September 2007 from weitzenegger.de

International cooperation professionals willing to make poverty history

This monthly Newsletter brings you news for international cooperation professionals on economic and social development.
Edited by Karsten Weitzenegger, http://www.weitzenegger.de. Free subscription by sending an eMail to subscribe @ weitzenegger.de.
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CONTENT

  1. UN: Massive investment needed to combat climate change
  2. EC proposes a global alliance to help developing countries in climate change
  3. UNCTAD-Least Developed Country Report
  4. Doing Business 2007: How to Reform
  5. Mobilizing Aid for Trade: Focus Latin America and the Caribbean
  6. Working together on Gender Equality in Development and Peace
  7. Training and Events
  8. Publications
  9. Websites of the Month

1. UN: Massive investment needed to combat climate change

Investment of more than 200 billion dollars will be needed by 2030 just to keep greenhouse gas emissions at today's levels, according to a UN climate change report. Global additional investment and financial flows of 200-210 billion dollars (146.3-153.7 billion euros) will be necessary in 2030 to return global greenhouse gas emission to current levels, according to the report by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Presenting the report, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer told reporters that finding ''an economic answer'' was key to dealing with the peril of climate change. Between 0.3 and 0.5 percent of global gross domestic product and between 1.1 and 1.7 percent of global investment will have to be spent on addressing climate change, the report estimated. http://unfccc.int/...


2. EC proposes a global alliance to help developing countries in climate change

The European Commission is proposing to build a new alliance on climate change between the European Union and the poor developing countries that are most affected and that have the least capacity to deal with climate change. Through this Global Climate Change Alliance (GCCA), the EU and these countries will work jointly to integrate climate change into poverty reduction strategies. The EU will provide substantial resources to address climate change in these countries. Measures will include better preparedness for natural disasters which are expected to become more frequent and intense through global warming. The GCCA renews the commitment of the EU Action Plan on Climate Change and Development to systematically integrate climate change into development cooperation.
http://europa.eu/rapid/...


3. UNCTAD-Least Developed Country Report

The UNCTAD has recently released the Least Developed Countries Report, 2007, subtitled ''Knowledge, technical learning and innovation for development''. UNCTAD, in past LDC Reports, has taken the view that the key to sustained economic growth and poverty reduction in LDCs is the development of productive capacities and related creation of productive employment. The Least Developed Countries Report 2007 corroborates this view by focusing on knowledge accumulation, technologica l learning and the ability to innovate as vital processes toward genuine productive capacity development in these countries. The Report shows that the current pattern of technology flows to LDCs through international trade, foreign direct investment and intellectual property licensing does not contribute to narrowing the knowledge divide. Sustained economic growth and poverty reduction are not likely to take place in countries where viable economic re-specialization would remain impossible in the absence of significant progress in technological learning and innovation capacity-building. The Report suggests that national governments and development partners could meet this challenge, notably through greater attention to the following four key policy issues. http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/ldc2007_en.pdf


4. Doing Business 2007: How to Reform

Doing Business presents quantitative indicators on business regulations and the protection of property rights that can be compared across 175 economies—from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe—and over time. Regulations affecting 10 areas of everyday business are measured: starting a business, dealing with licenses, employing workers, registering property, getting credit, protecting investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and closing a business. The indicators are used to analyze economic outcomes and identify what reforms have worked, where and why.
http://www.doingbusiness.org/documents/DoingBusiness2007_FullReport.pdf


5. Mobilizing Aid for Trade: Focus Latin America and the Caribbean

WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy, in opening the WTO/IADB conference ''Mobilizing Aid for Trade: Focus Latin America and the Caribbean'' on 13 September in Lima, Peru, said the initiative is ''critical'' for the region and the world trading system because ''today's global economy - which could be widened and strengthened by the conclusion of the Doha Round - is fundamentally changing the development dynamic. The meeting is part of a global initiative - launched at the WTO's 2005 Hong Kong Ministerial Conference - to scale up international financial assistance for trade capacity building in developing countries. More Aid for Trade is not part of the Doha Round of multilateral negotiations, which is about rebalancing WTO rules in a more development-friendly way and which must succeed if we are serious about making trade work for development. ''Aid for Trade is not a substitute for better trade rules. But it is an important complement to a fairer trading system.''
http://topics.developmentgateway.org/trade/...


6. Working together on Gender Equality in Development and Peace

The European Commission, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization (ITCILO) have joined together to support stronger action and advocacy on gender equality to influence the aid effectiveness agenda. The programme ''EC/UN Partnership on Gender Equality for Development and Peace'' will support the integration of gender equality as a key driver of development in the international assistance agenda. The programme will also promote the involvement of women in conflict prevention and peace-building in line with the commitments of the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. With a total budget of €4,7 million (€2,5 million EC contribution), the programme will have a duration of 3 years (2007-2009) and will cover 12 countries: Cameroon, DRC, Ghana, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Honduras, Nicaragua, Suriname, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine. http://europa.eu/rapid/...


7. Training and Events

Seminar on developing Business Service Markets and Value Chains
http://www.mmw4p.org/...
Chiang Mai, Thailand, 24-28 September 2007
Over 900 people from 100 countries have participated in the first 7 Seminars-now the 8th in the Series offers you the opportunity to learn about current trends, and to network with your peers. As you would expect from an event in its 8th year, there is also the chance to hear from people who have used the approaches and tools from previous Seminars. And you will be able to hear how some of the most interesting work presented in previous years has progressed and scaled up.

AWEPA regional seminar on private sector development, agriculture and poverty reduction
http://www.awepa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=685
Nairobi, Kenya, 27-28 September,
The African Union, NEPAD and the 5th Conference of Public Service Ministers announce the first annual Public Sector Innovation Awards in Africa. The programme recognises and rewards the successes of public servants and their partners in the private sector as well as in the non-profit sector who have succeeded in developing innovative solutions for service delivery and for challenges facing governments. Contact Ms Mthembu, dudum @ dpsa.gov.za.

Online Discussion on Microinsurance
http://www.microlinks.org/microinsurancediscussion
On 2-4October, Michael J. McCord, president of the Microinsurance Centre, will host an online discussion on key issues in the microinsurance field today. Topics to be covered include microinsurance products, delivery channels, and how to create microinsurance products and services that provide a true win-win solution for all parties involved. The Speaker’s Corner event, hosted on www.microlinks.org, actively invites participants to share their ideas and resources.

Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA)
http://www.coleurop.be/template.asp?pagename=RIA_training
Bruges Campus, Belgium, 8-12 October 2007
The College of Europe and Jacobs and Associates are organising a training course on Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA). Contact: Ms. Christiane Vermoortel, cvermoortel @ coleurop.be, fax (+32-50-47.73.00).

Value Chain Finance Conference in Africa
http://www.afraca.org/agribanksforum/About%20Conference.html
Nairobi, Kenya, 16-18 October 2007
The FAO and the African Rural and Agricultural Credit Association (AFRACA) network are pleased to announce an upcoming conference on the use of the value chain to reduce risk and increase access to financial services for agriculture and agribusiness. As with previous Value Chain Finance Conferences initiated by FAO for Latin America and South Asia, it will look at value chain finance models, innovations and effectiveness from the multiple viewpoints of banks, agribusinesses, farm organizations, government policy makers and development business service providers. With the increasing focus on value chain integration in agriculture and with today's technologies there are new models and ways of structuring finance and collateralization, increased opportunities for price and production risk mitigation and new models for partnerships among diverse stakeholders which can benefit the agricultural sector and rural communities.

SEEP Conference: Powering Connections
http://www.seepnetwork.org/section/ac_2007/
Washington D.C, USA, 22-26 October 2007
The 2007 SEEP Network Annual Conference theme, ''Powering Connections,'' is tied to the mission to connect Microfinance and Microenterprise practitioners in a global learning community. The conference will offer participants key opportunities to learn, to share, and to engage through trainings, workshops and networking. Participants will include practitioners, donors, investors and other key stakeholders.

Political Economy of the Great Lakes Region
http://eadi.org/database/database/?dataset=training&table=data&id=330
Antwerp, The Netherlands, April-May 2008
Institute of Development Policy and Management

Poverty & Growth Blog: Building Capacity to Reduce Poverty
http://pgpblog.worldbank.org/
The Poverty & Growth blog is maintained by WBI’s Poverty and Growth Program. The blog tries to bring together everything you want to know about poverty and growth, including knowledge, news, resources, tools, ideas and commentary on issues relating to the design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of poverty reduction policies and strategies. The Poverty & Growth blog aims to reach participants in WBI courses, partners, researchers, academia, civil society, government officials, and people interested in poverty reduction.


8. Publications

Addressing the Meta-Level - New Approaches to Private Sector Development
http://www2.gtz.de/wbf/doc/SV_PWF_Meta-Level_Tools_0407.pdf
GTZ Discussion Paper: Systemic competitiveness is the guiding framework for private sector development within the context of development cooperation. This framework distinguishes four interlinked levels of intervention: the micro-, the meso-, the macro- and the meta-levels of competitiveness. The latter denotes the socio-cultural, economic and political patterns and orientations in a given society or country and is often linked to long-term societal changes and dynamics. Even though the meta-level is highly relevant for private sector development, it is seldom explicitly addressed in practical development work. The study to hand has been initiated so as to explore innovative approaches for private sector development which address the metalevel of systemic competitiveness.

Approaches to Action Learning in Technical and Vocational Education and Training http://www.unevoc.net/...
This publication by Frank Buenning outlines the principles of action learning as a discipline and explores implications for this approach to teaching in TVET. It introduces action-theoretical models and provides an overview of selected action-learning teaching concepts. Action learning provides a method of accelerating learning that enables people to handle difficult situations more effectively. Action learning advocates questioning and reflection to prompt a deeper level of analysis, to test assumptions, and to explore possibilities.

Benchmarking de las Microfinanzas en Centroamérica 2006” y Tendencias 2004 - 2006
http://www.redcamif.org/...
La Red Centroamericana de Microfinanzas (REDCAMIF) y el Microfinance Information eXchange (MIX) lanzaron en conjunto el Informe Regional ''Benchmarking de las Microfinanzas en Centroamérica 2006”, que examina el desempeño financiero y operacional de las instituciones de microfinanzas de Centroamérica. El nuevo informe cubre seis países Centroamericanos (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua y Panamá) con una muestra record de 68 instituciones de microfinanzas y amplía el análisis con las Tendencias de mercado del período 2004 al 2006 y el uso de grupos pares que muestran las tendencias regionales más importantes.

Global Development Finance 2007
http://econ.worldbank.org/...
Net private capital flows to developing countries reached a record $647 billion in 2006, although the rate of growth of these flows slowed from 34 percent in 2005 to 17 percent in 2006. Emerging Europe attracted an increasing share of the overall flows and equity financing grew much faster than debt, says Global Development Finance 2007. Despite commitments made by donors, aid flows were disappointing, and the shift from official to private sources of finance continued.

Business Incubation in Latin America and the Caribbean
http://www.infodev.org/en/Document.329.aspx
The incubator initiative has supported more than 60 business incubators in countries worldwide with financial and technical assistance, leading to the establishment of five regional networks in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Middle East and Northern Africa.

Cities in the Knowledge Economy: New Governance Challenges - Final report
http://topics.developmentgateway.org/businessenvironment/...
The report argues that cities must be recognised as key players in the knowledge economy, encouraging entrepreneurship and avoiding social polarisation. To capitalise on local strengths, cities need to improve the links between research infrastructure and business and between education and the needs of the local economy. The report considers strategies for different types of cities.

Global Development Finance 2007
http://econ.worldbank.org/...
Net private capital flows to developing countries reached a record $647 billion in 2006, although the rate of growth of these flows slowed from 34 percent in 2005 to 17 percent in 2006. Emerging Europe attracted an increasing share of the overall flows and equity financing grew much faster than debt, says Global Development Finance 2007. Despite commitments made by donors, aid flows were disappointing, and the shift from official to private sources of finance continued.

Competing for business: A guide to investment incentives
http://www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/subsidies/newsletter/4_note.asp
With the progressive dismantling of formal trade barriers as a result of many rounds of global trade negotiations, subsidies have become increasingly important as a way for governments to regulate economic activity within their territories. While subsidies are not necessarily bad policy, it is important to weigh their expected benefits against the possibility of efficiency, equity, or even environmental problems that may result. By Kenneth P. Thomas.

Competitiveness in the CFA Franc Zone
http://www.imf.org/...
This IMF paper reviews the evolution of competitiveness in the CFA franc zone using a proposed comprehensive competitiveness framework. In particular, we examine competitiveness in the WAEMU and CEMAC regions by analyzing the ''environment'' and ''policy'' components of competitiveness and their quantifiable determinants, including indicators to measure productivity and labor market conditions, prices and costs, macroeconomic performance, business environment, governance, and technology and infrastructure.

Desarrollo de ventajas competitivas: pymes exportadoras exitosas en Argentina, Chile y Colombia
http://www.eclac.cl/publicaciones/xml/5/29585/LCG2339eYoguel.pdf
Este artículo de la CEPAL analiza el patrón de especialización de las Pymes exportadoras de Argentina, Chile y Colombia en el período 2001-2004, con el objetivo de identificar los factores que inciden en el grado de éxito de estas empresas. Para ello se aplica un indicador de éxito exportador al universo de Pymes exportadoras de los tres países y se diferencian dos grupos de agentes: los exitosos y los no exitosos.

Donor Interventions in Value Chain Development, SDC VCRD CoP 2007
http://www.sdc-valuechains.ch/...
These guidelines highlight the most important issues that development agencies need to consider when they engage in value chain development in rural areas. The paper offers guiding principles for development practitioners and policy makers, and points to further useful material. This paper is based on the insights gained during the online debate on the forum ''Value Chains in Rural Development” operated by SDC starting in December 2004, with its various and sometimes contradicting examples, cases, perceptions and discussions. Over 120 persons, from around 35 countries joined and discussed practically relevant topics during 9 debate cycles. In this paper the main highlights of the work so far are pulled together and presented for discussion.

Engaging business in development: Results of an international benchmarking study
http://www.gppi.net/fileadmin/gppi/Engaging_Business_Final_06222007.pdf
This study examines ways of engaging business in development through Public Private Partnerships (PPP). It highlights areas of best practice and likely advances for the partnership tool in development assistance, potential avenues for future research and possibilities for enhanced donor collaboration. To do so the study adopted a collaborative benchmarking approach, building a network of benchmarking partners who intend to learn from each other.

Entrepreneurship: New Data on Business Creation and How to Promote It
http://rru.worldbank.org/...
This World Bank Group Entrepreneurship Survey continues to extend our knowledge of the importance of entrepreneurship for a dynamic economy. In its second year, with more countries participating, the survey again shows a strong relationship between entrepreneurship, the business environment, and governance. New data shed light on how the distribution of businesses among sectors varies by level of development. And analysis of new data on business registration suggests that automation can greatly reduce the barriers to starting a business. This finding makes a strong case for pursuing e-government initiatives to spur entrepreneurship.

Gaining from Migration: Towards a New Mobility System
http://www.oecdbookshop.org/...
This OECD report presents a summary of recommendations on how we can all gain from migration. New ideas, based on an exhaustive review of past policy experiences in Europe and elsewhere, are offered for policies related to labour markets, integration, development co-operation and the engagement of diasporas.

Good governance, aid modalities and poverty reduction
http://www.odi.org.uk/...
The first working papers from this major ODI two-year project are available now.

GTZ: Planung, Organisation und Betrieb von Qualifizierungseinrichtungen
http://www2.gtz.de/wbf/...
Qualifizierungseinrichtungen sind Stätten, in denen neben Beratung und Informationstransfer in besonderem Maße Qualifizierung im Sinne des ''lebenslangen Lernens'' durchgeführt werden. Sie sollten multifunktional geplant werden, damit sie durch Modifizierungen flexibel auf Änderungen des zukünftigen Bedarfs an Qualifizierungs-, Informations- und Beratungsleistungen reagieren können. Dieser Leitfaden ist als praxisorientierte Handreichung entstanden, um notwendige Planungs- und Managementprozesse in der Aufbauphase unterstützend zu begleiten.

International Migration, Economic Development & Policy
http://publications.worldbank.org/ecommerce/catalog/product?item_id=6354581
This book World Bank provides new evidence on the impact of migration and remittances on several development indicators. Additionally, the book analyzes the effect of host country policies on migration flows, examines the determinants of return and repeat migration, and explores the degree of success of return.

KfW: Focusing on results, advancing development
http://www.kfw-entwicklungsbank.de/...
Presentation of the 2006 Annual Report on Cooperation with Developing Countries. KfW Entwicklungsbank and DEG committed some EUR 3.4 billion in support for developing and transition countries.

Private Sector Development in Rural Areas - Assessing the Applicability of PSD Instruments in Agricultural Economic Development - Discussion Paper
http://www2.gtz.de/wbf/doc/SV_PWF_PSD_AED_0607.pdf
The starting point of this MesoPartner paper is the observation that private sector development (PSD) and agricultural economic development (AED) have historically been two distinct approaches in development cooperation. Both looked at ways to promote productive development in developing countries. But they were based on different disciplines, they were founded on different concepts, they applied different instruments and tools, and they involved separate communities of practice. The current effort to redefine intervention strategies in African countries under the header of ''sustainable economic development” creates an opportunity to reflect on the two approaches. In this paper, the angle will be on contributions that PSD can make to AED.

The state of responsible competitiveness 2007: making sustainable development count in global markets
http://www.accountability21.net/...
The first section includes two chapters on the Responsible Competitiveness Index (CRI). The first paper argues that responsible competitiveness is partly delivered by market forces but requires global rules to ensure sustainable development. The following section discusses strategies for shifting to a low-carbon market. The authors argue that the abatement costs are lowest if firms act early on combating greenhouse gas emissions. The second article in this section provides guidance for businesses on reducing emissions with the final article proposing the development of a global carbon fund.

The value of EU preferences for the ACP and EPA contribution to market access
http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/?doc=33163
This South Centre fact sheet addresses questions on access to the EU market by African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.

The World Bank and Middle-Income Countries: Business as Usual?
http://www.worldbank.org/ieg/mic
The Independent Evaluation Group's new report-Development Results in Middle-Income Countries (MICs)-finds that the World Bank's work with MICs over the past decade has contributed to the growth and significant poverty reduction achieved by those countries. Indeed four-fifths of respondents to an IEG survey of opinion-leaders in MICs said they value the Bank's programs and services. The report also notes that the Bank's work needs to yield stronger results in dealing with inequality, corruption and the environment. It makes a clear recommendation: that the Bank should continue to engage with middle-income countries, but depart from business as usual for a greater impact.

Understanding Your Local Economy: A Resource Guide for Cities
http://www.citiesalliance.org/...
A Resource Guide for Cities, that addresses the challenges of analysing local economic conditions and a city’s comparative and competitive advantages. Funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Guide presents practical approaches to conducting citywide and regionwide economic and competitive assessments. It includes advice on how to choose local economic development (LED) indicators and tools that can assess a local economy’s competitiveness.

What Drives China's Growing Role in Africa?
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/cat/longres.cfm?sk=21282.0
This IMF paper attempts to provide a quantified assessment of China's multifaceted influence as market, donor, financer and investor, and contractor and builder. Though in the past official development aid predominated, the paper argues that government policies, markets for each other's exports, Africa's demand for infrastructure, and differences in China's approach to financing have together moved commercial activities-trade and investment-to the center of China-Africa economic relations.

Who's in First? A Regional Development Index for the PRC's Provinces
http://www.adbi.org/discussion-paper/...
This ADB paper offers an index system that provides clear information on the relative position of each province in the People's Republic of China in different fields of development. The index assesses achievements using ten field indices, which constitute an overall regional development index; among them are infrastructure, environmental protection, economic development, and social equity.


9. Websites of the Month

The Global Transparency Initiative (GTI)
http://www.ifitransparency.org
GTI is a grouping of civil society organizations committed to openness, believes that everyone has a right to access information held by international financial institutions (IFIs). Despite a stated commitment to openness, most IFIs remain highly secretive. The GTI is asking civil society groups and like organizations with an interest in IFI openness to endorse the GTI Transparency Charter, which we hope will increasingly be used in advocacy efforts around IFI openness. The Charter is the GTI's flagship statement of the standards to which we believe IFI access to information policies should conform.

Private Sector Enabling Environment Facility (PSEEF) – BizClim
http://www.acpbusinessclimate.org
The Private Sector Enabling Environment Facility (PSEEF) is an EU funded initiative under the Cotonou Agreement. From now on, the Facility will be promoted under the ACP Business Climate facility (BizClim). The Facility is essentially about ‘improving legislation, institutional set up and financial measures (the rules of the game) relating to the enabling environment of the private sector in ACP countries or regions and to the reform of SOEs - and to do so by focusing on possible support to ACP governments or regional institutions’

PRO€INVEST
http://www.proinvest-eu.org
Pro€Invest is an EU-ACP (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific) partnership programme developed and undertaken by the European Commission on behalf of the ACP countries. Pro€Invest, which has a budget of 110 million EURO over a period of 7 years, is financed by the European Development Fund (EDF).
Its implementation has been entrusted to a Management Unit within the Centre for the Development of Enterprise (CDE) under the supervision of the EuropeAid, Co-operation office on the European Commission.

Investment Facility/The Private Enterprise Finance Facility
http://www.eib.org/acp
The European Investment Bank has been a development partner in most ACP countries for some 30-40 years. Current EIB-ACP cooperation is based on the Cotonou Agreement that mandates the EIB to provide reimbursable aid to projects, alongside grant aid from the European Commission in 79 ACP countries. The EIB currently has five regional offices in the ACP region.

Centre for the Development of Enterprises (CDE)
http://www.cde.int
CDE’s financial resources mainly come from the European Development Fund (EDF). Its objective is to ensure the development of professional ACP enterprises operating in the private sector. CDE operates in complementarity with the European Commission, the Secretariat of the ACP Group of States and the European Investment Bank in the framework of support to the private sector.

EU/ACP Microfinance Framework Programme
http://www.euacpmicrofinance.org
In January 2005, the EUand the ACP Group launched the EU/ACP Microfinance Framework Programme. With a budget of 15 million Euro for 4 years from the 9th European Development Fund, the EU/ACP Microfinance Programme intends to support the development of innovative solutions and dissemination of good practices in microfinance. The Programme builds on successful microfinance experiences in ACP countries and promotes South-South learning. With this pilot programme, the EU seeks to advance the overall effectiveness of its microfinance operations in ACP countries, including those not directly funded by this Programme.

TRADECOM
http://www.tradecom-acpeu.org
The TradeCom Programme was established to provide and coordinate assistance to ACP countries. It aims at consolidating, and even creating, where absent, the necessary capacity that would enable them to craft trade policies, with a view to achieve sustainable development and balanced societies. The Programme therefore intends to develop capacity within the ACP countries and regions and to provide intellectual expertise to help them to devise their own development-oriented trade policies, as well as to formulate effective negotiation strategies on trade matters.

Export Helpdesk to Europe (EH)
http://exporthelp.europa.eu/
The Export Helpdesk is an online service, provided by the European Commission, to facilitate market access for developing countries to the European Union. This free and user-friendly service provides relevant information required by developing country exporters interested in supplying the EU market.

Website Launch Checklist
http://www.weitzenegger.de/en/to/launchlist.pdf
When deciding to launch a website, you should first check certain things listed here. If there are problems in any of these areas, your website's functionality will be greatly reduced. Frankly, sending traffic to unfinished website only defeats the purpose of advertising in the first place. If you do check them, however, your website has a greater chance of attracting visitors and becoming successful.


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