Weitzenegger's Websites of the Month 2006

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December 2006

Inter-Agency Database on developing service markets and value chains
http://www.value-chains.org
Dedicated to the results being achieved through systemic approaches, particularly in Private Sector Development. You will find here information from over 100 agencies, working in over 70 countries; we welcome additional contributions.

Industrial Research and Innovation website
http://iri.jrc.es
This website presents the main results of research activity carried out at the Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS), one of the seven scientific institutes of the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC). It provides a platform for the long-term collection, monitoring, analysis and reporting of information on industrial research and innovation in the EU, though some analytical work is also performed at firm, sector, country and international levels. Special emphasis is put on the relation between research, innovation and economic performance.

International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)
http://www.ituc-csi.org
ITUC is the main international trade union organisation, representing the interests of working people worldwide. It has 304 affiliated member organisations in 153 countries and territories, with a total membership of 168 million workers. It was formed on 1 November 2006 out of the merger of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and the World Confederation of Labour (WCL).

Africa Trade Policy Centre (ATPC) – A project of the Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA)
http://www.uneca.org/atpc
The primary objective of the ATPC is to strengthen the human, institutional and policy capacity of African governments to formulate and implement sound trade policies and participate more effectively in international trade negotiations. The ATPC's niche is to assist the articulation of Africa-wide perspectives and positions on trade issues. The Centre takes both a national and regional perspective and is expected to provide its services over the long-term, rather than the shorter time frames of other trade-related technical assistance projects.

Western Cape Social Capital Network
http://www.capegateway.gov.za/socialcapital
This web space will serve as a hub for people who work within the social capital environment, mainly focusing on the needs of the citizens of the Western Cape. This is a space to collaborate, share ideas and achieve the goals set out in the various policies, as shown in practical projects. It is a space for practitioners of social capital across health, education and social sciences to learn, network and celebrate their work. Contact: Carolin Gomulia, cgomulia@uwc.ac.za

Thina Sinako Provincial LED Support Programme, Eastern Cape, South Africa
http://www.thinasinako.co.za
The Programme of Support to Local Economic Development (LED) in the Eastern Cape Province is a five-year programme financed by the European Union. the LED Support Programme focuses on four areas of support, namely: (i) improvement of local government LED facilitation capacity and efficiency, (ii) strengthening private-public partnerships to capitalise on local competitive advantage, (iii) stimulating financial institutions to offer better access to finance and implement sound management systems, and (iv) facilitating learning and more effective networking in support of LED. This website is a resource centre for LED and a communication centre for all matters from latest news to making application packs available to applicants.

Centre for Social Markets (CSM)
http://www.csmworld.org
CSM is an independent non-profit organization dedicated to making markets work for the triple bottom line - people, planet and profit. Through our offices in India and the United Kingdom, and an international network of partners and associates, CSM promotes responsible entrepreneurship, ethics and accountability worldwide. Founded in 2000 by Indian social entrepreneur, Malini Mehra, we are a values-based organisation committed to sustainable development and human rights.

Association for Women's Rights in Development
http://www.awid.org
AWID is an international membership organization connecting, informing and mobilizing people and organizations committed to achieving gender equality, sustainable development and women's human rights. The Website has Publications, Announcements, Analysis, Jobs, Related links, Key events.

Portal:Atlas, From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Atlas
The Atlas Portal is the portal to maps and cartography on Wikipedia. The portal contains links to articles on cartography (including maps) by country, continent and by topic.

Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI)
http://www.neighbourhood.gov.uk/page.asp?id=1612
LEGI was announced by the Chancellor in his 2005 Budget and aims to release the economic and productivity potential of the most deprived local areas across the country through enterprise and investment thereby boosting local incomes and employment opportunities, and building sustainable communities.

GanttProject
http://ganttproject.sourceforge.net/
GanttProject is a tool for creating a project schedule by means of Gantt chart and resource load chart. We assume that you know what do these words mean. If you don't, there is a lot of information about these charts and scheduling in the Internet. With GanttProject you can break down your project into a tree of tasks and assign human resources that have to work on each task.

Bilaterals.org
http://www.bilaterals.org
Bilaterals.org is a collective effort to share information and stimulate cooperation against bilateral trade and investment agreements that are opening countries to the deepest forms of penetration by transnational corporations.

European Parliament Committee on Development
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/committees/deve_home_en.htm
Committee responsible for the promotion, implementation and monitoring of the development and cooperation policy of the Union, including matters relating to the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement and relations with the relevant bodies. The Site give access to all meeting documents at http://www.europarl.europa.eu/meetdocs/.

November 2006

World Bank: Private Sector Papers and Links
http://rru.worldbank.org/PapersLinks/
This database offers more than 800 of the best and most current online resources on business environment and privatization issues available for download. Each topic offers up to 40 policy papers, case studies and websites. With the help of experts on each topic, we update these lists regularly.

tralac - Trade Law Center for Southern Africa
http://www.tralac.org
tralac is a not-for-profit organisation, building trade law capacity in the southern Africa region; in governments, the private sector and civil society. tralac’s mission is to build the capacity to trade better, for countries in southern Africa. tralac was established in February 2002, with the financial support of seco, the Swiss Department of Economic Development, and consists of a core of trade lawyers and economists with high-level expertise in a range of trade and trade-related areas.

ECDPM launches a new website http://www.acp-eu-trade.org
The European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM) launches a new non-partisan website offering policy-makers, negotiators and other ACP-EU trade and development stakeholders reliable, comprehensive and up-to-date information resources pertaining to ACP-EU trade matters.

Asia Regional Integration Center (ARIC)
http://www.aric.adb.org
ADB launched the ARIC website, a knowledge and information portal to monitor the progress of regional cooperation and integration in Asia and the Pacific. ARIC is structured on four basic strategic pillars of ADB’s recently approved regional cooperation and integration (RCI) strategy: (i) cross-border infrastructure and associated software; (ii) trade and investment; (iii) money and finance; and (iv) regional public goods (such as prevention of communicable diseases and environmental degradation).

EU-LDC Network
http://www.eu-ldc.org
The EU-LDC Network, previously known as the EU-LDC Trade and Capital Relations Network, was initially set-up in 1993. Its creation was motivated by the recognition of the increasing importance of economic relations and co-operation between the European Union, its member states (EU) and less developed countries (LDC). Reflecting the pressing concerns raised by 'Fortress Europe', the Network sought to provide a medium for the exchange of information and analysis of trade and capital policies and their implications for relations between Europe and developing countries.

MIGA's Foreign Direct Investment Net
http://www.fdi.net
FDI.net is a unique web portal that offers free, on-demand country analysis and information on all things related to foreign direct investment in 175 countries. The site combines business and public resources with World Bank Group analysis to provide users with a single entry point for the full-spectrum of information needed to make a decision about investing in a foreign country.

European Capacity Building Initiative for Climate Change Negotiations
http://www.eurocapacity.org
IIED (International Institute of Environment and Development) holds workshops as a part of the European Capacity Building Initiative. This initiative is an effort to overcome the limitations in the North-South interaction through a number of capacity and trust building activities.

MIGA's political risk insurance Center
http://www.pri-center.com
The Political Risk Insurance Center (PRI-Center) is an information portal Web site providing free access to online political risk management and insurance resources. The PRI-Center was established in 2006 as part of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency's (MIGA) mandate promote foreign direct investment to developing countries so as to enhance growth and development.

The Coopeco Network
http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/projects/al-invest/coopecos_en.cfm
The COOPECO network is a European network of 300+ institutions supporting industrial co-operation and investment promotion in Latin America. To ensure that investment promotion activities have the greatest possible effect, a climate conductive to the promotion of investment between countries with different industrial traditions, like EC and Latin America, has to be created at the operational or organisation level of economic activities.

New European Portal for SMEs
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/smes/index_en.htm
A new website to help Europe's SMEs has recently been published by the EC. Teh Website covers all of the areas that are likely to be of interest and relevance to SMEs. By the end of the 2007-2013 budgetary cycle, the Commission’s enterprise and industry directorate will be spending 60% more on SMEs than it did in 2006, thanks to some three billion euros from the new Competitiveness and Innovation Programme. Meanwhile, regional development funds, which have channelled 21 billion euros into supporting SMEs over the last six years, will continue to make a big difference, as indeed will our big research and development programmes. There is also a Newsroom at http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/newsroom/cf/menu.cfm

Business Environment Council, Hong Kong
http://www.bec.org.hk
BEC is a leading independent cross-sector business association in Hong Kong advocating environmental and sustainable development. Their aim is to balance economic, social and environmental interests whilst empowering competitiveness.

microLINKS - Microenterprise Learning Information and Knowledge Sharing
http://www.microlinks.org
In response to suggestions from our site users, USAID's microLINKS team has made a number of design and navigation changes to make it easier to find what you are looking for and to optimize the site for a wide array of monitors.

Online PPD partnerships: Selected dialogue websites
http://www.publicprivatedialogue.org/links/
A selection of links to the websites of public-private dialogue mechanisms and to private sector representative organizations which promote PPD.

UNRISD launches a new website
http://www.unrisd.org
The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) based in Geneva, Switzerland, has launched a redeveloped version of their web site.

Economics Departments, Institutes and Research Centers in the World
http://edirc.repec.org
There is now an amazing number of economics institutions on the WWW. This is an attempt by Christian Zimmermann (Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut) to index them. Currently 9820 institutions in 226 countries and territories are listed. The index is organized by countries and fields, to avoid too long a download. Included are economics departments research centers and institutes in universities, as well as finance ministries, statistical offices, central banks, think tanks, and other non-profit institutions where mainly economists are working. Also, each institution is attributed a unique handle.

RePEc - Research Papers in Economics
http://repec.org
RePEc is a collaborative effort of hundreds of volunteers in 55 countries and 34 US states to enhance the dissemination of research in economics. The heart of the project is a decentralized database of working papers, journal articles and software components. All RePEc material is freely available.
Over 400000 items of research can be browsed or searched and over 300000 can be downloaded in full text! This site is part of a large volunteer effort to enhance the free dissemination of research in Economics. IDEAS - http://ideas.repec.org- is a service providing information about working papers and published research to the economics profession. IDEAS stands for 'Internet Documents in Economics Access Service', which is not very good English, but you get the idea... The data available here are contributed at no charge by volunteers and made available freely.

CGIAR's CGVLibrary - Gateway to Global Agricultural Knowledge
http://vlibrary.cgiar.org
A new Internet gateway allows development professionals to search an array of leading databases on agriculture, hunger, poverty and the environment. Fom just one search engine, tap into leading agricultural information databases, including the online libraries of the CGIAR Centers and the CGIAR's Core Collection Database.

African Economic and Financial Policymakers’ Network (EFNET)
http://www.acbf-pact.org/efnet/
e African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) will launch an African Economic and Financial Policymakers’ Network (EFNET) in 2004. The meeting to launch the Network will take place in Nairobi, Kenya and will be attended by all African ministers of finance and development planning, among other senior policymakers. EFNET is being set up by the Foundation to foster dialogue, information and knowledge sharing (including best and replicable practices) in policymaking and implementation, and to support mutual learning among ministers and other senior development managers. It is thus a Knowledge and Information Sharing Community for African Economic and Financial Policymakers.

October 2006 Special Edition on Post-conflict economies

Improving the Business Environment for Small Enterprises: Inter-agency information exchange
http://www.businessenvironment.org
This site hosts the database of the Donor Committee's Business Environment Working Group - for sharing documents and information about donor-supported work to enhance the business environment to achieve pro-poor growth. A unique feature of this site is a focus on aspects of the Business Environment that discriminate against small firms; it also covers the overall approaches of governments to SME policies and institutions.

Economic Impacts of Peacekeeping Library
http://www.peacedividendtrust.org/EIP_library.htm
The Economic Impacts of Peacekeeping Library is a collection of articles, reports, abstracts and book summaries that span across the existing literature on economic aspects of peace operations. The library includes materials used in the EIP literature review, and a variety of additional sources including academic, governmental, and non-governmental items.

The UN Peacebuilding Portal
www.peacebuildingportal.org
New peacebuilding tool made available by the United Nations which acts a resource and acts as a catalyst for private sector development to tap into the right peacebuilding networks and organizations. The Portal's mission is to empower civil society and organizations working for peace to share information, network and strengthen their work within their communities, their country, and with the UN. (Contributed by Louise Agersnap)

Creating jobs and working towards peace
http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1277&context=key_workplace
Beasley, K.W. / US Agency for International Development (USAID) , 2006
This paper discusses the main justifications for job creation projects after serious conflict, both short- and longer-term. It reviews some major lessons learned and best practices to guide their design and implementation.

ILO’s InFocus Programme on Crisis Response and Reconstruction (IFP/CRISIS)
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/crisis/
A key activity of ILO/CRISIS is the wide dissemination of information useful to crisis practitioners. The programme strives to bring the employment dimension of crises to the attention of ILO staff, other UN organizations, ILO tripartite constituents, civil society, donors, media outlets, and the public. More specifically, it works to ensure that practitioners have flexible, ready-to-use tools at their disposal when a crisis erupts.

UNDP Crisis Prevention and Recovery
http://www.undp.org/bcpr/
The Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR) is one of nine major bureaus within the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Consistent with UNDP’s mission to promote sustainable human development, the focus is on the development dimension of crisis situations. Currently developing a new website for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (CPR) information, which will be available in October 2006.

World Bank: Conflict Prevention and Reconstruction
http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/
The Conflict Prevention and Reconstruction Unit works to design development efforts specific to conflict-affected countries. The Post-Conflict Fund provides financing for physical and social reconstruction initiatives in post-war societies. The Bank is playing a significant role in Afghanistan, Africa's Great Lakes region, the Balkans, Iraq, Liberia, Nepal, Sierra Leone, Timor Leste, the West Bank and Gaza, and other war-torn areas.

Private Sector Development Blog: Post conflict
http://psdblog.worldbank.org/psdblog/post_conflict/index.html
The PSD Blog gathers together news, resources and ideas about the role of private enterprise in fighting poverty. The bloggers are members of the World Bank Group.

The OECD DAC Network on Conflict, Peace and Development Co-operation (CPDC)
http://www.oecd.org/dac/conflict
CPDC is the international forum that brings together conflict prevention and peace-building experts from bilateral and multilateral development agencies, including from the UN system, EC, IMF and World Bank. These experts meet to define and develop common approaches in support of peace. The CPDC is a subsidiary group of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC).

Conflict Prevention and Post-Conflict Reconstruction (CPR) Network
http://cpr.web.cern.ch/cpr/
The CPR Network is an informal network of donor countries and partner UN Agencies dealing with the complex issues of conflict management. It arose out of an interest by DAC members of the Conflict, Peace and Development Cooperation Task Force to continue the process of sharing knowledge and experience in field operations that could serve as a guide to those working in conflict prevention and post-conflict reconstruction (CPR).

The Global Partnership
http://www.gppac.net
The Global Partnership is an international network of organisations working in conflict prevention and peacebuilding worldwide. The Partnership is organised into 15 regions, each with a Regional Initiator or lead organisation, who steers the regional process of network-building and coordinates the development of a Regional Action Agenda on conflict prevention. The global process is led by the International Steering Group (ISG), composed of Regional Initiators and a select group of other parties. The European Centre for Conflict Prevention acts as secretariat.

Transcend: A Peace and Development Network
http://www.transcend.org
Research and Training Network for Conflict Transformation by Peaceful means, founded and led by Johan Galtung. Hosting Training Programmes and the TRANSCEND Peace University.

Working Group on Development and Peace (FriEnt)
http://www.frient.de/en/
FriEnt is an association of seven German governmental and non-governmental organisations, with the main objective to promote peace building in all areas of development cooperation. To this end, FriEnt's core activities include fostering joint learning, capacity building, advice and supporting networking and co-operation of its members.

Business & Human Rights Resource Centre
http://www.business-humanrights.org
Network to promote greater awareness and informed discussion of important issues relating to business and human rights. Contains many reports on Global Compact partners and their violations of the principles of this scheme and/or criticism of their participation. The website includes reports of corporate misconduct, as well as positive examples of ''best practice'' by companies. The website is composed of links to a wide range of materials published by: NGOs; companies & business organisations; United Nations, ILO & other intergovernmental organisations; governments & courts; policy experts & academics; social investment analysts; journalists; etc.

DFAIT - Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca
Information on projects in Afghanistan (post-war reconstruction). Under ''Global Issues, peace & Security'' you can find more information on disarmament, international law, peace-keeping measures and post-conflict Iraq.

Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
http://www.eitransparency.org
The EITI supports improved governance in resource-rich countries through the full publication and verification of company payments and government revenues from oil, gas and mining. Many countries are rich in oil, gas, and minerals and studies have shown that when governance is good, these can generate large revenues to foster economic growth and reduce poverty. However when governance is weak, they may instead cause poverty, corruption, and conflict – the so called ''resource curse”. The EITI aims to defeat this ''curse” by improving transparency and accountability.

The Kimberley Process on conflict diamonds
The Kimberley Process is a joint government, international diamond industry and civil society initiative to stem the flow of conflict diamonds - rough diamonds that are used by rebel movements to finance wars against legitimate governments.
http://www.kimberleyprocess.com

Peace Dividend Trust (PDT)
http://www.peacedividendtrust.org
A non-profit foundation incorporated in Canada and the United Kingdom. Works to make peace and humanitarian operations more efficient, effective and equitable, delivering a stronger peace and a larger peace dividend.

Corporate Engagement Project
http://www.cdainc.com/cep/
The Collaborative for Development Action (CDA) is a consulting agency that has worked extensively with humanitarian agencies in conflict or post-conflict situations. The agency’s Corporate Engagement Project (CEP) addresses the special concerns of multinational corporations in conflict-affected areas. It develops practical management tools to promote positive relationships between companies and localities. The Web site includes articles on best practices and case studies based on fieldwork with mining, petroleum, and construction companies in Papua New Guinea, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Mozambique. A series of CEP issue papers discuss conflict risk mitigation strategies, with sections on operational activities, stakeholder engagement, and corporate culture.

Zentrum für Internationale Friedenseinsätze (Center for International Peace Operations - ZIF)
http://www.zif-berlin.org/en/
ZIF was established by the German Federal Government in June 2002 with the aim of enhancing Germany’s civilian crisis prevention capacities. ZIF’s core mandate is the training, recruitment, and support of German civilian personnel for peace operations and election observation missions conducted in particular by the OSCE, the EU, and the UN.

Danish Portal Promotes Investment in Developing Countries
http://www.business-anti-corruption.com
A free portal established in partnership between Global Advice Network, Transparency International and Danida will help businesses investing in developing countries avoid corruption. The portal contains practical tools for businesses, including sector-specific corruption levels.

Afghanistan's Peace Dividend Marketplace
http://d13197.u24.3datelecom.com/PDM/index.php
The Peace Dividend Marketplace project is designed to support private sector development by harnessing the existing operational spending of international agencies and companies by linking their large procurement needs to local suppliers. By encouraging international agencies to increase their local procurement, millions of dollars can be channeled into Afghanistan's economy.

swisspeace - the "Swiss Peace Foundation
http://www.swisspeace.org
swisspeace is an action-oriented peace-research institute in the area of conflict analysis and peacebuilding. We research the causes of wars and violent conflicts, develop tools for early recognition of tensions, and formulate conflict mitigation and peacebuilding strategies. swisspeace was founded in 1988

Transition International
http://www.transitioninternational.com
Netherlands-based, international consultancy firm with a network of senior consultants around the world. We are specialised in tackling the challenges of transitions. We promote change for the better through sharing knowledge, training and advisory services. (Contributed by Irma Specht)

Households in Conflict Network (HiCN)
http://www.hicn.org
The HiCN brings together researchers interested in the micro-economic and econometric analysis of the relationship between violent conflict and household behaviour. The purpose of the HiCN is to undertake collaborative research into the causes and effects of violent conflict at the household level. (Contributed by Tilman Brück)

International Relations and Security Network (ISN)
http://www.isn.ethz.ch
The ISN is a free public service that provides a wide range of high-quality and comprehensive products and resources to encourage the exchange of information among international relations and security professionals worldwide. Based in Zurich, Switzerland, at the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich), the ISN’s dedicated team – drawn from various disciplines, including the humanities, the social sciences, and information and communication technology – engage in research projects and education activities, provide news stories and in-depth analyses, and develop technologies for information sharing and for creating and supporting e-learning.

Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights
http://www.voluntaryprinciples.org
This site is designed to raise awareness of the Voluntary Principles, which have been developed to guide companies in balancing the needs for safety while respecting human rights and fundamental freedoms. (Contributed by John Bray)

Global Business Network
http://www.gbn.com
Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Global Business Network was founded in 1987 as a unique learning community based on ruthless curiosity, collaboration, and powerful new tools for thinking about and shaping the future.

September 2006

Aid Workers Network is a free service set up to enable aid workers to share practical advice and resources with each other
http://www.aidworkers.net
When working in relief and development, we often face situations and problems that others have already encountered. Aid Workers Network is your starting point for finding out how they dealt with those situations and solved those problems - and for you to contribute your own experience to help others. Aid Workers Network is supported by British Red Cross and Oxfam.

Capacity Development Network
http://www.capacitywhoiswho.net
CDNet is an open source virtual workspace providing opportunity for dialogue, exchange and learning on capacity development. Registered users can create their own discussions, working groups and libraries on CD topics of their choosing. ''Resource Corners” serve as managed incubators for collective work around specific themes.

Caribbean Graduates Network for Regional Integration
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PRCNU/
The CULP Network shall facilitate the development of Caribbean graduates as skilled professionals committed to the development of the Region consistent with the highest standards of professionalism. CULP aimed at developing a regional capability for supplying competent professionals to public and private sector organisations in the region, as a contribution to the overall objective of promoting integration and sustainable social and economic development in the Caribbean. Master’s courses in key applied disciplines were developed by five participating.

UNjobs -Job Vacancies in United Nations and International Organizations
http://unjobs.org
Vacancy Announcements from the United Nations and other International Organizations, compiled by UNjobs Association of Geneva.

WorkSavvy! Business Startup
http://www.worksavvy.ws
This website provides you with helpful information on the following topics: Support for the would-be & early-stage entrepreneur, guidance on personal & business plan development; getting your business to start sooner, grow stronger and last longer; free material on business startup and how to get help & advice - cost-effectively.

Doing Business Law Library
http://www.doingbusiness.org/LawLibrary/?cid=1291
This online library is a new, online collection of business laws and regulations from 175 countries. The library links to official government sources wherever possible and will be updated continually – currently the database holds 4,158 laws. The laws featured in the database relate to the 10 Doing Business indicators and cover: banking and credit, bankruptcy and collateral, civil codes, civil procedure codes, commercial and company, labor, land and building, securities, tax, and trade.

Traidcraft PLC: Working with Producer Groups Around the World in Fair Trade
http://www.traidcraft.co.uk
Traidcraft PLC as the UK's leading fair trade organisation, works with more than 100 producer groups in over 30 countries around the world, helping them build sustainable livelihoods for the future. Traidcraft Exchange, the charity arm, develops projects and offers training and consultancy services to promote pro-poor business development. This organisation engages in policy work and campaigning to influence UK and EU policy-makers and raise public awareness of poverty and trade issues.

The European Union Development Policy New Website
http://www.europe-cares.org/africa/
The Commission has launched a new website on EU Strategy for Africa

EADI New Student Forum
http://www.eadi.org/detail_page.phtml?page=dossier_students
EADI aims to facilitate greater networking and information exchange amongst students and young researchers in the field of development.

August 2006

Business Development Services (BDS) Forum
http://www.bds-forum.net
The BDS Forum is a database and discussion forum on different BDS strategies. We do not support ''the only one BDS approach'' - monopoly but complementary business development strategies proved in practice like the moderate BDS approach including commercial BDS providers as well as NGOs, local city administrations, public providers and self-help organisations. Your contributions are welcome!

Danida's Centre for Competence Development
http://www.danida-dccd.dk
This homepage has been created in order to provide information on our activities, to facilitate applications for competence development activities, and to assist you in your search for additional information concerning competence development activities. DCCD services cover: pre-departure programmes, course activities, professional networks, e-learning and short events like seminars and meetings. All activities have aspects of Danish and international development cooperation as focal points.

Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa (FTTSA)
http://www.fairtourismsa.org.za
FTTSA is an independent non-profit organisation that promotes equitable and sustainable tourism development in South Africa . FTTSA carries out a range of awareness raising activities and facilitates a voluntary certification initiative that awards a special Trademark (label) to tourism establishments in South Africa that comply with Fair Trade principles and criteria. FTTSA was initiated by the South African Country Office of the IUCN-World Conservation Union. This entailed the facilitation of a pilot project during 1999-2001, known as the ''Fair Trade in Tourism Initiative” (FTTI), which tested the extent to which global Fair Trade in Tourism principles and concepts could be applied to the South African context.

Openplans.org: a free wiki-based community organizing and project management tool
http://openplans.org
OpenPlans, a site dedicated to helping communities organize virtually to effect real world change, is currently running a beta testing version of the software here at www.openplans.org. The site will continue to evolve as we roll out bug fixes, new features, and enhanced functionality. OpenPlans is wiki-based. This means that most pages are editable by members of the site. Membership is free and it takes just seconds to register. Once you log in, you may start your own project or contribute to an existing one.

July 2006

ReConnect Africa
http://www.reconnectafrica.com
ReConnect Africa is a publication of Interims for Development, an award-winning Human Resources and Training company providing innovative people solutions for companies operating in Africa. ReConnect Africa is a unique online publication and portal that provides readily accessible information and essential services for employers who recruit, manage and develop African human resources and for graduates and professionals in Africa and the Diaspora seeking opportunities in employment, business and investment in Africa.

acp-eu-trade.org online Database of Experts
http://www.acp-eu-trade.org
To coincide with the beginning of the negotiations of new trading arrangements between the EU and ACP countries, in the form of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), ECDPM's ACP-EU Trade and Economic Cooperation programme has developed and launched a non-partisan website, www.acp-eu-trade.org, offering policy-makers, negotiators and other ACP-EU trade and development stakeholders reliable, comprehensive and up-to-date information resources pertaining to ACP-EU trade matters. This website allows interested parties to access EPA and other ACP-EU trade-related information resources. For more information, contact the ACP-EU-Trade Website team at acpeutrade@ecdpm.org, to download the registration form, please visit the following link: http://acp-eu-trade.org

Trade Matters
http://www.dfid.gov.uk/tradematters/
DFID's Trade Matters explains how trade could help the world's poorest people get out of poverty. Our new on-line guide to Trade Matters features short stories about smarter farming and the dangers of protectionism, but also has a range of suggestions about what you can do to make a difference. external link, opens in new window.

AIDA Online Global Directory of Development Projects
http://aida.developmentgateway.org/AidaHome.do
AiDA online directory of development projects offers the largest available repository of aid-funded projects and programs from around the world. Use it to learn who is doing what, where, and with what funds. It includes 100,000 current projects funded by 200 agencies, plus over 400,000 archived projects.

New Business Development Portal in West Africa
http://www.ghanabusiness.org
Information on a Directory of Ghanaian Business Consultants, Business Registration and Import-Export procedures in Ghana as well as information on Business Planning (3 new business plan templates for start-ups, micro/small and medium enterprises), Trade Fairs, Basic Bookkeeping, Cost Calculation, Marketing, Financing your Business, Taxation, Capacity Building of Business Associations, Supply Markets and Standards and Quality. Source: bds-ethiopia.net

Localdevelopment: Tools and stories for local communities
http://www.localdevelopment.net
The purpose of local economic development is to build up the economic capacity of a local area to improve its economic future and the quality of life for all. It is a process by which public, business and non-governmental sector partners work collectively to create better conditions for economic growth and employment generation

United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service
http://www.un-ngls.org
NGLS's new website is more user friendly, features simple navigation for complex searches, and loads quickly. It also provides easier access to reports and other types of information and includes a working site-level search engine.

Association of Guinean Consultants and Evaluators ''Association Guinéene des Evaluateurs (AGEVAL)''
http://www.ageval.org
The AGEVAL Website is specialised on Monitoring and Evaluation (M+E). About 20 Manuals for M+E on Poverty Reduction, M+E on Gender equality, participatory M+E methods and Impact Monitoring Guides from ILO, Worldbank, GTZ, Asian Development Bank, GRET, OECD and EU are in the bibliography and available for download for paying members. A Directory of Consultants gives information on the Guinean Evaluators community. Source: bds-ethiopia.net

Internet portal on Intellectual Property Rights
http://www.iprsonline.org
IPRsonline.org is an Internet portal on Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) and Sustainable Development. It contains a selection of relevant online documents and resources related to IPRs and sustainable development including a guide to IPRs, proposals submitted to the WTO, discussion papers classified by topics, a calendar of IPRs related events, latest news on IPRs, and links to listservs and relevant institutions working on IPRs. Contributor: John Daly

June 2006

Corporate Accountability
http://www.corporate-accountability.org/eng/
This Website by WEED aims to facilitate the flow of information among NGOs and social movements who believe their governments, private sector and civil society need to make greater efforts to ensure the accountability of business and industry, especially Transnational Corporations, to society. It contains information about ongoing civil society campaigns on corporate accountability and about NGOs and trade unions that are active in this field. It provides comprehensive material on codes of conduct, multi-stakeholder initiatives and intergovernmental processes. Finally, this site makes available documents and publications on corporate accountability and links to relevant research institutes and databases. It offers a free newsletter.

Small Enterprise Education and Promotion (SEEP) Network
http://www.seepnetwork.org
The SEEP is a membership association of over 50 international organizations that support micro and small enterprise development programs around the world. Its mission is to advance the practice of micro and small enterprise development among its members, their international partners, and other practitioners. The Website offers many practical tools.

Micro, small and medium enterprises database
http://rru.worldbank.org/PapersLinks/resources.aspx?id=6358
This World Bank Group database gathers publicly available country-level data on micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and presents them in an easily accessible format. This initiative is a work in progress, with updates and improvements made as new data become available. The most recent update adds historical data and business environment indicators.

Copenhagen Consensus Center
http://www.copenhagenconsensus.com
The Copenhagen Consensus Center (CCC) analyzes the world's biggest problems and provides informed input to any organisational entity concerned with mitigating the negative consequences of the these challenges. The ten challenges assessed at CC04 were: Hunger and Malnutrition, Climate Change, Conflicts, Financial Instability, Water and Sanitation, Subsidies and Trade Barriers, Population, Migration, Communicable Diseases, Education, Governance and Corruption. The background papers identified 38 solutions.

May 2006

ReConnectAfrica.com – the new online careers, business and people management resource for Africa.
http://www.ReConnectAfrica.com
Identifying and attracting talent is not an easy proposition for many businesses in Africa today. Finding and keeping talent where infrastructure, technology and financial resources can be limited brings a unique set of challenges. ReConnectAfrica.com is a unique online publication and portal that provides readily accessible information each month. It offers essential services for employers who recruit, manage and develop African human resources and for graduates and professionals in Africa and the Diaspora seeking opportunities in employment and business in Africa.

World Economy & Development in brief
http://www.world-economy-and-development.org
World Economy & Development in brief is an independent platform for civil society organisations (CSOs), North-South and environmental policy initiatives. It is published by the founder of the German NGO WEED and long-standing editor Rainer Falk, Luxembourg, in co-operation with an international network of scientists, on-the-ground specialists and experts. English online edition of the German Informationsbrief Weltwirtschaft & Entwicklung (World Economy & Development – W&E).

Stock Exchange A-Z by Deutsche Börse
http://deutsche-boerse.com
The stock exchange A –Z is an online glossary with some 700 important terms related to the topics of trading and exchange operations. The entries are formulated in such a manner as to be understood by the general public; the dictionary and its entries are updated regularly.

Finance and Banking Glossary by Institut für Betriebswirtschaftliche Geldwirtschaft, Göttingen University
http://ifbg.wiwi.uni-goettingen.de/links.php
The Database at IFBG-ONLINE provides an extensive collection of web pages with finance and banking related contents. Among a great many more you will find links to most of the stock markets of the World, the most influential central banks, and many providers of financial services.

DevDir- Free directory of 47,500 development organizations
http://www.devdir.org/
The directory of development organizations, listing 47.500 development organizations, has been prepared to facilitate international cooperation and knowledge sharing in development work, both among civil society organizations, research institutions, governments and the private sector. The directory aims to promote interaction and active partnerships among governments, private sector and key development organisations in civil society, including NGOs, trade unions, faith-based organizations, indigenous peoples movements, foundations and research centres.

World Directory of Environmental Organizations Online
http://www.interenvironment.org/general/quick-en.htm
The World Directory Online has over 350 pages and more than 350,000 words of text. Thousands of organizations are listed in it. Although the Web site is carefully structured and cross-referenced, you may well need to invest some effort to find what you need. Take time to understand the structure of the Web site and be prepared to spend time scanning entries and visiting organizations' Web sites, particularly for the larger and more complex groups.

Resources for Economists on the Internet
http://rfe.org/
This guide is sponsored by the American Economic Association. It lists 2,100 resources in 97 sections and sub-sections available on the Internet of interest to academic and practicing economists, and those interested in economics. Almost all resources are also described. In selecting resources for RFE, I exercise some editorial judgment and select items that either offer a substantial amount of information, or are specialized to a given area.

April 2006

Research4Development portal
http://www.research4development.info/news.asp?articleID=175
DFID's Central Research Department has developed the R4D portal, which promotes new research awarded under the Research Funding Framework. It also provides information about the research activities prior to 2006 in Rural Livelihoods, Health, Social Sciences, Education and Infrastructure and Urban Development. By using R4D you will be able to identify areas such as the topics we fund, the countries where we have research programmes, what the major findings are from them (including access to policy briefs and media outputs) and who is working with it from which country

Digital Access Index
'Digital divide' map of the so-called Digital Access Index (DAI). The DAI measures the overall ability of individuals in a country to access and use information and communication technologies. With the Digital Divide Simulator you can experience browsing the web with low bandwidth and compare it with the (of course faster) bandwidth you are used to.
http://wireless.ictp.trieste.it/simulator/

Proconsul system is for sale
http://www.proconsul.com/
The Proconsul system and the domain names (Proconsul.com and Proconsul.co.nz) are offered for sale as a total going concern, or offered for sale individually. Proconsul is a web based marketplace which provides value to consultants and organisations around the world. Recognised professionals and consultants can market their skills and services to a world-wide audience of clients, and organisations can search the Proconsul database at any time to locate and match their requirements for professional consulting and contracting services.

Can you recommend useful Websites on economic development? Please contact us and send a brief description and the URL, so we can check and add it here.

March 2006

CGAP Technology Resource Center
http://www.microfinancegateway.org/resource_centers/technology
CGAP’s technology program helps microfinance institutions (MFIs) improve their information systems so that they can effectively track operations and understand their performance. The program also conducts research and experiments to understand how MFIs and financial institutions can use technology to reduce the cost of delivering financial services to poor people.

Private Sector development blog
http://psdblog.worldbank.org/
The world bankgroup developed a blog addressing various issues of private sector development. Certainly worth a visit and a bookmark in your browser.

Dev-Zone
http://www.dev-zone.org
Dev-Zone is an Aotearoa New Zealand non-governmental resource centre on international development and global issues. Dev-Zone, along with the The Global Education Centre, is a programme of The Development Resource Centre [DRC]. Their vision is change for a just world. Dev-Zone is an independent Aotearoa New Zealand based resource centre on international development and global issues.
Dev-Zone runs a library and a website, provides email updates, publishes a magazine named ''Just Change'', engages in information related projects and works with like-minded organisations to raise awareness about issues.

Database: Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises
http://rru.worldbank.org/PapersLinks/resources.aspx?id=6358
This database gathers publicly available country-level data on micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and presents them in an easily accessible format. This initiative is a work in progress, with updates and improvements made as new data become available. The most recent update adds historical data and business environment indicators.

Industrialized countries top new globalization index
http://www.globalization-index.org
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich and the Swiss Institute for Business Cycle Research have developed an index of globalization that measures the economic, social and political dimensions of globalization. The index is calculated on the basis of 23 variables (which include FDI) for 123 countries over the period 1970-2003. The United States, Sweden and Canada top the globalization rankings, while Hong Kong (China) is in tenth place and the United Arab Emirates in the top twenty-five. Several least developed countries ranked low in terms of each of the dimensions of the globalization index.

Country Risk Ratings Archive
http://www.countryrisk.com/guide/archives/cat_country_risk_ratings.html
This is a collection of links to country rankings, done by various organizations and governments. You'll find rankings for things like trade credit loss, sovereign default, confiscation/expropriation, war, etc. And this page is not the only valuable one at this site. In the left column you'll see links to other country rankings, data & statistics, and research & analysis sites.

Jet Lag Calculator
http://www.bodyclock.com
Flying across time zones disrupts the body's natural rhythms, and it can take days before your internal clock adjusts. The Jet Lag Calculator
has some good advice on how to handle jet lag, and you can find tips based on the length of your flight.

World Wide Internet TV
http://wwitv.com
World Wide Internet TV website (wwiTV). wwiTV.com is an independent guide to streaming media available on the web. We do not provide streaming content ourselves. This site is designed to enable users of personal computers and other consumer electronic devices to easily find and access media content over the Internet.

February 2006

DOCON 2006 Directory of Consulting Firms
http://www.docon.info
The DOCON is a list of consulting firms active in international development cooperation, sorted by country of origin or registration. Direct links take you to their Websites. Here you can find consultants, consortium partners or employers. This information is compiled from public short-list of the World Bank, the ADB, the EuropeAid Coordination Office, consulting associations and other public sources. Karsten Weitzenegger Consulting keep the list as reliable as possible. You can also add companies to the directory.

itrain Online - an online resource for using the Internet
http://topics.developmentgateway.org
Six international organizations have joined forces to create ItrainOnline, a technology resource centre for people who want to learn how to use the Internet effectively for social justice and sustainable development. ItrainOnline responds to the need to bring such resources together in one place - an interactive multilingual website containing the best and most relevant computer and Internet training content. Topics covered range from computer and Internet basics to more advanced subjects such as building online communities and incorporating audio and video into websites. The site also includes training events and educational resources for Internet trainers.

Doha Development Agenda Trade Capacity Building Database (TCBDB)
http://tcbdb.wto.org/
The TCBDB has been established by the WTO jointly with the OECD to provide information on trade-related technical assistance and capacity building projects. It covers national as well as regional projects. It is an on-going activity and the 2005 Joint WTO/OECD Report on Trade-Related Technical Assistance and Capacity Building was circulated in December 2005. At present, the period of coverage is 2001 to 2004 and partial 2005 and beyond. Data is reported from bilateral donors and multilateral/regional Agencies. A search of the database can be performed either by trade category or beneficiary country or donor country or agency. The statistical analysis option allows quantitative analysis of trade capacity building data by these categories.

The Alternative Finance Website
http://www.alternative-finance.org.uk/en/
This is another example of e-learning on microfinance. The definitive source of 'grey literature' and information on all aspects of alternative and microfinance in English and Spanish. It is possible to search and download microfinance literature in pdf, rtf, html and text formats. This enables easy access to the information and makes it simple to download what you need no matter what system you are using. The website provides a forum for MFI practitioners and researchers and gives improved access to applied research, provides innovative microfinance training tools, and facilitates the exchange and dissemination of development finance resources. And in partnership with the Rural Finance Learning Centre they offer a new distance learning microfinance e-learning training programme.

The MIX MARKET?, by The MIX (Microfinance Information eXchange)
http://www.mixmarket.org/ The global information exchange for the microfinance industry
The MIX Market strives to facilitate exchange and investments flows, promote transparency and improve reporting standards in the microfinance industry Create a free MIX Market membership account to take advantage of the site?s customizable features.

EQxIS for social development data in Latin America
http://www.iadb.org/xindicators
The IDB has launched an initiative which measures progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals in Latin America and the Caribbean. The system, called EQxIS, helps to identify disparities in achievement of development goals among different groups of the population.
Estimations for four points in time starting from 1990 to the latest available year, use microdata from the Household Surveys Databank of the MECOVI Program and definitions of indicators from the United Nations for monitoring the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Indicators are disaggregated by income quintile, gender, urban/rural area and race/ethnicity to help identify discrepancies in the achievement of development goals within different groups of population. Statistical significance and methodological details on definitions, methods of calculation, relevant facts about sources of information and complete access to the programs for calculating the indicators are included throughout the website.

Projects of the European Investment Bank
http://www.eibprojects.org/
The European Investment Bank, the most secretive multilateral bank of all, puts more money in big projects around the world than any other public bank. Information on these projects is rarely accessible. Find out from this new web site which projects in Asia, Africa, the Mediterranea and Latin America are financed by the EIB! You can browse by sector or by country and we invite you to send us information on the impact of these projects.

A-Z Freight Gateway
http://www.azfreight.com
Links to hundreds of airline cargo companies and dozens of freight forwarders and package delivery services. If you ship a lot for your business, you should bookmark this site. At the home page, click on ''Track and Trace'' in the left column, and you'll find the list of links. You can also click on ''Country Index'' to find shipping professionals in countries worldwide. (Source: FITA)

Trade Information Center
http://www.trade.gov/td/tic/
The TIC of the U.S. Department of Commerce has links to information that U.S. (and other) exporters will find valuable, including: country and regional trade statistics; trade agreements; tariff and import fees by country; worldwide trade events listings; industry- specific information on U.S. exports; explanations of free trade agreements; exporting guides; trade leads; and much more. (Source: FITA)

Industrial Search - Thomas Global
http://www.thomasglobal.com
The most complete, up-to-date directory of global industrial suppliers and product information. Browse through our detailed list of industrial products and services to access companies within these and many other categories. (Source: FITA)

January 2006

PARC Performance Assessment Resource Centre
www.parcinfo.org
The PARC has invested in a stream of work to develop a framework for assessing donor performance against strategies and country level programmes. The flexible framework has been trialled in a number of PARC evaluations and as an approach to country level performance monitoring. We hope to refine this framework as we have more experience of applying it. The principles behind the approach have helped to inform DFID corporate guidance on performance monitoring for their country offices. It all is accessible at this relaunched website. The PARC is managed by International Organisation Development (IOD) Ltd.

The DAC Network on Development Evaluation
www.oecd.org/dac/evaluation
Development project evaluation activities have grown with more emphasis on results-oriented development. The OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) has created a Network on Development Evaluation with links to the leading multilateral, bilateral and NGO evaluation organizations. The Network brings together representatives from thirty bilateral and multilateral development agencies. They work together on improving evaluation for more effective development assistance. It has recently launched a new evaluation research center. To improve capacity to conduct evaluation, the National Science Foundation's Online Evaluation Resource Library is available, providing tools and instructions about effective evaluation.

OECD DAC Aid Evaluation Database
http://www.dac-evaluations-cad.org/dac/abstracts_e.htm
This website provides a summary of evaluations that are available throughout the international development donor community. Abstracts of each report are provided along with the full text of the report if it is available

Journeywoman
http://www.journeywoman.com
Women who want to get a female perspective on travel should visit Journeywoman. This magazine has lots of articles, advice, and tips on travel for women. You'll find: advice on traveling with children, personal travel anecdotes, insider information about the best shopping sites, what to wear in various countries, guides to traveling alone, medical advice, cultural tips, an e-mail directory of other female travelers, city guides, and more. Actually, with titles like ''Favorite Irish B&Bs'', and ''Super Spain -- Six Hotels Under (US) $50'', Journeywoman has plenty that male travelers will find interesting too.

World Bank's Doing Business database
http://www.doingbusiness.org/
The Doing Business database provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement. The Doing Business indicators are comparable across 155 economies. They indicate the regulatory costs of business and can be used to analyze specific regulations that enhance or constrain investment, productivity and growth. More details are now available for four topics covered in the database: Starting a Business, Dealing with Licenses, Protecting Investors, and Enforcing Contracts. The details include more in-depth information on the indicators for each topic.

B46 best-ever Freeware utilities
http://www.techsupportalert.com/best_46_free_utilities.htm
Computers these days don't come loaded with as much software as they used to, but before you spend money on software for that new computer, check out The 46 Best-Ever Freeware Utilities. This site has reviews of freeware (which means free software), in just about every category imaginable. There are programs for Web browsing, image viewing, anti-virus protection, spam filtering, HTML editing, spyware removal, photo editing, pop-up blocking, file management, Web searching, and much more. There's a whole suite of programs that perform the same functions as Microsoft Office -- and they're free.

CIPE Development Blog
www.cipe.org/blog.
The Center for International Private Enterprise announces the launch of a Blog. The CIPE Development Blog is an online forum designed to encourage discussion among reformers, civil society and youth leaders, and others interested in issues relating to economic reform and democratic development. For additional information contact blog@cipe.org.

Bilateral and regional trade agreements LIST
http://globaledge.msu.edu/ibrd/GR_IB_RTA.asp
In recent years there has been a rush by many countries to sign bilateral and regional trade agreements with their neighbors or allies. There have been so many that it can be hard to keep up with them. If you want to read up on these agreements, go to the Bilateral and Regional Trade Agreements list, a page at Michigan State University's Globaledge site. Scroll down the page to find a comprehensive list of links to agreements. You'll find explanations, documents, forms, and histories you can read so you're well-informed on this issue that could affect your business. Source: FITA

World Bank' s Investment Climate database
http://rru.worldbank.org/InvestmentClimate/
This site contains data on the investment climate in 62 countries, based on surveys of almost 32,000 firms. The surveys provide indicators of firm productivity and performance. Download country profiles containing overviews of key investment climate data. The data for each country is compared with data for all countries in the region and with a standard group of countries with similar incomes. Investment climate data for seven new countries are now available: Egypt, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Oman, South Africa, and Syria.

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