March 2004

• 1. The ISN Terrorism Dossier is now online
• 2. OECD DAC Report 2003
• 3. International Development Statistics CD-ROM
• 4. DEVELOPMENT GATEWAY unveils new home page
• 5. French Research INFOS-GEMDEV now online
• 6. GDN launches new Free Journal Access Portal
• 7. CONCORD (European Confederation for Relief and Development) is online
• 8. Course in Methods in Evaluation, June 4-5, 2004
• 9. WEED'S Corporate Accountability Newsletter
• 10. The E-Government Handbook for Developing Countries
• 11. Trial version of Participation.net on participation launched
• 12. Microfinance consensus guideline
• 13. MDGender.net on gender and Millennium Development Goals
• 14. Use your Computer as Mosquito Repellent

This dossier collects all the terrorism-related content generated by the ISN over the last few years in a single, convenient location. It also draws on research experience at the Center for Security Studies in Zurich, specifically the Political Violence Movements Project. Contact: Myriam Kaeser, ISN Editor, International Relations and Security Network (ISN), Tel +41 1 632 06 22 Fax +41 1 632 14 13, kaeser @ sipo.gess.ethz.ch
http://www.isn.ethz.ch/dossiers/terrorism/

The report argues that development is the business of the people and governments of the countries concerned, and that their own policies and institutions will remain the key to sustainable improvements in people's lives. The development community can merely help the process, and in particular facilitate faster progress. The two key ways the development community can do so are by promoting positive changes in the conditions that poor countries face in the world (the 'coherence' agenda) and by delivering more, and more effective, development assistance where it can be put to good use.
http://www.oecd.org/document/9/0,2340,en_2649_37413_1893129_1_1_1_37413,00.html http://oecdpublications.gfi-nb.com/cgi-bin/OECDBookShop.storefront/1192882269/Product/View/432004311E1

Published by the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD, this CD-ROM provides economists and researchers with a unique source of up-to-date comparative statistics and information on international development. Time series cover: volume, origin and types of aid and other resource flows to over 180 recipient countries; individual aid activities on bilateral and multilateral Official Development Assistance or Official Aid commitments by sector type, donors, recipient, with textual and numerical information on projects; amount and composition of the external debt of 168 recipient countries; key development indicators; numerous Aid charts for DAC members, recipient countries/territories and regions.
http://www.oecd.org/document/1/0,2340,en_2649_33721_1895553_1_1_1_1,00.html

The Development Gateway Foundation has redesigned its home page to give users ready access to the portal's individual information services while better representing the full range of the Development Gateway's activities. The new design lets you add new features and functions as we also provide easier access to tools such as site navigation by country, region, and topic. New features include coverage of our Research and Training Network, a "Featured Book" section, highlighting select publications on development, a "Partners" section, and "Spotlight," which highlights new Development Gateway initiatives.
http://www.developmentgateway.org

GEMDEV (Groupement d'intérêt scientifique pour l'Etude de la Mondialisation et du Développement) is a French inter-university, interdisciplinary scientific group created in November 1983 under the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Research. GEMDEV seeks to create synergy amongst doctorate programmes, research teams/centres and other groups seeking to analyse world systems, and study the Third World, with all its development-related concepts, realities, institutions and policies. GEMDEV brings together human and social science teachers and researchers working on these themes. The famous research collections INFOS-GEMDEV are now available online in French at:
http://www.gemdev.org

Created especially for GDNet Profile holders based in low or middle income countries, the new Journal Access Portal aims to address the difficulty faced by many researchers in the global south in accessing journal articles to support their research. See:
http://www.gdnet.org/knowledge_base/researchers/create_a_profile/

The new web-site aims to inform the public, the institutions and civil society about CONCORD's aims, structure and principles.
http://www.concordeurope.org

CEval (Center for Evaluation, Saarbruecken) and AGEG (German Association of Development Consultants) are offering a two-day training course in quantitative and qualitative methods in evaluation in the context of international development co-operation. The course is aimed at imparting professional know how in methods of social research to consultants carrying out evaluations, as well as staff of organizations entrusting evaluations. Contact Stefanie Krapp at info @ ceval.de or headof-fice @ feez.org The registration deadline has been exceeded until March 29, 2004! Further information regarding the training course can be downloaded at
http://www.feez.org/aktuelles/FEEZ_Eval-Course_06-2004.pdf

WEED'S Corporate Accountability Website 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 who are active in this field. It provides comprehensive material on codes of conduct, multi-stakeholder initiatives and intergovernmental processes, as well as best and worst practice cases of corporate behaviour. Finally, this site makes available documents and publications on corporate accountability and links to relevant research institutes and databases. WEED now published a free newsletter. Contact: Jens Martens (WEED), jens.martens @ weed-online.org
http://www.corporate-accountability.org/mailman/listinfo/corporate-accountability-news

(URBANET) This Handbook by The World Bank and CDT attempts to catalog and present key resources on egovernment in a format readily useful for policymakers in the developing world. Among the many promises of the digital revolution is its potential to strengthen democracy and make governments more responsive to the needs of their citizens. E-government is the use of information and communications technologies (ICT) to transform government by making it more accessible, effective and accountable. E-government is not a tool limited to the richer countries. Indeed, some of the most innovative uses of the Internet in governance are appearing in the developing world, as ICTs are being used to streamline government and connect it more closely with the people it is supposed to serve.
http://www.infodev.org/projects/government/704toolkit/egovhandbook.pdf

(LogoLink) A trial version of Participation.net, a collaborative initiative between the Citizenship DRC, LogoLink, the Participation Resorce Centre, and Eldis, was launched at the World Social Forum Mumbai 2004. Participation.net, through a variety of services, aims to provide an online interactive gateway on key issues within a participatory approach to citizenship, rights, and local governance. It offers policy-makers, donors, researchers, and development practitioners diverse fora for accessing and sharing cutting-edge knowledge, information, and practices. Users' surveys completed by participants in the World Social Forum clearly demonstrated the importance of the online resources and services participation.net offers. Feedback from the users' surveys will be used to inform the site's ongoing development. For more information, visit the website at:
http://www.pnet.ids.ac.uk

Many developing countries and countries with transitional economies are considering whether and how to regulate microfinance. Experts working on this topic do not agree on all points, but there is a surprisingly wide area of consensus. CGAP believes that the main themes of this paper would command general agreement among most of the specialists with wide knowledge of past experience and current developments in microfinance regulation. Authors: Robert Peck Christen, Timothy R. Lyman, Richard Rosenberg. Download it from Assortis: Guiding principles on regulation and supervision of microfinance
http://www.assortis.com/newsletter/download/mcf006052.pdf

This new web site is a collaborative effort of the UN Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality, the OECD/DAC Network on Gender Equality, and the Multilateral Development Bank Working Group on Gender. It provides access to resources to promote better understanding of and sharing of tools for addressing gender equality in all of the Millennium Development Goals - from literature on gender equality as it relates to each goal, to tools for advocacy and action. Contributions to the site are encouraged.
http://www.mdgender.net

The new freeware "SEA Anti Mosquitoes XP" lets your PC emit a high-frequency sounds, that keeps mosquitoes away. The author Saranyou Punyaratanabunbhu from Thailand studies the behaviour of animals and says, it work 70-85% in a range of 2 meters around your speakers. He is working on an update against rats and cockroaches, so stay in touch. Try it and protect yourself from deadly diseases, such as Malaria and Yellow fever. Free download at:
http://www.thaiware.com/software/util/UL00608.htm