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March 2003Content March 2003
1. UNDP: Making Global Trade Work for PeopleUNDP launched the book 'Making Global Trade Work For People', the culmination of an independent review of the multilateral trading regime. The comprehensive 341-page study, while supporting the belief that trade can improve the lives of people, calls into question the automatic link between trade liberalisation and human development that is often espoused by those promoting the current international trading system. The book recommends four basic principles to be accepted and operationalised: i) trade is a means to an end - not an end in itself; ii) trade rules should allow for diversity in national institutions and standards; iii) countries should have the right to protect their institutions and development priorities; and iv) no country has the right to impose its institutional preferences on others. This book is available as a PDF file, and is about 2.4MB. (DevNet) 2. Can the World Bank Enforce its own Conditions?The Poverty Reduction Strategies Papers (PRPS) foster the development of international financial institutions through conditional loans, such as trade liberalisation and privatisation of state-owned enterprises. Since this process is hardly led by local governments, but it is usually imposed from outside, the effectiveness of conditionality is challenged. A paper by M. Thomas, M recognises the major weakness of conditionality as the so called enforcement critique. This latter argues that conditionality has failed because borrowers do not comply with conditions and suggests a selectivity strategy in which donors would lend to governments that already have good policies and institutions in place. According to the author's view, there is not yet sufficient evidence to support the enforcement critique, which, if true, would call into question the Bank's ability to fulfill its mandate. Produced by: World Learning / School for International Training (SIT) (ELDIS) 3. Toolkit for citizen participation in local governanceThis toolkit is a description of a range of policy instruments available to local authorities for the promotion of citizen participation in local governance and/or available to citizens and their organisations to enforce participation. The description includes the target group, function of the instrument, the phase in the policy cycle to which the instrument applies, the actors involved, the institutional context and preconditions for its use, as well as the potential and limitations of the instruments. The site features a database of over hundred of cases in participation in local decision making all over the world. It is easily accessible by a powerful search engine that needs only a few keywords. Also included is an analysis of these case studies, a glossary of terms used and a bulletin board to which visitors can contribute. (EDIAIS) 4. Change Management ToolbookThe Toolbook for Change Management is a collection of practical exercises that can be applied for initiating change processes in any kind of organizations - private companies, governmental agencies, non- profit organizations, self-help groups, etc. Some of the tools are designed to be worked out individually, mainly in the form of questionnaires. Others can be applied in groups, e.g. in workshops of your organization. (Dev-Zone) 5. Publication: A Guide to Applied Budget Work for NGOs Soon in Spanish!The International Budget Project of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
is pleased to announce that the IBP publication A Guide to Budget Work for NGOs has been translated into Spanish and will soon be available for distribution. The guide should provevaluable not only to groups or individuals that have a new or relatively new interest in budget work, but also to those who have engaged in this work for some time and are interested in a review of the basic principles of budget work, examples of useful resources, and best practices in Latin America. Further, the guide should be informative for international institutions and actors that are interested in understanding the roles that NGOs can play in this arena. To read the guide in English, go to: 6. Improved representations of change processes: improved theories of changeInternational aid agencies face major problems when attempting to evaluate their achievements because of the global scale of their work, the diversity of activities, intended beneficiaries, partner institutions and social contexts is enormous. This causes problems with representation. How can theories of change be adequately represented in summary forms that respect the complexity and diversity involved, but which also retain some economy and simplicity, and thus are usable by those in more senior positions? A paper by R. Davies identifies a range of types of change processes and the extent to which they can be represented within a conventional Logical Framework. It then outlines some alternative means of representing and monitoring those processes, both within the structure of the Logical Framework and by using other representational devices, along with some examples. In the process the solutions proposed show the relevance of evolutionary and complex adaptive systems perspectives to thinking about types of change processes. (EDIAIS) 7. Inventory of International Science and Technology Co-operation ProgrammesThe Inventory forms a part of the Global Knowledge and Development Project of the Centre of Global Studies, Victoria, Canada, an initiative aimed at identifying new directions for strengthening the effectiveness of international S&T co-operation. (EADI) http://www.globalcentres.org/html/project1.html 8. World Trade Organisation Bibliography DatabaseThis bibliography has been prepared by the Secretariat to provide a selected sample of studies on subjects related to the WTO. It includes articles, books and working papers published between 1995 and 2002. The bibliography principally contains economic references, but some legal references also appear. The bibliography is divided into several categories and an outline is provided for each of them. (Dev-Zone) 9. Nonprofit Online NewsNonprofit Online News is one of the world's most respected sources of news, information, and opinion for the online nonprofit community. Nonprofit Online News follows the weblog model of short, readable items delivered on a regular basis. It provides the most recent news on the front page, an email edition of the news to subscribers, and an archive of all past news items. (Dev-Zone) 10. The Response of the Informal Sector to Trade LiberalizationThis paper analyses the links between trade liberalisation and informality. It is often claimed that increased foreign competition in developing countries leads to an expansion of the informal sector, defined as the sector that does not comply with labour market legislation. These results point to the significance of labour market institutions in assessing the effects of trade policy on the labour market. Authors: Goldberg, P.; Pavcnik, N. Produced by: National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) 2002. Available online at: 11. Peace and Conflict Impact Assessment (PCIA) and NGO Peacebuilding: Experiences from Kenya and GuatemalaThis report summarises the key findings from two collaborative projects on NGO capacity building for conflict reduction and peacebuilding undertaken by International Alert (IA) and the Instituto de Ensenanza para el Desarrollo Sostenible (IEPADES) in Guetamala, and the Centre for Conflict Research (CCR)in Kenya, funded by DflD-CHAD and IA. The work particularly focussed on the development and validation of practical tools for conflict-sensitive development planning and monitoring. In both countries, the project included an assessment of the roles NGOs have played in promoting peace and justice in these countries, aa facilitated self-assessment of the current programming practices by a selected group of NGOs, and the development and testing of innovative conflict analysis and planning methodologies for NGOs. Beyond this, the NGO consultations in both countries provided a wealth of lessons on the challenges of civil society peacebuilding from an indigenous perspective. (Dev-Zone) 12. Discussion - Access to Information in the Arab WorldThis Wolrd Bank-supported community of practice is hosting an e-forum on information dissemination practices and their legal context in the Arab world. It seeks to probe current information restraints in the region, and to lay the groundwork for policy and legislative improvement. Another objective is to set guidelines for country reports now being prepared. (World Bank) 13. UNEP: Marketing 'Cool' Life-Styles Key to Selling Clean and Green ProductsPsychologists and human behaviorists are being enlisted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in a pioneering new initiative to save the planet. Experts believe that the traditional messages from governments and green groups, urging the public to adopt environmentally friendly life-styles and purchasing habitats, need to be overhauled. (GNET) 14. SciDev.Net offers articles form Nature and ScienceSciDev.Net seeks to provide concise, accurate and topical news coverage of the principal issues and events relevant to the areas covered by the website. News stories originate from three main sources: those written by staff journalists, those commissioned from freelance correspondents, and those appearing in other scientific publications. Free access is also provided to selected articles from the journals Nature and Science. (EADI) 15. IntEnt2003 Internationalizing Entrepreneurship Education and TrainingSeptember, 8th -10th 2003 in Grenoble/France.. IntEnt is an annual conference for university instructors and practitioners to exchange their ideas on researchresults and experiences in the field of entrepreneurship education and training. New information and planning of IntEnt2003 will be published as soon as possible on the IntEnt Web-Site: |
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