August 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

1. The Doha Development Round has lost its way
2. Teams to End Poverty Campaign
3. CGAP announces the 2005 Financial Transparency Award
4. Amnesty International Report 2005: A Dangerous New Agenda
5. UN World Economic and Social Survey 2005
6. World Bank: Poverty Analysis Initiative
7. UN Agencies React to G8 Summit's Commitments
8. World Economic and Social Survey 2005: Financing for Development
9. World Trade Organization Annual Report 2005
10. Can the anti-sweatshop movement get its act together?
11. DOCON 2005 Directory of Consulting Firms
12. EADI invites new members
13. Reducing poverty through partnership with DFID
14. New IADB president from Colombia
15. Training and Events
16. Publications
17. Websites

The WTO Director-General Supachai Panitchpakdi warned members at an informal Heads-of-Delegation (HOD) meeting that ''progress is nowhere near sufficient in terms of our critical path to Hong Kong,'' and that ''these negotiations are in trouble.'' With the recent General Council meeting in the WTO, an Oxfam International policy brief argues the Doha Development Round negotiations have drifted off course. Instead of promoting the integration of developing countries in the world trading system, the 'Development Round' has been turned on its head: the focus has shifted from the development of poor countries to the pursuit by rich countries of their own self-interest. The EU, the US, and other developed countries want a 'round for free' for themselves, and are expecting developing countries to foot the bill. As a result, the deadline for agreeing a first blueprint in July will most probably be missed, and the would-be ''Doha Development Round'' will move a step closer to failure. Available online at http://www.oxfam.org/eng/pdfs/bn050727wtodevelopment.pdf.

The Teams to End Poverty campaign is a major communication and partnerships campaign launched by the United Nations Development Programme, with the aim of mobilizing individuals and institutions to contribute to the collective effort required to combat poverty in all parts of the world. It seeks to garner support for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. http://www.teamstoendpoverty.org

Last year, the CGAP award attracted considerable attention and applications from nearly 150 microfinance institutions all around the world. Many of these institutions already understand the importance of financial transparency to improve performance and attract investors' funding. Participating institutions have the opportunity to win a cash prize and to gain significant publicity. In addition, every eligible institution will receive a review of its individual financial statement by a professional accountant. Applications are open until September 30, 2005. http://www.cgap.org/fintransaward/index.shtml

This Amnesty International Report, which covers 149 countries, highlights the failure of national governments and international organizations to deal with human rights violations, and calls for greater international accountability. The report also acknowledges the opportunities for positive change that emerged in 2004, often spearheaded by human rights activists and civil society groups. Calls to reform the UN human rights machinery grew in strength, and there were vibrant campaigns to make corporations more accountable, strengthen international justice, control the arms trade and stop violence against women. http://web.amnesty.org/report2005/index-eng

Having achieved formal status in 2002, the Monterrey Consensus of the International Conference on Financing for Development provides the current framework for international cooperation for development. The new ''World Economic and Social Survey 2005'' released by the UN recognizes the numerous accomplishments to date and draws attention to the further actions-in the financing and trade areas-that need to be undertaken in the years ahead to achieve both the Millennium Development Goals, as well as the broader United Nations Development Agenda. http://www.un.org/esa/policy/wess/

The Poverty Analysis Initiative (PAI) aims at enhancing the capacity of different audiences in three areas: Poverty measurement and diagnostics; Poverty Monitoring; and Poverty impact evaluation. PAI Resources available on the website include: The Poverty Manual (presents an introductory course on poverty analysis. The course is designed as part of a broader training program of the World Bank Institute.); Poverty Analysis Community (created to better meet the needs of participants of PAI.); and Tools (aimed at sharing information to help users explore the diversity of subjects and methods applied in the field of poverty measurement, monitoring, and evaluation.) It has a long URL: http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/WBI/WBIPROGRAMS/PGLP/0,,contentMDK:20282391~menuPK:461255~pagePK:64156158~piPK:64152884~theSitePK:461246,00.html

The heads of United Nations agencies responsible for fighting poverty and promoting health in Africa have broadly welcomed the pledges made at last week's summit in Gleneagles, but have drawn attention to areas such as agricultural trade where they had expected more progress. The head of the UN health agency said the unprecedented commitment to health in the G8 communiqu‚ had the potential to change forever the lives of millions of people in Africa through 2008 to help to eradicate polio. http://www.europaworld.org/week232/unagencies15705.htm

This report focuses on the Monterrey Consensus as the current framework for international cooperation for development. It examines the correspondingly broad agenda for action that was set out in the Consensus, recognising the numerous accomplishments to date. It also draws attention to future actions -- particularly in the financing and trade areas -- that need to be undertaken in the years ahead to both achieve the Millennium Development Goals and promote the broader United Nations Development Agenda. (Source: ICTSD) http://www.un.org/esa/policy/wess/

The WTO's annual report discusses institutional matters such as descriptions of itsmain activities and information on its budget and staff. Marking the tenth anniversary of the organisation, this report also contains a section reviewing developments since 1995, as well as a look at potential future challenges. (Source: ICTSD) http://www.wto.org/english/rese/resere/annualreporte.htm

The international anti-sweatshop movement has grown significantly as networks of trade unions and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have pressured transnational corporations (TNCs) to respect labour rights. However, the diffuse and uncoordinated nature of these campaigns has undermined their ability to achieve policy change. http://www.id21.org/society/s8ctc1g1.html

This is a list of consulting firms active in international development cooperation, sorted by country of origin or registration. Direct links take you to their Websites. Here you can find consultants, consortium partners or employers. This information is compiled from public short-list of the World Bank, the ADB, the EuropeAid Coordination Office, consulting associations and other public sources. Karsten Karsten Weitzenegger Consulting keep the list as reliable as possible. You can also add companies to the directory. http://www.docon.info

For three decades the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI) has been bringing development researchers and students in the European development community together. Its networks and combined resources are of the highest quality and these vital components can be placed at the disposal of researchers and students for a truly modest fee. It encourages both institutional and individual membership. 21-24 September 2005, we will have our General Conference in Bonn around the theme of Insecurity and Development. The General Conference (www.eadi.org/gc2005) presents an ideal opportunity to see EADI at work, sample the Working Groups and meet other members. In addition, EADI is offering a joint conference/membership fee as a Jubilee package, making it even easier to join http://www.eadi.org/join

The UK Department for International Development is inviting organisations or coalitions within civil society which have a strong track record of work in international development to apply to become a Partnership Programme Agreement partner.
http://www.dfid.gov.uk/aboutdfid/DFIDwork/ppas/ppa-competition-april06.asp

Luis Alberto Moreno is the new president of the IADB thanks to US support The Colombian ambassador to Washington, Luis Alberto Moreno, was chosen as the new president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) in the first round of voting, despite Latin American divisions ahead of the election.
http://ifis.choike.org/informes/105.html

Conference: Evaluations in the European Commission
http://www.cc.cec/budg/networks/index-en.htm
Brussels, 17 October 2005
The Evaluation network of the European Commission is organizing a one-day conference ''Evaluations in the European Commission: Demand and Supply - a Debate''. for consultants interested in carrying out evaluations for the Commission. Contact: Svend Jakobsen, Head of Unit, DG BUDGET - Evaluation Unit, Tel: +32-2-296.07.74, Fax: +32-2-295.31.45

Training Workshop on Market Access for Non-Agricultural Products (NAMA)
http://www.escwa.org.lb/index.asp.
Qatar, 15 - 17 November, 2005 This event is being organised by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). For further information contact ESCWA, tel: (+ 961-1) 981301; fax: (+ 961-1), 981510; email: webmaster-escwa @ un.org

Management Course for Development Practitioners
http://www.impactalliance.org/ev.php?ID=11143201&ID2=DOTOPIC
05 September 2005 - 30 September 2005, Ede, The Netherlands This training is in operational planning, monitoring and evaluation, human resources management and personal skills for managers and co-ordinators of development projects.

On Line Master on Immigration and Development Co-operation
http://www.hegoa.ehu.es/topics/formacion/masteronline2
HEGOA and the Department of Constitutional Law of the University of the Basque Country offer an On Line Master on Immigration and Development Cooperation in the European Union.

Institutional Development and Organisational Strengthening
http://www.impactalliance.org/ev.php?ID=11078201&ID2=DOTOPIC
29 August 2005 - 09 September 2005, Ede, The Netherlands
Training course where participants upgrade their skills for designing institutional development interventions and learn methods for improving the performance of organisations.

Forthcoming: ProInvest Input
http://www.input-proinvest-eu.org/website/content/view/106/94?pagetemplate=inputen
Water, energy and transportation are at the core of the new program organized by the EU-ACP (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific) partnership initiative, ProInvest. Input 2005 focusing on West and Central Africa is the first stage of a series of match-making events bringing together private and public enterprises, policy decision-makers and local IPIs. Input 2005 will be held from 30 November to 2 December 2005, in Accra (Ghana). You can see the list of partners, preliminary agenda, country sector profiles and business opportunities on the conference

Online registration for the VIII Microenterprise Forum is now available at http://www.iadb.org/sds/FOROMIC/
Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia from October 5-7, 2005
Every year more than 1000 practitioners from all over Latin America and the Caribbean meet at the Inter-American Forum on Microenterprise to discuss the latest best practices for the development of the microenterprise sector. Contact: foromic @ iadb.org

DELNET Program in Support of Local Development, November 2005
http://www.itcilo.org/delnet
The International Training Centre of the International Labour Organisation announces enrolment for the DELNET Program in support of local development. The two courses include: 'Management of Local Development' (English, Spanish & Portuguese) and 'Gender Approach to Local Development' (in Spanish). Deadline for enrolment: September 26, 2005. Info: delnetenglish @ delnetitcilo.net

LACEA Annual Meeting
http://www.aup.edu/lacea2005
The Tenth Annual Meeting of the Latin American and Caribbean Economic Association (LACEA) will be held in Paris, France from October 27 - 29, 2005. Organized by the American University of Paris.

Conference: Building Better Pacific Economies
http://www.gdn-oceania.org/100043.php
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, 12-14 October 2005 Oceania Development Network Pacific Conference on Growth and Development. Contact: Dr Mahendra Reddy, Conference Convenor, Chairperson, Oceania Development Network, Pacific Institute of Advanced Studies in Development and Governance, University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji, Tel: +679 321 2089, Fax: +679 330 3040, reddym @ usp.ac.fj.

Proceeding of the 7th Ethiopian BDS Network meeting on Micro and Small Enterprises Development
http://www.bds-ethiopia.net/documents.html
The Seventh National Network Meeting, jointly organized by the GTZ-MSEDP and the EU-MSEDP, deliberated on the following themes: MSE technological and market support; Role of BDS in MSE development and its integration with the TVET system; MSE development achievements in Addis Ababa; Benefits of establishing clusters for MSE development; Experience of MSEs in financing MSEs; Experience of private BDS providers. (Source: bds-ethiopia.net)

For a more comprehensive list of events in trade and sustainable development, please refer to ICTSD's web calendar at: http://www.ictsd.org/cal/index.htm.

CGAP's Money Transfers Study
http://www.cgap.org/portfolio/03.html#03anchor
CGAP is pleased to announce the publication of Crafting a Money Transfers Strategy: Guidance for Pro-Poor Financial Service Providers (CGAP Occasional Paper No.10). This paper first reviews the size and structure of the global money transfer market. It then describes the building blocks that make up a money transfer system, and illustrates how pro-poor financial service providers are combining them into successful money transfer service models. Finally, the paper discusses how client preferences, regulation, competition, and other factors determine the strategic choices of financial service providers entering this market.

UNCTAD Trade and Development Report 2005
http://www.unctad.org/Templates/Page.asp?intItemID=1528&lang=1
This report reviews recent trends in the world economy from the standpoint of progress towards the Millennium Development Goals. It then examines the implications of fast growth in China and India for global economic interdependence and for the development prospects of other developing countries. Forecasts are made about the outlook for 2005, followed by recommendations on putting the new forces in the global economy to work for rising incomes and poverty reduction.

WSIS Papers
http://wsispapers.choike.org
The WSISPapers project is aimed at producing input on aspects of new information and communication technologies (ICTs) that impact on the development of Southern countries. This input is intended to feed the debate at the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), as well as the other multilateral processes that model the present systems of ICTs global governance. The project is developed by Instituto del Tercer Mundo (Third World Institute, ITeM), with the support of the International Development Research Center (IDRC).

Aid Harmonization: What Will It Take to Meet the MDGs?''
http://topics.developmentgateway.org/special/aidharmonization?intcmp=901
This Development Gateway Special Report focuses on aid harmonization, a new framework for how donors may soon be conducting business in the developing world. The report contains interviews and feedback from the donor community, aid recipients, civil society, and private citizens discussing the complexities of donor harmonization--and the promise it holds for meeting the MDGs in the developing world.

Trade Negotiations Insights
http://www.acp-eu-trade.org/tni.html
A joint ECDPM-ICTSD two-monthly publication on the major issues faced by African and ACP countries in their international trade negotiations at the WTO and with the EU in the context of the Cotonou Agreement.

ADB Country Economic Reviews
http://www.ipanet.net/infores/tinforesult.cfm?Insource=3086.
The latest Country Economic Reviews for selected Asian economies published by the Asian Development Bank. For more information, see documents posted under Asian Development Bank on IPAnet.

Tri-sector partnerships for social responsibility
http://www.id21.org/society/s8cng1g1.html
Corporate accountability to the communities they work with 'Tri-sector' partnerships between government, business and civil society are seen as a way for the private sector to help tackle poverty. Such approaches may not be relevant to poorer groups working with transnational corporations to reduce the social and environmental impact of their investments. It is not easy to make companies accountable to the communities they work with.

Flexible supply chains endanger women's well-being
http://www.id21.org/society/s7ctk1g1.html
In response to pressure from shareholders and consumers, retailers are demanding flexibility and cheaper rates from producers, who in turn give workers less secure work on lower wages. Some claim that women workers benefit from the job opportunities created by transnational corporations, but the downside should also be considered.

eCourier on ACP - EU co-operation
Subscribe at ecourier-dgdevelopment-subscribe @ media-consulta.com
The European Union publishes an eCourier on ACP-EU development co-operation.

Can industrial clusters alleviate poverty?
http://www.id21.org/society/s7ckn1g2.html
Policy-makers and donor agencies are keen to promote industrial clusters - groups of businesses in the same area, doing the same type of work. Clusters emerge because there are mutual advantages for related business to work closely. But do clusters have any impact on poverty levels?

The Rush to Regionalism
http://www.iisd.org/publications/pub.aspx?pno=670
This ICTSD overview paper, co-authored with the Singapore Institute for International Affairs, looks at the causes and implications for sustainable development of the rush to regionalism in trade and investment negotiations. Along the way it surveys the approaches taken by a number of regional/bilateral agreements.

Challenges in Evaluating Development Effectiveness''
http://econwpa.wustl.edu/eprints/dev/papers/0504/0504014.abs
This paper by Howard White explores three areas in which evaluation can be improved. First, reporting agency-wide performance through monitoring systems that satisfy the Triple-A criteria of aggregation, attribution and alignment; which includes procedures for the systematic summary of qualitative data. Second, more attention need to be paid to measuring impact, both through the use of randomisation where possible and appropriate, or through quasi-experimental methods. However, analysis of impact needs to be firmly embedded in a theory-based approach which maps the causal chain from inputs to impacts. Finally, analysis of sustainability needs to move beyond its current crude and cursory treatment to embrace the tools readily available to the discipline

Learning and Local Knowledge Institutions in African Industry''
http://econpapers.repec.org/paper/dgrunuint/200402.htm
Drawing insights from firm-level survey, this paper addresses three broad issues relating to the role of learning and knowledge in African industry.

Implementing Knowledge Strategies: Lessons from international development agencies
http://www.odi.org.uk/publications/workingpapers/wp244.pdf
This ODI study synthesises existing research on knowledge and learning in the development sector, and draws out eight key questions for examining related strategies and systems in development agencies.

Anticorruption Policies of International Financial Institutions
http://www.american.edu/traccc/Publications/Irene%20Pasternak1.pdf
This paper by Irene Pasternak defines the phenomenon of corruption and thereafter identifies and discusses its effects on states. The paper examines the current anti-corruption strategies of IFIs and analyzes the benefits and the limitations of the strategies.

Inventory of micro-insurance schemes in the Philippines
http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC18967
This ILO/Step programme working paper provides an overview of existing micro-insurance schemes in the Philippines. It attempts to capture the differences, the outreach, the types of organisations providing micro-insurance, the extent of coverage, and the linkages that these schemes may have with public or private programmes. Similar studies were also conducted in other parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The EPAs and sustainable development
http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC18979
This ICTSD/Aprodev report makes proposals for the practical integration of development perspectives in the European Partnership Agremeements EPA negotiations. It focuses on ensuring that EPAs can be used as an instrument to work towards the Millennium Development Goals and beyond, primarily by advocating for the use of benchmarks against which to assess the conduct and outcome of the ACP-EU trade negotiations.

Which ''industrial policies'' are meaningful for Latin America?
http://www.econ.puc-rio.br/PDF/TD493.pdf
How government intervention in industry can improve economic growth. By M. De Paiva Abreu, The Departamento de Economia, Pontific¡a Universidade Cat¢lica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC-RIO), Brazil, 2005

CGAP's online Microfinance Technology Center http://www.cgap.org/technology

CGAP help you find funding, select the right software, and learn about advanced technologies. Tell us how well your information systems work, or see how others use hand-held PCs, credit scoring, or ATMs. The Tech Resource Center goes live in July-don't struggle with technology all alone.

Utstein4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre
http://www.u4.no
The U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre is a web based knowledge bank established by the Utstein Development Agencies to strengthen their efforts against corruption The ministers of international development from Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom first got together as a 'Group' at Utstein Abbey in Norway in 1999. The Website gives easy access to a selection of the best anti-corruption literature and aswers to practitioners' queries

The Nelson Mandela Institution for Knowledge Building and the Advancement of Science and Technology in Sub-Saharan Africa
http://www.nmiscience.org
The Nelson Mandela Institution for Knowledge Building and the Advancement of Science and Technology in Sub-Saharan Africa is a private and independent organization established to provide the leadership needed to address the growing knowledge gap between Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and the rest of the world, and to play both direct and catalytic roles in improving learning and the application of science and technology to the development needs of SSA.

ECLAC social indicators database now available in English
http://www.eclac.cl/badeinso/Badeinso.asp
The English version of Badeinso, the social indicators and statistics database maintained by the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), is now available on the web. The database gives free access to data on about 130 social indicators on demography, education, health, housing, employment, wages, poverty and income distribution, the economy, as well as those used to monitor the Millennium Development Goals, for Latin American and Caribbean countries.

Tools: Develop the List of Company Leads
http://www.zapdata.com/popups/demo/dbdemo.html
Creating the marketing database for your next targeting campaign will be easier after you have had a look at this tool. Whether you are seeking to identify companies with a business need to relocate, or you are in the process of developing the profile of the investor which might be interested in what your location has to offer, this list building tool will help you highlight searchable company characteristics. The demo will show you how to go from subsector selection to making the long list of potential investor companies matching your investor profile.

GDNet Knowledge Base
http://www.gdnet.org/knowledgebase/researchpapers/
Freely accessible to all from the GDN website, the Knowledge Base provides access to thousands of full-text research papers and literature, with a particular focus on material from developing and transition countries, from one easily searchable database.

FreeTechBooks
http://www.freetechbooks.com
This site lists free online computer science books and lecture notes. Some books in related fields are also listed. The website developers assure users that ''all of which are freely and legally available over the Internet.''

New Directory of international and national Private Sector Development (PSD) related Projects in Ethiopia
http://www.ethiopianchamber.com/projects/
The Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce just published a new directory of Private Sector Development related projects with international support and PSD related national institutions: UNIDO, UNDP, UNCTAD, ILO, GTZ, USAID, SNV, SEQUA, EU, SIDA, World Bank, Enterprise Ethiopia, Ministry of Capacity Building, FeMSEDA, ReMSEDAs. (Source: bds-ethiopia.net)

Devaid: Making Aid Work
http://www.devaid.org
This new UNDP website focuses on aid coordination and management and is meant to support the implementation of the Rome Declaration on Harmonisation and to follow up on the findings of the Millennium Project in a pragmatic way.

IFIs Latin American Monitor
http://ifis.choike.org
This initiative aims at contributing to the Latin American and global International Financial Institutions (IFIs) campaigns for reform of the Bretton Woods institutions by translating key information, producing and disseminating analysis and providing a point of access to research results,opinions and campaigning activities, thus promoting dialogue and collaboration between key actors.

World Airport Guide
http://www.worldairportguide.com
There are lots of places online where you can book airline tickets, but you may want to know more about your destination than just the airport code on your ticket. It would be convenient to know, for instance, how many terminals the airport has, and if it's easy to get around them on foot. You can find out that information and lots more at World Airport Guide. This handy site has airport guides for most of the world's major airports, and they're chock- full of useful information. (Source: FITA)

Tariff and Tax Information
http://www.ita.doc.gov/td/tic/tariff/
Tariffs are a fact of life in international trade, and smart businesspeople stay up to date on the intricacies of tariff regulations. Here's a good way to do that. Tariff and Tax Information from the Trade Information Center at the U.S. Department of Commerce, has links to many resources about tariffs. There's a tutorial to get you started, a glossary of trade terms, an online tariff database, tariff and tax information for 97 countries, helpful tips for importing products into the U.S., and much more.

WEBEC's International Trade Page
http://www.helsinki.fi/WebEc/framef.html
This Page has tons of links to some of the best international trade research on the Net. WebEc has been around for 11 years, and it's a site for economists, but don't let that scare you off. As I said, it's got some of the most useful, and cost-effective, research online, in all areas of economics. Scroll down the list of links to international trade, and you'll see a Who's Who of organizations, institutions, and publications, with research and reports you can download for free. In addition, there are plenty of other categories of economic research you can look at, simply by clicking on topics in the left column. (Source: FITA)

Some NGO Directories
http://www.choike.org/nuevoeng/links.html
http://www.gdnet.org/knowledgebase/
http://www.coop4coop.org/index.html
http://www.devdir.org
http://www.trialog.or.at