2005 from weitzenegger.de

2005

This monthly Newsletter brings you news for international co-operation professionals on economic and social development. Free of charge if you recommend it to other colleagues. Edited by Karsten Karsten Weitzenegger Consulting, http://www.weitzenegger.de

• Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness approved
• Take Part in the Public Consultation on the Future EC Development Policy
• EU-ACP Negotiations on the Revision of the Cotonou Agreement
• Informal Meeting of EU Development Ministers
• Commissioner Michel calls on new Member States
• Hamed Sow is the new Director to the CDE
• A Trade Response to Tsunami?
• New Online Database on Investment Climate
• Evaluating the Consultative Group to Assist the Poorest (CGAP)
• Doing Business with the Poor: A Field Guide
• Training and Events
• Publications
• Websites

Delegates from major international agencies and more than 100 countries adopted measures aimed at boosting the effectiveness of development aid. The declaration outlines a set of joint commitments and targets for governments and multilateral donors to reach over the next five years. Against the different key principles of the Rome Declaration (2003) and the Marrakech memorandum on Managing for Development Results (2004), the following commitments for donors and partners are highlighted in the Declaration:

• Ownership - Partner countries exercise effective authority over their development policies, strategies and national systems when relying, partially or entirely, on external resources.
• Alignment - Donors base their overall support on partner countries' national development strategies, systems and procedures. This creates mutual commitments. For partners, it means having sound and operational development policies and systems for managing aid. For donors it means using partner countries policies, institutions and systems as the framework of reference for providing aid.
• Harmonisation - Donors organise their multiple activities in ways that maximise their collective efficacy.
• Managing for results - Improves the performance and accountabilities in achieving sustainable improvements in development by focusing on development results.

This consultation is based on an issues paper that you can download also from the European Commission DG Development website http://europa.eu.int/comm/development/body/theme/consultation/index_en.htm. It is open until 19 March 2005. Participate by using the internet survey link and/or by sending an e-mail to: dev-ipm-consultations @ cec.eu.int. It is mostly based on multiple choice questions that we have attempted to make as comprehensive as possible. A very limited number of questions allows for additional information in the form of free text. http://europa.eu.int/yourvoice/forms/dispatch?form=370&lang=EN

Ministerial Negotiations on the revision of the Cotonou-Agreement between the EU and 77 countries from Africa, the Carribean and the Pacific were concluded successfully. The Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel said: ''This agreement represents a substantial breakthrough. It ensures the continuation of our co-operation with ACP countries with financial support that is sustainable and that incorporates important aspects in terms of security, non-proliferation and co-operation with the CPI.'' This agreement establishes a threshold of the financing for the FED which is equivalent to that for the ninth FED increased for inflation, for growth and the effect of the enlargement of 10 new Member States. Throughout the revision process, the overarching aim has been to improve the efficiency and to strengthen the quality of the partnership while preserving the fundamental acquis of the Cotonou Agreement. http://europa.eu.int/comm/development/index_en.htm

During the final press conference of the informal meeting of the EU Ministers for Development, Jean-Louis Schiltz, Luxembourg Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Action, reiterated the EU's pledge to become even more involved in the fight against AIDS. The informal meeting of the Ministers for Development also discussed the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). In the presence of Marc Malloch Brown, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the ministers held an orientation debate on the MDGs in order to prepare the position the EU will adopt at the New York Summit in September 2005.

With regard to the MDGs, Minister Schiltz stated: ''In our capacity as Ministers for Development, we reaffirm unequivocally the EU's common will to play a leading role in the preparation process for the New York Summit. We shall remain firmly committed to implementing the MDGs from now until 2015, and not 2049 or 2064. We can achieve the MDGs by 2015, if our means are substantially strengthened. We have also stated emphatically that, above all, Sub-Saharan Africa will have most difficulty in achieving the MDGs.''

The Minister welcomed the report of Professor Jeffrey Sachs. His report will serve as a basis for this debate, particularly on 'quick win' actions, i.e. those actions which are most likely to produce rapid benefits, and the concept of 'fast-track countries'. Jean-Louis Schiltz concluded by confirming that ''we have also spoken about additional financing mechanisms such as the International Finance Facility and tax on aviation fuel. We believe that this is a potential additional ODA source. It can not be an alternative sources that will make up an ODA deficit. We detect a positive feeling towards these additional mechanisms among Ministers for Development.'' http://www.eu2005.lu/en/calendrier/2005/02/14dev/index.html

European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid Louis Michel called on the new Member States to be active players and bring their added value to the development policy. During his visit to the Czech Republic, a first visit to a new EU Member State, Commissioner Michel stressed that ''embracing an active cooperation policy upgrades the international profile of a country, opens new opportunities and helps to educate young generations in the respect of fundamental rights, solidarity and universalism''. Under the Monterrey Agreement of 2000, the new Member States have to reach an official development aid level of 0.33% of GNI in 2015. http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/05/219&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

Hamed SOW, a 52-year-old Malian, has been appointed Director of the CDE for a 5-year term from 1st March 2005. He is a graduate of the Institut National des Sciences et Techniques Nucléaires at Saclay in France and holds a Doctorate in Production Economics from the Université de Paris IX/Dauphine and a Masters in Economic and Social Administration from the Université de Paris VIII. The Centre for the Development of Entreprise (CDE) is a joint ACP-EU organization, which mission under the Cotonou Agreement is to contribute to poverty reduction by fostering wealth creation by lending support to the various types of operator that make up the private sector in the ACP countries. CDE: http://www.cde.int, ProInvest: http://www.proinvest-eu.org/

According to one recent tally, governments have pledged about eight billion dollars in different types of aid, including debt relief and loans, to the countries hit by the killer wave. Private donations have topped the two billion mark. A large number of international agencies have set up programmes to respond to the catastrophe. WTO chief Supachai Panitchpakdi has urged Members to ''individually reflect deeply and expeditiously on whether there is anything they can do at this moment in time in terms of their trade policy.'' Pointing to individual measures, such as expanding market access and ''some restraint in use of trade remedies,'' Dr. Supachai also evoked the possibility of ''some form of enabling action at the multilateral level'' if Members felt it would be useful. As a response, the EU is planning to advance the entry into force of their Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) from 1 July to April 2005. (GTZ Trade News) http://www.ictsd.org/monthly/bridges/BRIDGES9-1.pdf

The Investment Climate Survey database, launched February 15, 2005, contains data on the investment climate in 51 countries, based on surveys of more than 25,000 firms. The survey data, available free of charge online, provide indicators of firm productivity and performance. Investment climate surveys measure entrepreneurs' perceptions of the investment climate in their country, and provide indicators of firm productivity and performance. All investment climate surveys are grounded in a standard core module that covers management's perceptions of the severity of obstacles to operation and growth of the business. The following areas are covered: government policies and services, quality and provision of physical infrastructure, structure and function of labor, capital and product markets, inter-business relations and networking, contract enforcement, effectiveness of regulations, tax and customs regulation, law and order, and other aspects of governance. (World Bank) http://rru.worldbank.org/investmentclimate

This OED evaluation report on the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) is one of 26 case studies that have been prepared as source material for the second phase of World Bank Operations Evaluation Department's independent evaluation of the Bank's involvement in global programs. Four major activities during Phases I and II have been: (1) disseminating microfinance best practices, (2) grants to selected microfinance institutions (MFIs) to spur learning and innovation, (3) mainstreaming microfinance within member donor agencies, and (4) fostering national policy environments conducive to microfinance. CGAP has a permanent staff of 23 people based in Washington, D.C., and Paris, and operates on an annual budget of $10 million.(Ramin Aliyev) http://www.worldbank.org/oed/gppp/case_studies/infrastructure/cgap.html

This guide by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) presents a number of practical guidelines for businesses intending to engage in business with the poor. It primarily seeks to inform how to develop and engage in these new business opportunities and how to 'do well by doing good'. The guide highlights that all companies, regardless of their industry, can help stimulate local markets and enable the poor to become active participants in these markets, as customers and entrepreneurs. Designing clever business models to address this challenge will also open new avenues of growth for the company. The guide contains six case studies undertaken by WBCSD member companies, as well as a number of smaller examples. (ELDIS). http://www.wbcsd.ch/web/publications/sl-field-guide.pdf

In December 2004, the World Resources Institute hosted a conference entitled ''Eradicating Poverty through Profit.'' This is the summary of the conference track discussing lessons learned from companies that are doing business with the poor. http://povertyprofit.wri.org/pdfs/Track_1.pdf

AGEG-Seminar: Crisis prevention, conflict resolution, peace promotion http://www.ageg.de/news-events/news-events.html Kirchheim, Germany, 14-16 April 2005 The German Association of Development Consultants AGEG invites for a news seminar in German language about crisis prevention, conflict resolution, and peace promotion. The facilitator is Inge Remmert-Fontes, a long-term consultant and mediator, member of the board of the competence centre peace promotion in Berne. Participation fee of 480 Euro can be reduced by 10% for early registration until 14 March. Contact Ms. Simona Scheibitz, s.scheibitz @ ageg.de, Tel +49 7021 9708721.

ISCRAM 2005 http://www.sckcen.be/iscram/ Brussels, Belgium 18-20 April, 2005 Information Systems for Crisis Response and Management

Working with the European Union http://www.cinfo.ch cinfoRoster has issued a mailing on the possibilities and challenges of working with the European Union. A seminar on ''Becoming consultant in international cooperation'' that will be held on April, 27th and 28th, in Bienne (working languages French and German).

PREVAL Training Courses on Monitoring & Evaluation http://www.iadb.org/int/rtc/ecourses/esp/index.htm The World Bank Institute, the GDLN and the GTZ invite for a series of seminars in Spanish on ''El Mercado como Motor del Desarrollo Económico Rural: Retos y oportunidades en América Latina''. There are five online modules from March to May 2005.

EADI's 11th General Conference ''Insecurity and Development'' Regional issues and policies for an interdependent world http://eadi.org/gc2005/programme.php Bonn, 21 - 24 September 2005 The European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI) cordially invites to register online for the conference at http://eadi.org/registration.php. The draft programme is available, with most of the descriptions of the panel sessions.

SME Cluster and Network Development: Principles and Practice http://www.competitiveness.org/article/view/442 UNIDO-ILO will organize a course on ''SME Cluster and Network Development: Principles and Practice'' from 18 to 29 April in Turin, Italy.

devtrain online - EADI Training Database http://www.eadi.org/devtrain The EADI Training Database allows you to search for post- and undergraduate programmes and training courses with a focus on development issues from 28 European countries. Details are provided on the programme's objectives and themes, its location and costs, plus full contact details and links to the associated organisation.

dgSpecialReport: Foreign Investment and Development http://topics.developmentgateway.org/special/foreigninvestment This Development Gateway Special Report examines strategies to attract foreign investment and simultaneously strengthen the domestic private sector; accountability for protecting people and the environment; and creating win-win business models for investments in markets comprised of the poor. The Report features five interviews with Prof. John Dunning, Ted London, Dr. Jaslin Salmon, George Carpenter and Reema Nanavty, all providing their perspectives from the view point of their respective backgrounds. Also included are the outcomes of the World Economic Forum and the World Social Forum, conference session summaries from the World Resources Institute's conference titled Eradicating Poverty through Profit, and features ranging from lessons learned in the privatization of the water sector to trends in corporate social responsibility, the latest measures to protect indigenous people from extractive industries, an analysis of who benefits from outsourcing, foreign investment as a strategy to reverse brain-drain, and more.

Keep at Hand: Manual for Investment Missions http://www.fdipromotion.com/toolkit/Documents/1/Inward.Outward.Missions_Manual.pdf Investment missions are powerful tools for achieving investment promotion goals. However, they require greater effort and financial resources than most other promotional activities and need to be planned and executed with great care and attention to detail. The Manual for Outward and Inward Investment Missions has been designed to help investment promoters maximize their efforts and includes resources ranging from brochure and investor package design to tips on budgeting, logistics, and follow-up techniques.

Why do small business hesitate to invest in people management and training? http://www.weitzenegger.de/new/noinvest.pdf This Paper by Karsten Weitzenegger analyses reasons why owner-managers of SME often resist advice to invest in people. Reasons behind resistance can be various economic or socio-cultural facts. Instead of pushing the owner-manager too much into this conclusion, BDOs can have better results, if the owner-manager can be assisted in developing own thoughts and strategies towards skills development. BDO can stimulate demand by marketing the benefits and possibilities of their services, considering the reasons behind resistance to training.

The Journal of Microfinance http://topics.developmentgateway.org/poverty/rc/ItemDetail.do~1031300?intcmp=700 The Journal of Microfinance is a forum for the sharing of ideas and information pertaining to the practice of microfinance and microenterprise development. ''The Journal's purpose is to influence practice by focusing on experiences and lessons learned from the field . (GRADE)

Lessons Learned on Donor Support to Decentralisation and Local Governance http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?Doc=DOC17751 This OECD study examines aid programmes geared towards decentralisation and local governance support. Based on the experience of both bilateral and multilateral programmes, the study presents a number of lessons learned as well as a guide to donor and partner countries to improve programmes. (ELDIS)

Changes in EU Foreign Policy: Implications for Southern Africa and the ACP http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC17510 In the light of major changes within the European Union over the past year, the paper by Geert Laporte (ECDPM) assesses the impact this has on how the European Union cooperates and trades with the ACP Group, Africa and Southern Africa in particular. The paper points out that Southern Africa and the ACP countries still need to find out in more detail what the implications will be of the changing priorities of the EU in terms of development finance and trade and how the region can benefit most from the changes in European external relations. (ELDIS)

DIE ZEIT on clusters and cluster policies http://www.competitiveness.org/article/view/431 German magazine DIE ZEIT published an article on clusters and cluster policies in its issue of January 27. The article gives a nice insight into the cluster world in Europe.

dgExpertPerspective: Foreign Direct Investment Trends http://topics.developmentgateway.org/businessenvironment/rc/ItemDetail.do~1032070?intcmp=700 In this interview Professor John Dunning discusses the contribution of foreign investment and multinational enterprise activities to the development of the poorest countries and how governments of the poorest countries can maximize their benefits. (Ellen Olafsen)

GTR News http://fita.m.xtenit.com/ct.jsp?uz1062107Biz717057 GTR News is a bi-weekly free newsletter with regular and timely news and information about global trade, commodity and export finance. It includes the latest news and information from its distinguished parent publishers Exporta Group, publishers of Global Trade Review and producers of important international trade and trade finance conferences worldwide.

The Import-Export Entrepreneur http://www.spyglasspoint.com/ezine.html The Import-Export Entrepreneur newsletter provides specific how- to tips for new and experienced international traders. Every other week with this free eZine you'll learn about the best markets, Internet resources (and how to use them) as well as answers to trading questions from subscribers around the world. (FITA)

Access to Europe's largest research collection on economic and social change in developing countries http://www.gdnet.org/online_services/journals/journal_services/document_delivery/ BLDS, based at the UK Institute of Development Studies, holds Europe's largest research collection on economic and social change in developing countries. It has over 1000 journals and 5000 serials concerned specifically with development, plus over 80,000 books and reports much of which is not available digitally. As well as stocking major international journals, the BLDS unique collection specialises in information from developing country governments, NGOs and research institutes. It includes both statistics and grey literature, and has particular strengths in African and South Asian resources. (GDNET)

World Bank Group index - updated http://rru.worldbank.org/Features/RoadMap/ Use this guide to view Web sites on private sector development in the World Bank Group. You'll find an organizational snapshot of the main private sector development-related sites, a subject index to help you find a specific product, service, or topic. Resources have also been sorted by various World Bank Group activities for/with the private sector.

World Bank's PovertyNet http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTPOVERTY/0,,menuPK:336998~pagePK:149018~piPK:149093~theSitePK:336992,00.html This site provides an introduction to key issues in poverty measurement, monitoring and analysis, as well as on poverty reduction strategies. The coverage includes views by topic and sector, as well as special features, statistical data and other resources.

World SME's Global E-Marketplaces Centre http://www.WorldTradExnet.com This is one of the most serious Global E-marketplaces projects which is made to increase the exports of SMEs. It has been using by World SMEs with its global promotion, creating trade mark, improving export, online education and other services. It is also reaching thousands of small and medium sized enterprises. It is expected to reach 600.000 member SMEs by end of 2005.

World Trade Point Federation http://www.wtpfed.org/newsite/ This organization, which grew out of a United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, assists small and medium- sized companies in 90 countries. You'll find many useful features at this site, but one of the best is ''Market Point'' in the left column. Click on it, and then click on ''Country Information'', and you'll find a valuable resource for market research. You simply select a country, and you'll see a country profile, with links to economic statistics, guides to doing business in that country, tax guides, import-export data, and more. In the Market Point category there are also links to useful contacts, trade-related sites, and industry information. (FITA)

Fragomen Country Briefs http://www.fragomen.com/resources/cdbase.shtml In these times of heightened national security, many countries have expanded their entry requirements for visitors. It's important to know what documents are required before you travel, and a good place to find that out is Fragomen Country Briefs. Just click on a country at this page, and you'll get an excellent overview of the rules and regulations concerning passports, visas, immigration documents, corporate applications, and other relevant matters for that country. (FITA)

Red de Portales Web de Organizaciones de Microfinanzas en América Latina http://topics.developmentgateway.org/poverty/rc/ItemDetail.do~1031302?intcmp=700 Este documento resume los aspectos más importantes del Proyecto de la Red de Portales, sus principales características, miembros del Proyecto y sus principales servicios.

Newsletter de @ LIS
http://www.alis-online.org First Newsletter of @ LIS (Alianza para la Sociedad de la Información), a strategic programme of the European Commission for cooperation between Europe and Latin America with the objective to promote economic development and participation of the civil society in a globalised Information Society.