Web 2.0 for Development

Web 2.0 has become a buzz word in recent years when talking, writing, and exchanging about Internet innovation. Free or low-cost interactive Web services designed to enhance online collaboration and sharing information are increasingly available to the public. This new dimension of innovative online services, where people collaborate and share information, where the consumer becomes the producer, has been termed Web 2.0.

Web 2.0 is primarily a social, rather than a technological evolution. Websites look as always, but now users can change the content after registering. Let us use technology to enhance creativity, information sharing, and cooperation among people. By the way, you can get my newsletter by RSS feed here at http://weitzenegger.wordpress.com/feed/ for adding it to your reading list or website. I started to save my bookmarks at del.ici.ous (http://delicious.com/weitzenegger), from where they get included in the Focuss.Info search engine (http://www.focuss.info). Have a look at http://use.weitzenegger.de, where I list my memberships in the main platforms (Facebook, XING, LinkedIn, Sonico, Orkut) in order to link international development practitioners. In the following we list some virtual communities, where economic development professionals meet and share knowledge. If you recommend more, we list them in the upcoming Websites of the Months section.

EADI offers a related Web 2.0 Workshop:
Information, Knowledge and Communication: Web 2.0 in Development Cooperation
Bonn, Germany, 27-28 November 2008, Gustav Heinemann Haus
http://www.eadi.org/index.php?id=994

African Diaspora Skills Database
http://www.diaspora-centre.org/NEWSLETTER/Database
This database was compiled to provide an overview of qualified African Diaspora professionals with varied areas of expertise and experience. The African diaspora contribute substantially to the social, economic and political development of Africa, and this database is set up to further mobilize this considerable potential.

Aid Workers Network (AWN)
http://www.aidworkers.net
Aid Workers Network (AWN) is an online platform for aid, relief and development workers to ask and answer questions of each other, and to exchange resources and information. AWN is registered in the United Kingdom as a charity. You will find discussions about a range of questions and issues on the AWN forum from aid, relief and development workers all over the world and representing a variety of fields, with new threads or responses posted daily. The forum is a great way to get in contact with other aid and development workers in your geographic area or working in a similar area of work

Bizzlounge
http://bizzlounge.com
Bizzlounge is where people committed to ethical behaviour meet, who want to establish and maintain business contacts in an exclusive and relaxed environment.

Business Action for Africa
http://businessactionforafrica.blogspot.com
Business Action for Africa is a network of businesses and business organisations working collectively to accelerate growth and poverty reduction in Africa.

Business Fights Poverty
http://businessfightspoverty.ning.com
Business Fights Poverty is a professional network for all those passionate about fighting world poverty through the power of good business.

Business in Development Network (BiD)
http://www.bidnetwork.org
The BiD Network Foundation runs the BiD Challenge to contribute to sustainable economic development by stimulating entrepreneurship in developing countries.

Catalogue of Poverty Networks
http://www.undp-povertycentre.org/povnet.do
UNDP is organizing an online catalogue of Poverty Networks as a means to facilitate access to knowledge and sharing this to a wider audience in 189 countries. Poverty Networks are web-based platforms that provide space for sharing and disseminating development-related information and initiatives. Below you will find information on IPC’s collaborating networks, which help foster dialogue between researchers, policymakers, civil society and multilateral organisations.

Connections for Development (CfD)
http://www.cfdnetwork.co.uk
CfD is a UK, Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) led, membership based organisation committed to ensuring that UK BME communities, and the organisations they are involved in here, are supported in the process of shaping and delivering policy and projects that affect their countries of origin or interest – collectively ”our world”.

Development Crossing
http://www.developmentcrossing.com
Development Crossing was set up in 2006 by a small group of friends with diverse backgrounds ranging from business consulting to international development. In a world where the environment, corporate responsibility, and sustainable development are becoming increasingly intertwined, our goal was to create a site where individuals that shared our passion could keep up-to-date with relevant happenings in the world and connect with like-minded individuals. The idea behind Development Crossing is to provide a social network that brings together people from a variety of sectors, countries and professions to discuss corporate social responsibility and sustainable development.

DevelopmentAid.org
http://www.developmentaid.org
The one-stop-information-shop for the developmental sector, DevelopmentAid.org is a membership organization that brings together information for developmental professionals, NGOs, consultancy firms and donors.

dgCommunities on the Development Gateway
http://topics.developmentgateway.org
dgCommunities, a free online service by the Development Gateway Foundation is devoted to knowledge-sharing and collaboration for people working to reduce poverty in the developing world.

Diaspora African Forum
www.diasporaafricanforum.org
This Forum exists ”to invite and encourage the full participation of Africans in the Diaspora in the building of the African Union, in its capacity as an important part of the Continent”. We will provide the vital linkage for Diaspora Africans to become involved in Africa’s development as well as reap the fruits of African unity.

Eldis Communities
http://community.eldis.org
Eldis aims to share the best in development, policy, practice and research. The Eldis Community is a free on-line community where you can meet others involved in international development and discuss the issues that are important to you.

Enterprise Development Exchange
http://edexchange.seepnetwork.org
The Enterprise Development Exchange links related communities of practice to advance sustainable poverty eradication. It is facilitated by The SEEP Network through the Value Initiative.

Food Security and Nutrition (FSN) Forum
http://km.fao.org/fsn/
The FSN Forum is a global community of FSN practitioners. It bridges the knowledge divide among the different communities involved in FSN policies and strategies – such as academics, researchers and development practitioners – to improve cooperation and impacts; members in many countries across the world’s five continents.

Global Development Matters
http://www.globaldevelopmentmatters.org
Global Development Matters is designed to engage U.S. citizens and leaders in examining how rich world policies affect global poverty reduction. There is an Election ’08 blog.

GTZ-Communities Sustainable Economic Development
Africa: http://www2.gtz.de/network/wiram-afrika/gtz-community/
Middle East and North Africa: http://www2.gtz.de/network/mena/open-community/
Asia: http://www2.gtz.de/assets-asia/gtz-community/
The GTZ-Communities Sustainable Economic Development are open to all practitioners, counterparts, research institutions, donors and interested consultants worldwide facilitating an inter agency exchange of experiences and best practices. This weekly updated website provides you with recent news and lessons learned from GTZ as well as from other development agencies and research institutions in the field of economic development. Its core is a comprehensive database. Participation in this open community is free of charge. However, registration is necessary.

LED knowledge
http://www.ledknowledge.org
This website is an online space for sharing the experiences and resources of people and organizations supporting local economic development processes at the local level. LED Knowledge is the result of a joint effort of the ILO-LED programme team based in Geneva, and the ILO training arm, the International Training Centre, based in Turin, Italy. Source: GTZ NEDAnews.

Network of Networks Impact Evaluation Initiative (Nonie)
http://www.worldbank.org/ieg/nonie/index.html
Nonie is a network of networks for impact evaluation comprised of the DAC Evaluation Network, The United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG), the Evaluation Cooperation Group (ECG), and a fourth network drawn from the regional evaluation associations. Its purpose is to foster a program of impact evaluation activities based on a common understanding of the meaning of impact evaluation and approaches to conducting impact evaluation.

TakingITGlobal.org
http://profiles.takingitglobal.org
TakingITGlobal.org is an online community that connects youth to find inspiration, access information, get involved, and take action in their local and global communities.

The Global Development Network (GDN)
http://www.gdnet.org
GDN is a worldwide network of research and policy institutes working to provide a fresh and relevant perspective to the development challenges of our time.

The Global Resource Site for Local Economic Development
http://www.ledknowledge.org/
This website by ILO-ITC is an online space for sharing the experiences and resources of people and organizations supporting local economic development processes at the local level. We would like to think of this space as your virtual work place, where you can find and share several resources relevant for LED practitioners and promoters; share your experiences with colleagues in government, NGOs, donor agencies, international organizations, research centres, think tanks and academia all over the world; and keep yourself updated on the latest development in the field of local economic development.

XING Group Microfinance Industry
http://www.xing.com/group-21391.0fc826/4466179
In this new XING Group, microfinance professionals from all over the globe link and discuss topics of interest. Use this forum to discuss financial technology, find employment, identify training opportunities and events, and share knowledge resources with fellow members of the microfinance industry. XING is an online networking tool to manage all personal contacts and to find interesting new business contacts. It’s amazing how quickly it facilitates contact with key people.

Filed under: Development, bookmarks, Civil Society, ict4dev, Internet, Networks, social, Web 2.0

Accra Agenda for Action (AAA) shall reform aid

Developed and developing countries agreed to take bold steps to reform the way aid is given and spent. After three days of intense negotiations, they endorsed the Accra Agenda for Action (see http://www.accrahlf.net). Developing countries are committing to take control of their own futures, donors to co-ordinating better amongst themselves, and both parties to the Agenda are pledging to account to each other and their citizens.

The Accra Agenda for Action is the product of an unprecedented alliance of development partners – developing and donor countries, emerging economies, UN and multilateral institutions, global funds and civil society organisations. They all participated in the discussions leading up to the Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, hosted by the Government of Ghana and organised by OECD and the World Bank, in Accra.

Key points agreed in the Accra Agenda for Action include:
- Predictability – donors will provide 3-5 year forward information on their planned aid to partner countries.
- Country systems – partner country systems will be used to deliver aid as the first option, rather than donor systems.
- Conditionality – donors will switch from reliance on prescriptive conditions about how and when aid money is spent to conditions based on the developing country’s own development objectives.
- Untying – donors will relax restrictions that prevent developing countries from buying the goods and services they need from whomever and wherever they can get the best quality at the lowest price.

In a short blog, the Eldis Editor reviews reaction to the proceedings and considers whether the AAA has made a real contribution to improving the aid effectiveness agenda: http://tinyurl.com/5duf9p

Filed under: Development, Trade, Aid

Annual report on EC aid reviews progress towards better delivery

The European Commission disbursed € 8.5 billion in aid during 2007, representing 9% of total Community expenditures, according to the recently released annual report on EC aid. Top regions for EC assistance were Sub-Saharan Africa (33%), Asia (17%), and Europe (16%); and 23% of aid was given through budget support. In its review of the results of the year’s evaluations of EC aid, the report notes several major positive impacts e.g. on the social sectors in India, economic stability in Jordan and Mozambique, the water sector in Jordan, food security in Mozambique, and economic integration in Central America. However, there is a lack of sustainability in implementation strategies, as ensuring ownership by partner country stakeholders receives insufficient attention. Recurrent weaknesses in efficiency are reported to be due to delays in implementation, lack of flexibility and cumbersome procedures which also limit the effectiveness of Commission actions.

While the high quality of projects within some sectors (such as rural development) is recognized, there is often a poor impact on sectoral policy of partner countries. An impressive increase in aid expenditures has been realised, but at the risk of compromising the quality of the interventions. Good results regarding devolution, especially when delegations are flexible enough to adapt to the specific context, are counterbalanced by overly fragmented visions and insufficient coordination among sectors in delegations. The Commission has a particular value added in its regional programming; however, the linkage between national and regional programmes is often weak.

Drawing upon on the EC’s Results Oriented Monitoring system, the report concludes that relevance has increased as devolution has led to projects that respond better to local needs. However, problems with predictability of funds hinder both efficiency and the achievement of results (effectiveness). Ex-post monitoring has demonstrated that, in general, lessons are not being applied. Although most projects have detailed reporting systems, there are very few cases of projects that systematically record their positive and negative experiences with a view to identifying the most appropriate guidance. This lack of capacity to identify and acknowledge how success has been achieved means that the same errors are continuously repeated. In 2008, the EC will work on developing a system for better collecting and disseminating transferable lessons and best practices.
Summary: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/08/st11/st11137.en08.pdf
Full report: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/08/st11/st11137-ad01.en08.pdf

Filed under: Development, European Union, Trade

Priorities of the French EU presidency, security and migration on top

The French Presidency wishes to address four key priorities: energy and the climate, migration issues, agriculture and security and defence.

On Development policy:
- responses to be made to the rise in prices of basic products.
- definition of a common positions for international meetings that makes good use of the role and experience of the EU.
- effectiveness of aid: progress needs to be speeded up with a view to better complementarity of aid between countries and responses to situations of conflict and of fragility.
- local governance, particularly in relation to the European Development Days. Based on the Commission communication on local governance and territorial development, a charter for cooperation on support for local governance will be put forward.
- work on access to care and the sustainable funding of health systems.
- links between migration and development (impact of migrants’ savings, job needs in productive sectors, regional dimension and the impact of climate change).

Finally, the Presidency will also attempt to include aspects of adaptation of developing countries connected with climate change in its external actions, particularly with a view to the Conference of the Parties to be held in Poznań in December 2008.

Migration: a comprehensive European migration policy remains a fundamental priority of the Union. The French Presidency will respond by proposing to its partners that a European Pact on Immigration and Asylum should be adopted at the European Council in October 2008 (see the separate articles on migration in EU sectoral Policies).

EU-Africa strategic partnership: in particular, Presidency will develop initiatives in the fields of peace and security, migration, access to energy and adaptation to climate change. It will also endeavour to progress towards the signing of full economic partnership agreements, including accompanying measures, especially to promote agricultural development, making it possible to renew a commitment to regional integration in Africa. (Source: APRODEV)

French presidency website: http://www.ue2008.fr/PFUE/lang/en/accueil
French platform of NGOs, CoordinationSud:
http://www.coordinationsud.org/spip.php?article5923
18 months rolling programme of the three presidencies (French, Czech and Swedish): http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/08/st10/st10684.en08.pdf

Filed under: Economy, European Union, EU

World Bank Updates Poverty Estimates for the Developing World

New poverty estimates published by the World Bank reveal that 1.4 billion people in the developing world (one in four) were living on less than US$1.25 a day in 2005, down from 1.9 billion (one in two) in 1981.

The new numbers show that poverty has been more widespread across the developing world over the past 25 years than previously estimated, but also that there has been strong—if regionally uneven—progress toward reducing overall poverty.

Looking at the new estimates from the perspective of the Millennium Development Goals, a set of internationally agreed development targets, the developing world is still on track to halve extreme poverty from its 1990 levels by 2015. This is the first of eight critical goals.

”However, the sobering news—that poverty is more pervasive than we thought—means that we must redouble our efforts, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa,” said Justin Lin, Chief Economist of the World Bank and Senior Vice President, Development Economics.

Updated poverty estimates are published by the Bank every few years, based on the most recent global cost-of-living data as well as on country surveys of what households consume. Summary report: http://tinyurl.com/66ye7c

Filed under: Development, Economy, Poverty