Managing complexity and uncertainty???

In my dissertation, I will discuss more effective aid management of donor agencies.
As a result of my preliminary reading, I have noticed that when we talk about effectiveness, we need to specify any outcome aimed at by development assistance interventions first. Nevertheless, most of articles tend to argue effectiveness without specifying that. (Though some of them partially deal with that outcome against effectiveness, they seem to tend to shift emphases on possible reasons why donors have persistently maintain unfavourable practices in terms of aid-effectiveness.)

It seems to me to be caused by complexity of systems for development assistance and of development itself.
The former refers to the existence of multi-layered stakeholders within aid-chain, and their relationships.
The latter is about difficulties in defining what development is.

When we talk about effectiveness of aid, it would be natural to think of management of aid, which would be to manage aid, or various developmental interventions towards developing countires by developed countries. In this sense, development should be the object to be managed in order to achieve pre-determined goals.
However, it has often been said that development might itself consist of complex processes, such as identifying, planning, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating.
In addition, there exist various stakeholders, such as donors, recipient governments, primary stakeholders (beneficiaries), other intermediaries.
In short, effectiveness could be defined in various ways by respective stakeholders in accordance with their subjectivities.
It should be apparent that in such a context, to define effectiveness would be highly contentious, if not impossible.

Nevertheless, I believe that we have to define what development is, and to clarify which stakeholders are involved in development assistance. In other words, my dissertation will be to answer the question of what aid agencies are at all managing.