important factor. we do not merely make an analysis, write a report and disappear. we are still here and can continue the discussion whenever necessary. the problems that were indicated in the evaluation were more of an administrative nature. for instance, it is difficult to find a place in a foreign aid context for low - cost projects like this, as they do not really follow the set patterns for other aid efforts. finally, i can mention that the riksbank has allocated resources in our internal business plan for next year to extend our cooperation with some of the central banks in sida ’ s cooperating countries. we consider that our work has been both interesting and rewarding and we hope that it has also helped some of our colleagues to make their own institutions stronger.

are always involved in various ways ( both here at the riksbank and at the other central banks ), which is important for giving the programmes adequate status. in our view, it is important that we are colleagues, not consultants. we are rarely able to stay longer than a week, as we have our own central bank to manage. we do not conduct large - scale investigations that we document and leave behind us ; we describe our own experiences and allow our colleagues to consider whether these experiences may be of any use in their own work. we in sweden and at the riksbank have achieved quite a lot that has turned out well over the years, but we have also done a lot that we feel with hindsight could have been done better. for instance, we are proud of how we came through the bank crisis at the beginning of the 1990s, but not of how we got into it. this is the type of experience that no textbooks or courses can convey in the same way as people who were there when it actually happened. our colleagues are usually interested in everything, but particularly in learning from others ’ mistakes. we also consider it important that the riksbank ’ s employees learn from the cooperation – that is one of the ideas behind a “ staff exchange programme ”. encountering activities that are similar to your own workplace ’ s, but are conducted under different external conditions always gives reason for consideration and reflection. our programmes are therefore of great professional interest to our employees and most of them return from their trips with new and often unexpected experiences. our cooperation with sida has been excellent, although we sometimes hear that we have not spent as much money as expected. a few experts and their trips do not cost very much. the cooperation with the embassies is also very important. we have seen that the links to the central banks work best when the staff at the swedish embassies in the respective countries are actively involved and regularly follow up what is happening in the respective banks. at the beginning of this year, sida commissioned an evaluation of the riksbank ’ s cooperation so far with sri lanka and vietnam. the evaluation showed that the riksbank ’ s efforts in these central banks had been both successful and appreciated by the recipients. the very fact that we are colleagues, that we do the same things, have the same responsibility, was one of the key factors. there are many consultants ; colleagues are harder to find. the long - term thinking behind the cooperation is also an