January 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

CONTENT

1. South Asian Tsunami: Massive Aid Coordination Effort Works
2. A Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals
3. Corruption continues to rise
4. ACP-EU University Co-operation EDULINK approved
5. The Role of Outsourcing in Reversing the Brain Drain into Brain Gain
6. The Financial Sector Reform and Strengthening (FIRST) Initiative
7. Training and Events
8. Publications
9. Websites

Nearly two million people across southern Asia may slip into poverty following the devastating tsunami in Indian Ocean, concludes a new report released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on January 13. ''Poverty is potentially the most important effect of this natural disaster,'' said Ifzal Ali, Chief Economist with the Manila-based multilateral development bank. Download this report: http://topics.developmentgateway.org/poverty/rc/ItemDetail.do~1029100?intcmp=923

The Development Gateway has prepared a Special Report
http://topics.developmentgateway.org/special/tsunami?intcmp=902
about the undersea earthquake that occurred on December 26, 2004, off the coast of Indonesia. The tsunami triggered by the earthquake has left nearly 150,000 people dead in 12 countries throughout South Asia and resulted in billions of dollars in destruction. This report brings together online resources available on the portal, from our Topic Pages and Country Gateways as well as new relief coordination tools now offered by the Development Gateway. These tools, along with our databases and procurement service dgMarket, are designed to make aid delivery more effective in bringing relief to millions of people and starting the challenge of rebuilding. Learn more about the response from the business community in the Related Links section of the report.

The UN Millennium Project, an independent advisory bodied commissioned by the UN secretary-General to propose the best strategies for meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has produced its first report ''Investing in Development''. The report, which is optimistic that the MDGs can be reached by 2015, sets out ten key practical recommendations for achieving this end. The central recommendation is a call for all developing countries by 2006 to have created their own development strategies based on what they need to achieve the MDGs targets in 2015 (Recommendation 1). ''MDG-based poverty reduction strategies'', as the report coins them, should provide a ''bold, needs-based, goal-orientated investment framework for the next ten years'' for developing countries and donors alike to follow. Those countries already with PRSPs in place are suggested to revise the document so that it is ambitious enough to achieve the Goals.

The report outlines specific sectors which should be addressed in the MDG-based PRS's, providing policy suggestions for areas like rural productivity, health and education. The report also calls for these MDG-PRS's to provide a framework for strengthening governance (especially public sector management), promoting human rights, engaging civil society, and promoting private sector ''(Recommendation 2) The report emphasizes the need for these strategies to be crafted and implemented in a participative manner noting the need for a ''transparent and inclusive process, working closely with civil society organizations, the domestic private sector and international partners'' (Recommendation 3).

The report is highly critical of the current international system's support of country-led processes, highlighting a number of significant failings. These include the lack of MDG-focused aid, the lack of coordinated technical support, and the failure of donors to differentiate aid according to different country needs. The IMF is picked out for particular criticism. ''The IMF program design has paid almost no systematic attention to the Goals when considering a country's budget or macroeconomic framework. In the vast number of country programs supported by the IMF since the adoption of the goals, there has been almost no discussion about whether the plans are consistent with achieving them''.

The report also calls some countries to be fast-tracked for rapid scale-up of ODA, in recognition that they are already have good governance and absorptive capacity (Rec 4). The report also calls for a set of Quick Win actions that developed and developing countries should jointly launch in 2005, these include free mass distribution of malaria bed-nets and effective anti-malaria medicine for all children in regions of malaria transmission, ending user fees for primary schools and essential health service and massive training program for community based workers.

Finally, the report recommends increasing the quantity and quality of aid and openly backs the UK government's International Finance Facility Proposal (IFF) for delivering greater aid volumes. The report also calls for change on trade issues demanding that high-income countries open up their markets.

According to the latest Global Corruption Barometer compiled by Transparency International political parties are the most corrupt institutions worldwide. The Barometer also found that poor people are the most affected by corruption, with one in three people in five of the countries surveyed (Cameroon, Kenya, Lithuania, Moldova and Nigeria) saying that they, or members of their households, had paid a bribe over the past 12 months. Another 45 per cent of respondents worldwide said that they expected the level of corruption to increase over the next three years.

The ACP secretariat as they have approved the ACP-EU Co-operation programme in Higher Education (EDULINK). EDULINK aims at fostering capacity building and regional integration in higher education through institutional networking, and at supporting a higher education system of quality, which is relevant to the needs of the labour market, and consistent with ACP socio-economic development priorities. The programme is open to all ACP countries, and will primarily benefit higher education institutions. It is expected that a total of €35 million will be made available to fund the programme from 2004 to 2008. Projects selected for funding under this programme will be identified through open calls for proposals. The first is expected to be launched at the beginning of 2004 and will be published in the Official Journal of the European Communities. More information about the programme, including guidelines for applicants and application forms will be soon made available from Europe Aid website. Inquiries may be sent to the following address: E-mail: Europeaid-acp-higheredu @ cec.eu.int, Fax: + 32 2 2994947.

According to a report published by the Public Policy Institute of California, economic opportunities in China and India are drawing well-educated and U.S. based Chinese and Indian entrepreneurs back home, reversing the brain drain that the two countries have experienced. Brain Drain, or the migration of skilled and educated individuals from one nation to another, is first and foremost a response to lack of opportunities at home. In recent years, countries like India and China, which have exported their brightest for decades, have started to reverse this trend. And outsourcing is said to have played a large role by creating jobs, raising incomes and generating disciplined, efficient workforces that have in turn provided a platform for economic growth.

FIRST is a US$53 million multi-donor program of the World Bank, supporting capacity building and policy development projects in the financial sectors of developing countries. FIRST provides technical assistance grants for short-term and medium-term projects in the areas of financial sector regulation, supervision and development. To express your interest in being considered for FIRSTprojects, please complete the registration form for either independent consultants or consulting firms. If you work with an official agency and are interested in providing technical assistance to FIRST clients, you should complete an official agency registration form.

EADI Conference Insecurity and development http://eadi.org/gc2005/ Regional issues and policies for an interdependent world Bonn, 21 - 24 September 2005 Researchers on development issues are invited to present papers for the 11th General Conference of EADI. Papers should be related to the topics of the working group sessions of the conference and submitted via the abstract submission form. The approach to the theme may be conceptual, or it may relate to a particular field or discipline. Papers may refer to particular developing and/or transition countries or to relations between different countries and groupings or countries and regions.

ILO Diploma in Market Oriented Small Business Development Services http://learning.itcilo.org/bds/ The ILO's distance diploma course in BDS is offered twice annually for BDS practitioners. The course starting 1st February will be tutored by Mary McVay and is ideally suited for BDS practitioners who wish to obtain a useful and practical qualification in Market Oriented Small Business Development Services. The course fee is US$1590.

Investment Promotion Practitioners Meet at WAIPA 2005 http://www.waipa.org/conferences.htm 9-10 March 2005, Geneva, SWITZERLAND

Summer Institute on International Migration, Ethnic Diversity and Cities, Amsterdam http://www.ishss.uva.nl/SIM/index.html The Summer Institute on International Migration, Ethnic Diversity and Cities 2005 will be held for the second time this Summer, from June 13th-30th at the International School for Humanities and Social Sciences, Universiteit van Amsterdam.

INFOCOTONOU: Quarterly focus on ACP-EU Cooperation http://www.ecdpm.org/infocot7 Focus on: The review of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement: what's at stake? With the current review of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement to be concluded in February 2005, InfoCotonou looks at the issues at the top of the agenda for Europe and the ACP.

DFID's Developments Magazine http://www.developments.org.uk The new issue takes a close look at what 2005 holds for Africa. Interviews with Hilary Benn and Jeffrey Sachs feature alongside articles on the Commission for Africa, Indian primary education and more.

UNCDF Microfinance Newsletter http://www.uncdf.org/english//microfinance/newsletter/index.php responses of a diverse group of people to the question: Is channeling commercial capital to MFIs an effective way to scale-up?

Innovation: Applying knowledge in development http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC17326 This report by Yee-Cheong, L.Juma, United Nations (UN) Development Programme (UNDP) 2005, describes approaches for effectively applying science, technology, and innovation to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The paper's primary conclusions include: investment in science and technology education needs to increase, and the role of universities needs to change;Government needs to promote business activities in science, technology, and innovation; mechanisms for advising governments on science, technology, and innovation need to be improved; governance mechanisms need to be put in place for managing global technology.

Diversity in Development: Reconsidering the Washington Consensus http://www.fondad.org/publications/diversity/contents.htm Jan Joost Teunissen and Age Akkerman (eds.), December 2004, 260 pages, ISBN: 90-74208-24-X, Price: Euro 17.50 A book that discusses what development strategies would work best today in Latin America and Africa by following - or not - the recipes of the Washington Consensus.

Microfinance Gateway Library: Publications You Could Use!
http://www.microfinancegateway.org
Each month, the Microfinance Gateway adds valuable material received from industry participants to our online library of over 3800 documents. In the month of December, 131 new documents were added to the Gateway repository. Of these documents, 75 were published in 2004 alone. The topics that generated the greatest amount of literature were product development and investments in microfinance.

Virtual Developing Country
http://www.bized.ac.uk/virtual/dc/copper/theory/th18.htm
This site introduces you to many of the issues and ideas that are of interest in the field of development economics. Many development economists are concerned with role of the MNEs in low income countries and identify a number of problems associated with foreign direct investment. Equally other economists and politicians argue that MNE activity can drive growth and development.

The Anti-Corruption Gateway for Europe and Eurasia
http://www.nobribes.org
The Anti-Corruption Gateway for Europe and Eurasia is a significant entrance way to information about combating corruption. It offers primary materials and direct links to major information sources for anti-corruption practitioners and analysts engaged in Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union. The Gateway serves as an easily accessible repository of anti-corruption project documentation, legislation, regional and international agreements, news, survey results, reports, and research.

GTZ in English
http://www.gtz.de/en/
GTZ went on-line with the core content of the new English WebPages. The English version serves the needs of a broad international public seeking information on GTZ's operations worldwide.

International Association for Impact Assessment IAIA
http://www.iaia.org
The web site of IAIA has a section, Publications and Reference Materials, which includes a number of resources available to no-members. These include International Principles for Social Impact Assessment, published in May 2003.

American Library Association's Best Free Reference Sites 2004
http://www.ala.org/ala/rusa/rusaourassoc/rusasections/mars/marspubs/MARSBestRef2004.htm
A collection of sites that librarians recommend. It's a page worth bookmarking, because it has links to sites about history, the environment, banking, food, science, market research, homework help, company research, word definitions, and much more.