actual implementation, the report highlights ongoing discussions to enhance the reliability of gender markers and weave gender outcomes directly into standard performance evaluation criteria. Additionally, it explores the reaffirmed Nexus approach, emphasizing the importance of social norm changes to combat gender-based violence, empowering women as active agents in climate action, and securing flexible support for the WPS agenda. Concluding with strategic insights for Korea, the report stresses the importance of establishing data-driven performance management frameworks to measure abstract outcomes and designing a tailored gender-nexus ODA strategy that integrates gender equality directly into Korea's priority sectors.
→ READ MORE
 
ㆍA Study on Korea’s Humanitarian Assistance legislation│Junghyun Cho, Kyungyon Moon, Sungkyu Kim, Eunseok Seo 
This research report examines the necessity of reshaping Korea’s humanitarian assistance legal framework, which currently struggles to keep pace with the nation's rapidly expanding aid budget and evolving global crises. It notes that the current "Overseas Emergency Relief Act," which was initially structured around natural disaster relief, can be broadened to comprehensively encompass modern humanitarian needs, formally incorporate international principles, and streamline inter-ministerial coordination. By examining the systems of Germany, the UK, and Japan, the report draws valuable insights on widening the scope of aid and securing stable institutional foundations. To further refine the domestic system, it proposes two collaborative legislative options based on multi-sectoral discussions. The first option suggests a comprehensive amendment to the existing Act to integrate modern definitions and the four core humanitarian principles for practical, short-term implementation. The second option involves enacting a new Framework Act on Humanitarian Assistance to systematically establish aid as an independent policy domain with structured funding and coordination mechanisms. Ultimately, the report recommends a phased, parallel approach to these options to achieve immediate progress while steadily building long-term institutional refinement.