Transforming Education into Better Jobs and Better Lives

Reblogged from NORRAG NEWSBite:

Andreas Schleicher, OECD.

Everywhere skills transform lives and drive economies; and without the right skills, people are kept on the margins of society, technological progress does not translate into economic growth, and countries can’t compete in today’s economies. But the toxic co-existence of unemployed graduates on the street, while employers tell us that they cannot find the people with the skills they need, shows that more education does not automatically translate into better economic and social outcomes.

Read more… 760 more words

This blog post also appears in NORRAG NEWS 48, 2012: The Year of Global Reports on TVET, Skills & Jobs Consensus or diversity? (April 2013), available free online at www.norrag.org

Filed under: Development, Economy, Employment, OECD, Poverty, Research

Has Africa outgrown Aid? | Wolfgang Fengler’s blog

Africa’s emergence is the new consensus. For the second time in a just few months, a major international journal has run a cover illustrating newfound optimism about the continent. After The Economist’s mea culpa (correcting its previous assessment of a “hopeless continent”), TIME magazine just re-ran an earlier title: “Africa rising”.

This is no fluke: Africa’s economies are growing and the continent is much wealthier today than it ever was – even though, collectively, it remains the poorest on the planet. Many African nations (22 to be precise) have already reached Middle Income Country (so called “MIC”) status and more will do so by 2025. Today, Africa includes a diverse “mix” of countries, ranging from the poorest in the world to the fastest growing; from war-torn countries to vibrant democracies; from oil-rich economies to ICT champions, and the list goes on.

Simply put: If we continue to equate aid with money only, then it will become obsolete in most countries over the next decade or two – except perhaps in fragile states. However, if it is focused on transferring the knowledge countries need to catch up and compete with each other, it will remain indispensable.

Read on: http://blogs.worldbank.org/africacan/has-africa-outgrown-aid

Filed under: Africa, Crisis, Development, OECD, aid fatigue, new donors, post-2015

Open aid – transparent Swedish development cooperation

Open aid – transparent Swedish development cooperation.

Open aid – transparent Swedish development cooperation

“Open aid” is the name of the next step in the reform of Sweden´s development cooperation. The step is being taken to better adapt development cooperation to today´s reality and the opportunities created by globalisation and technological development. The goal is to achieve as effective poverty reduction as possible. To achieve this goal, development cooperation must be opened up to transparency and ideas from others.

Filed under: Development, European Union, OECD, Aid Efficiency, Aid Transparency, OpenAid

Donors’ mixed aid performance for 2010 sparks concern

Aid to developing countries in 2010 will reach record levels in dollar terms after increasing by 35 per cent since 2004. But it will still be less than the world’s major aid donors promised five years ago at the Gleneagles and Millennium + 5 summits. Though a majority of countries will meet their commitments, the underperformance of several large donors means there will be a significant shortfall, according to a new OECD review.

Africa, in particular, is likely to get only about USD 12 billion of the USD 25 billion increase envisaged at Gleneagles, due in large part to the underperformance of some European donors who give large shares of official development assistance (ODA) to Africa. Eckhard Deutscher, Chair of the DAC, noted that: ”Aid has increased strongly as 16 donors have honoured their commitments. But underperformance by the others, notably Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, and Portugal, means overall aid will still fall considerably short of what was promised. These commitments were made and confirmed repeatedly by heads of governments and it is essential that they be met to the full extent.”

Commenting on the figures, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría said: ”It is reassuring that most donors are recognising their international responsibilities. As we head into new rounds of discussions about funding climate change and food security concerns, I encourage all donors to carry through on their development promises.” Source: OECD, http://tinyurl.com/ye8zrej

The EU falls short $19bn on development pledges. Some of the overall shortfall will come from the EU15 – the old, wealthier member states that made the original pledges. EU countries are skipping out to the tune of $19 billion (€14bn) on the aid pledges they made to developing countries five years ago at a landmark G8 meeting, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Aid to poor countries in 2010 will be lower than donors promised five years ago at the 2005 Group of Eight meeting in Scotland – largely as a result of the economic crisis, says a report published on Tuesday by the OECD, the international club of wealthy countries. With national budgets squeezed in the wake of the crash, many governments believe that charity begins at home.

Max Lawson, senior policy adviser at Oxfam, said: ”These broken promises are nothing short of a scandal. A woman dies every minute in childbirth somewhere in the world because of inadequate medical care and 72 million children remain out of school. The missing $21bn could pay for every child to go to school, and could save the lives of 2 million of the poorest mothers and children.” Source: EU Observer, http://euobserver.com/19/29496

Filed under: Crisis, Development, Economy, OECD

Strengthening EU development cooperation under the Lisbon Treaty

The expected introduction of the European Union’s (EU) Lisbon Treaty in 2010 will fundamentally alter how EU external action is conducted. This presents both risks and opportunities for EU development cooperation. The general expectation of EU Member States’ Senior Officials is that progress in EU integration and a stronger EU profile in the world would strengthen EU development cooperation and improve policy coherence for development This would also help to ensure better cooperation with partner countries in the South. But there were varying assessments on how these aspirations might best be achieved. See the ECDPM background document. Source: ECDPM. http://dev.afflux.com/ecdpm/manager2/link.php?ID=1125

Filed under: Development, European Union, Germany, OECD

EU Development policy to focus on climate and democracy, says Mrs Carlsson

As president in office of the EU Council, the Minister for International Development Cooperation of Sweden, Gunilla Carlsson, presented to MEPs from the Committee on Development the presidency’s priorities for the second semester of 2009: development as part of the climate change agenda, democracy building as well as policy coherence and effectiveness. Helping to ensure that developing countries can effectively fight poverty in all its forms and meet the challenges that follow in the wake of the global economic crisis and climate change are the main priorities the Swedish presidency in the field of development. Replying to some questions of MEPs about the sometimes incoherent EU approach, the Swedish minister encouraged the European Parliament to make full use of its scrutinising powers (budgetary and co-decision procedures) in order to ensure that the EU makes the development cooperation more effective and ensures that different EU policy areas and actors work together more coherently. http://www.europarl.europa.eu

Filed under: Crisis, Development, Environment, European Union, OECD

EU confirmed its position as the world’s leading donor in 2008

The newly published 2009 annual report on the European Community’s development and external assistance policies and their implementation in 2008 shows that the European Union continues to be the world’s leading development aid donor, accounting for 60% of world aid in 2008. The Commission alone committed EUR 12 billion, more than a fifth of the EU total. At the same time the quality and effectiveness of aid are improving, as are transparency and the monitoring of results. The Commission has continued its efforts to make its aid more effective by working more closely with other international donors and by simplifying its procedures. Considerable efforts have also been made to channel aid through national systems in order to strengthen ownership at local level and reduce transaction costs for the partner countries. In 2008 the Commission also stepped up its efforts to mainstream such issues as gender, the environment, and the rights of children and indigenous people in the development process. Source: RAPID http://tinyurl.com/yd4aodv

Filed under: Development, European Union, OECD, Poverty

EIT needs experts for the Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs)

The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) launched a call addressed to individuals for the establishment of a database of independent experts to assist the EIT in the process of the evaluation and implementation of Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs). The database will include profiles from the following areas: Sustainable energy, Climate change adoption and mitigation, Future information and communication society, Business creation and venture capital, Innovation in existing business, Entrepreneurial education, Research and product development. The list drawn up from the date of publication of this call will be valid until the end of 2013. Applications may be submitted at any time, up to the last 3 months of validity of the list. To register as an independent expert, see http://eit.europa.eu/experts.html

Filed under: Entrepreneurship, European Union, OECD, Research, Standardisation, Technology

World Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Development

The United Nations Conference on the world financial crisis adopted a wide-ranging Outcome Document (http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/CONF.214/3&Lang=E). The Outcome Document recognizes that the incoherence of the global economic system needs to be urgently addressed. It stresses the importance of the United Nations’ role in international economic issues,emphasizing that its universal membership and legitimacy makes it well positioned to participate in various reform processes aimed at improving and strengthening the effective functioning of the international financial system and architecture. It makes references to issues and recommendations of the Stiglitz Commission which presented an advanced report to the Conference, including on resources and policy space for developing countries to mitigate the crisis, debt restructuring and standstills, reform of the global reserve system and an independent panel of experts on the world economic and financial crisis that would inform international action, political decision-makin and foster constructive dialogues and exchanges among policy makers, academics, institutions and civil society. The precise role of the UN in global economic governance reform will likely be hotly debated in the coming months. Source: UN-NGLS

The European Commission stressed that the crisis shows how deeply the prosperity and the future of advanced economies, the emerging economies and the developing countries are linked. The cooperation and contribution of all developed, emerging and developing countries is needed. Source: European Commission, http://www.eu-un.europa.eu

As developing countries face the full impact of the economic crisis, European governments are falling short by nearly €40bn on their aid promises, a new report from CONCORD, the European confederation of Relief and Development NGOs, reveals. Source: Concord, http://tinyurl.com/numbm8

A groundbreaking study coordinated by ODI finds that developing countries are being hit harder than expected by the global financial and economic crisis, and that, sooner or later, they will need to respond. Research in ten developing countries, carried out by 40 researchers, provides a vivid picture of how these countries are faring in the crisis. The research examines the transmission belts — such as remittances, private capital flows and trade — that have been affected and are now carrying the crisis from the rich industrialised countries of the north to the poor developing countries of the south. Source: ODI, http://tinyurl.com/nc5yoy

The African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group called for urgent solutions to financial crisis. ACP states are amongst those hard hit by the crisis and want solutions to focus on countering the effects of the crisis. Since the crisis started, ACP states have experienced major falls in their export earnings; foreign direct investment has slowed down, official development aid declined and remittance flows have shrunken. The ACP Group believes that the crisis poses a severe threat to its members, compromising not only the efforts and economic gains achieved over the past years, but also the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The ACP Group underscores that the impact of the crisis would undoubtedly exert strong pressure on the macro-economic balance of the ACP countries. ACP cited sub-Saharan Africa as an example, where growth outlook has dropped to 1.5% for 2009, against 5.4% in 2008 and 6.8 percent in 2007. Source: ACP Secretariat, http://www.acp.int/en/press_releases/financialcriisis/pressrelease_financialcrisis09.html

A Joint Statement by the African Development Bank, European Commission, and World Bank calls to align support to mitigate the impact of the economic crisis. The crisis calls for more coordination of infrastructure development in Africa. This statement outlines the concerns shared by the three institutions and highlights the priority interventions required at this time. Responding to urgent needs, the three organisations have announced their willingness to increase their aid volumes to provide much needed counter-cyclical spending in support of rapid recovery, job creation and to promote long-term growth. In this context, the three institutions call on development partners to support harmonized spending and interventions around the following strategic areas of alignment with proven high impact: development of regional infrastructure: transport corridors, power networks and ICT; maintenance of existing assets; and enhancement of policy, regulatory and administrative frameworks. Source: European Commission, http://tinyurl.com/mjz86l

The recent second Global Review of Aid for Trade demonstrates that despite the crisis, there is good news for developing countries: in 2007, total aid for trade reached USD 25.4 billion, USD 4.3 billion (21%) more than the 2005 baseline. Even so, World Bank estimates show that 53 million more people are expected to be living on less than USD 1.25 a day. And while a few countries have slightly reduced the targets they set in 2005 for 2010, the bulk of the commitments remain in force. DACnews describes the action being taken on many fronts. A survey recently concluded by OECD and the WTO – the second of its kind – demonstrates that the Aid-for-Trade Initiative is a success. Since its inception in 2005, developing countries have given higher priority to trade in their development strategies. Donors have responded by offering more funds to help them overcome their supply-side constraints. Source: OECD, http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/43/52/43150493.htm

Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation released the publication Re-Defining the Global Economy (http://library.fes.de/pdf-files/iez/global/06293.pdf) after forum in April 2009. The current global economic crisis presents an opportunity to to engage the political governance of the global economy. Leading economist and Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz introduces this publication for which FES invited expert authors to discuss three approaches to Re-Defining the Global Economy namely, necessary institutional arrangements for a just well-governed and well-functioning financial system, the question of national or regional versus global regulation of such a system and the necessary political and economic arrangements for securing social protections.

Canadian IDRC suggested solutions for Global Economic Governance based on their project findings: http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-139286-201-1-DO_TOPIC

Filed under: Crisis, Development, Economy, Employment, European Union, Germany, OECD, Poverty, Crisis

Helping developing countries during the financial crisis

Developing countries are severely hit by the global economic crisis. The leaders of the world’s 20 biggest economies, recognising that the global financial crisis has ‘a disproportionate impact’ on vulnerable people in poor countries, have promised to make hundreds of billions of United States dollars available to these countries as part of a $1.1 trillion plan to rescue the world economy. In a communiqué released by the Group of 20’s London Summit, the leaders announced what they called ‘a global plan for recovery on an unprecedented scale’. They said the rescue package would include resources totalling $850 billion, to be channelled through global financial institutions, ‘to support growth in emerging market and developing countries by helping to finance counter-cyclical spending, bank recapitalisation, infrastructure, trade finance, balance of payments support, debt rollover, and social support.’ http://www.pambazuka.org/aumonitor/comments/2296/

The EU Commission helps with a support package. The EU has recognized that the current recession is affecting the global system at all levels – overturning the old notion that globalisation could only be good. The hardest hit are those who were already the world’s poorest – particularly those who had begun to climb out of poverty. To give EU action a coherent framework, the Commission has issued a policy paper – Supporting developing countries in coping with the crisis. The paper reaffirms the two guiding principles for EU relations with developing countries – partnership and solidarity. http://ec.europa.eu/development/icenter/repository/COM_2009_0160_4_EN.pdf

Related Publications:

UN Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Development
http://www.un-ngls.org/IMG/pdf_ngls_bulletin_1.pdf
In an effort to help keep interested stakeholders informed on the latest developments and events leading to the UN Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on Development taking place in New York from 1-3 June 2009, NGLS has launched a dedicated weekly ’bulletin’ up to the Conference. This first issue reviews the mandate and background of the Conference. It also contains information on related meetings and reports from the UN system.

DCED has launched a new web page providing links to a selection of the many materials now being produced on the global financial crisis and its impact in developing countries. http://www.enterprise-development.org/page/the-global-financial-crisis

The Centre for Development Policy and Research is pleased to announce the publication of Development Viewpoint #24, ‘‘How the Global Crisis Is Transmitted to Developing Countries”. The author, Jan Toporowski, Department of Economics, SOAS, expose how developing countries are extraordinarily vulnerable to the financial crisis that is unfolding in the U.S. because its debt deflation (its reduction of expenditures to repay its debt) will reduce developing-country exports and, in turn, the outflow of U.S. dollars, the international reserve currency, which is crucial to financing international trade. He also notes that the recent fall in commodity prices and the appreciation of the U.S. dollar will only exacerbate developing-country problems. http://www.soas.ac.uk/cdpr/publications/dv/49755.pdf

CDPR also announced the publication of Development Viewpoint #26, ‘‘Global Financial Crisis and Recession: What Could Happen to Major Emerging Economies?” http://www.soas.ac.uk/cdpr/publications/dv/49965.pdf. The authors, Terry McKinley, Director of CDPR, and Naret Khurasee, a researcher at Alphametrics, draw on the results of a 2010-2015 global scenario, generated by the State of the World Economy macroeconomic model, to assess the projected impact on the major emerging economies of Brazil, China, India and South Africa. They find that as the global economy is projected to recover after 2010, all four economies should resume credible rates of economic growth. But China is expected to perform the best during 2010-2015. The other three economies are projected to grow more slowly and confront problems of current-account deficits or government debt. For related material on the State of the World Economy model, see: http://www.soas.ac.uk/cdpr/researchareas/worldmodel.

The Centre for Development Policy and Research is pleased to announce the publication of Development Viewpoint #28, ‘‘The Roots of the Global Financial Crisis”, http://www.soas.ac.uk/cdpr/publications/dv/50940.pdf. The author, Costas Lapavitsas, Department of Economics, SOAS, and Research on Finance and Money, identifies several factors that he believes are at the root of the current crisis: loose US macroeconomics policies in the early 2000, the extraction of financial profits by commercial banks directly out of personal incomes (such as through subprime mortgages) and the adoption by banks of highly risky investment banking functions (such as securitisation of mortgages).

Labor Market in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and its Adjustment to Global Financial Crisis http://www.adbi.org/email.notification/url.php?id=2711&url=%2Fevent%2F2941.labor.market.prc.global.financial.crisis

Filed under: Africa, Asia, Banking, Caribbean, Crisis, Development, Economy, European Union, OECD, Poverty, Publications

Development Aid at its highest level ever in 2008

In 2008, total net official development assistance (ODA) from members of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) rose by 10.2% in real terms to USD 119.8 billion. This is the highest dollar figure ever recorded. It represents 0.30% of members’ combined gross national income. Bilateral development projects and programmes have been on a rising trend in recent years; however, they rose significantly by 12.5% in real terms in 2008 compared to 2007, indicating that donors are substantially scaling up their core aid programmes.

Fears remain however that the unfolding economic crisis will have a negative impact on the 2009 aid levels putting agreed 2010 targets in jeopardy. The current global financial crisis is having a serious impact on low income countries. World trade is experiencing its largest decline since 1929 and commodity prices, particularly for the exports of low income countries, are falling.

Only a special crisis-related effort can ensure that the 2010 targets for aid are met, which is even more important now that the economic crisis is reducing developing countries’ growth prospects and their ability to make progress towards the Millennium Development Goals. The European Commission urges Member States to stick to their aid commitments as aid plays a vital countercyclical role in poor countries severely hit by the economic crisis.
http://tinyurl.com/d4g8vm http://tinyurl.com/c5whar

Filed under: ACP, Development, OECD

PIA improves decision making for development results

How can donors and partner countries assess the intended and unintended consequences of donor interventions? The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) explores ex ante Poverty Impact Assessment (PIA), which can assist in modifying the design of interventions to improve pro-poor impacts by identifying key areas for monitoring and evaluation (M&E). It can be applied to most modalities of donor support.

PIA is a process which helps policy-makers to understand the intended and unintended consequences of their interventions. This approach considers that good design of an intervention requires governments and their partners to understand the effect of their policies on diverse social groups, actors and institutions, including those not targeted by the policy.

The Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness stresses the importance of results-oriented frameworks, harmonisation and alignment to improve aid effectiveness and to assure better pro-poor outcomes. Yet, prior analysis of the impacts of policy and investment decisions on poverty reduction is a complex task. It is often built on contentious assumptions and is dependent on data availability. Ex ante PIA helps donors and their partners understand and maximise the poverty reducing impacts of their interventions. It responds both to the need for accountability to partners’ constituencies and to the importance of transparent evidence-based decision-making. It can identify interventions with high impact on poverty reduction and pro-poor growth as well as mitigating measures to protect the poor. A broad application of ex ante PIA could also provide a basis for a harmonised reporting system on poverty impacts.

Poverty Impact Assessment helps decision makers determine strategic choices for public actions so as to have the greatest impact on reducing poverty and achieving pro-poor growth. PIA provides a better understanding about potential winners and losers of an intervention and thus strengthens a results-oriented approach. PIA helps to understand stakeholders and institutions that influence and are influenced by an intervention understand the importance and inter-relationship of specific transmission channels through which changes are transmitted to the stakeholders assess the likely positive and negative outcomes for stakeholders taking into account multi-dimensionality of poverty assess the reliability of data/information and knowledge gaps.

Using PIA, policy-makers can estimate the likely quantitative and qualitative outcomes of the policy for poor groups, identify potential risks and assess the reliability of available data. Through involving people with different interests and approaches, ex-ante Impact Assessment helps to save resources, and design interventions to be better targeted to achieve their goals and avoid unintended harmful consequences. Thus it also contributes to strengthening the transparency and accountability of democratically elected governments, and encourages consistency of policy-making across policy areas.

PIA is not just another new approach to assess the distributional impacts of interventions. It deliberately draws on existing approaches and their terminology, in particular on the Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (PSIA). While PSIA is more suitable for structural policy reforms, PIA is more a stand-alone approach to assess the poverty outcome at project and programme levels. But it can also help at the initial phase of sector or policy reforms to identify requirements for a full-fledged PSIA. PIA is thus less resource demanding. While a complete PSIA requires more than 100 000 Euro, the estimated cost of PIA is less than 20 000 Euro.

See the PIA Concept Note: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/13/9/38878575.pdf
For more information on Poverty Impact Assessment and POVNET’s work:
http://www.oecd.org/dac/poverty

Filed under: Methods, OECD, Poverty, Research

How PIA works

Poverty Impact Assessment (PIA) helps donors and partner countries identify the intended and unintended consequences of their interventions. PIA provides a framework for improving baseline data and monitoring the impact hypothesis during implementation and inputs for ex post evaluations. It formulates recommendations for decision makers on how the intervention might be improved. Ex ante PIA is designed to harmonise approaches. It seeks to avoid both incoherent assessments created by competing methods and often-conflicting demands placed on partner governments.

PIA’s novelty is that it integrates already established approaches, their terminologies and procedures into one modular approach. The PIA consists of 5 modules. In each step the risks, monitoring needs and information quality are assessed and recommendations are made – based on evidence – on how the intervention can be improved.

Module 1: Poverty situation and relevance to national strategies and plans
Module 2: Stakeholder and institutional analysis
Module 3: Identification of transmission channels and overall results by channel
Module 4: Assessment of stakeholders’ and target groups’ capabilities
Module 5: Assessment of results on MDGs and other strategic goals

The PIA modules lead to a picture about possible poverty impacts of specific development projects or programmes. These projects can take place in all kinds of areas of development and need not specifically be directed towards the poor. PIA is a tool to then assess in how far the project does actually impact the poor. Although the tool has useful elements and forces one to think about a multitude of issues that otherwise might have slipped the mind, it is also based on very strong assumptions about linear relations between different situations. The tool asks you to predict poverty impacts based on very little information with little analytical tools. In academic terms, this tool wouldn’t be considered to be a very sound or solid tool for measuring poverty impact. Nevertheless, if it is used to force its users to think more in-depth about the project and its possible outcomes for the poor, it is certainly useful in its own right.

PIA is based on balancing qualitative and quantitative information to achieve a sound and reliable assessment. The level of detail can be determined by the needs of the organisation commissioning the PIA. This might be a quick exercise, based on already available data, or a longer, more detailed assessment, requiring greater consultation and research.

Ex ante PIA holds a number advantages over other forms of impact assessment:

• It provides a flexible methodology, which can draw on more intensive data collection and analysis where these are available. It also provides useful guidance in their absence.
• It is based on a simple framework and associated assessment procedures that build on existing methodologies and definitions. It is less demanding than poverty and social impact analysis (PSIA) in terms of data, time, personnel and financial resources.
• It complements rather than replaces other assessments during the appraisal process, such as log-frame analysis, cost-benefit/cost-effectiveness analysis or environmental assessments.It can be applied to projects, programmes, sector-wide interventions and policy reforms. However, it is not useful for assessing budget support or identifying the poverty impacts of very small projects.
• It can serve as a framework for monitoring impact hypotheses during implementation and as an input for later evaluation exercises.
• It provides a flexible level of analysis dependent on the resources available. Should more detailed analysis be required, it can be scaled up to a poverty and social impact analysis (PSIA).

Filed under: Development, Methods, OECD, Poverty, Aid, Development Policy, M&E, Research

Key reading on ex-ante Poverty Impact Assessment

Promoting Pro-Poor growth: A Practical Guide to ex-ante Poverty Impact Assessment
http://www.oecd.org/document/…

This practical guide, developed by the DAC Network on Poverty Reduction (POVNET), is designed to help staff in developing countries and in aid agencies to plan and execute PIAs and to interpret their findings, the ultimate goal being to design and implement more effective poverty reduction policies and programmes. Download: http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/46/39/38978856.pdf

Ex ante appraisal of the impacts on poverty of the project ”Plateforme du Millénaire de Diamniadio”
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/57/32/39206523.pdf
Process documentation of the first Poverty Impact Assessment (PIA) in the Republic of Senegal, by Kerstin Meyer, Andrea Warner, Roland Hackenberg, Nathalie Manga Badji, GTZ, Dakar, June 2007

Sample Mission Report
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/57/53/38609100.pdf
Ex Ante Poverty Impact Assessment for Regional Economic Development: Green Belt Siem Reap Province, Cambodia

Sample Mission Report

http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/31/27/41768805.pdf
Financial Cooperation with Cambodia. Poverty Impact Assessment for Rural Electrification II

Managing for Development Results and Mutual Accountability
The value of evidence based decision-making for advancing cross cutting issues
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/57/40/38607559.pdf
Workshop on Development Effectiveness in Practice, Dublin, Ireland, 26-27 April 2007

Using Poverty and Social Impact Analysis to design more effective poverty reduction measures
http://www.undp-povertycentre.org/pub/IPCPovertyInFocus14.pdf
This IPC Focus issue examines the usefulness of two recently developed analytical tools: Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (PSIA) and Poverty Impact Assessment (PIA). Both approaches provide a framework to analyse the distributional impact of policies, programmes and projects. PSIA involves in-depth analysis of complex policy reform processes and offers evidence-based policy choices. PIA focuses on decisions concerning development projects and programmes. To explore PSIA’s and PIA’s potential contribution to more effective poverty reduction policies, individual articles in this volume.

Lessons learned in conducting Ex Ante Poverty Impact Assessment
http://www.mfdr.org/rt3/Glance/Day3/Sen.ppt
Lessons learned in conducting Ex Ante Poverty Impact Assessment for a Natural Resource Management Programme in India Third Round Table MfDR – Hanoi 2007.

Ex Ante Poverty Impact Assessment
http://www.mfdr.org/RT3/Glance/Day3/Dio.ppt
Presentation by Wolf M. Dio, GTZ, POVNET Task Team Leader, Third International Round Table MfDR, Hanoi 2007

Poverty (and social) impact analysis compared
http://www.undp-povertycentre.org/pub/IPCPovertyInFocus14.pdf
PSIA is an approach developed in 2001 by the World Bank and other donors, while the PIA came about in 2006 as a result of discussions within the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC). The main difference between both tools is that the PIA is designed to focus on project, programmes or specific policy reforms, while the PSIA approach is better for macroeconomic and structural policy reforms. Since PSIA was introduced, approximately 150 assessments have been conducted and the International Poverty Centre (IPC) show that it has been applied with a different degree of success in different occasions. Most of the articles in the journal agree that further progress needs to be made in order to unleash PSIA’s full potential.

As well as the PIA approach, POVNET has recently developed and is actively disseminating guidance for donors on promoting pro-poor growth , including in relation to:
Agriculture:
http://www.oecd.org/document/…
Employment:
http://www.oecd.org/document/…
Infrastructure:
http://www.oecd.org/document/…

Private sector development:
http://www.oecd.org/document/…
Social protection:
http://www.oecd.org/document/…

Poverty and Social Impact Analysis
http://www.worldbank.org/psia
This World Bank website was conceived as a forum for interaction and a tool for disseminating experience.

Sourcebook on Emerging Good Practice in Managing for Development Results (MfDR)
http://www.mfdr.org/Sourcebook.html
The Sourcebook is a valuable resource which provides solution-oriented examples of MfDR in action for practitioners at many levels and in many contexts. By focusing on observable and replicable interventions, the Sourcebook aims to increase the understanding of MfDR and illustrate how many stakeholders are effectively implementing MfDR principles for greater development effectiveness.

Filed under: ILO, Links, Methods, OECD, Poverty, Publications, Research

Networks you can use for poverty impact assessment

African Parliamentary Poverty Reduction Network – (APRN)
http://www.parlcent.ca/africa/prnetwork/pr_network_e.php
The APRN was created in 2003 in response to demands by African parliamentarians for a network that would bring together Members of Parliament from all over Africa interested in central issues such as poverty reduction to discuss and share best practices, lessons learned and experiences in that area; as well as to improve their poverty monitoring capacity and increase their policy-making knowledge and build linkages with policy institutes.

Aid Workers Network

http://www.aidworkers.net
Collaborative project set up to provide practical advice for aid workers from aid workers.

BOP Source – The first social network for the base of the pyramid
http://bopsource.ning.com
A social network for the 4 billion people at the base of the economic pyramid, the NGO’s that serve them, and the companies that want to do business with them. BOP Source is an interactive platform for collaboration on productive BOP business ideas, to help companies better understand and reach BOP markets, and for NGOs to help facilitate new relationships between their constituencies and companies.

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

CROPnet Comparative Research Programme on Poverty

http://www.crop.org/cropnet/
CROP invites poverty researchers and others interested in poverty research to join the CROP network. At present the network holds over sixteen hundred members. Close to half of the members in the CROP network comes from the South and countries in transition. More than one hundred countries are represented, not only Norway.

Development Crossing
http://www.developmentcrossing.com
A fast-growing network of professionals engaged in corporate social responsibility and sustainable development. The site enables users to create profiles, manage blogs and discussions, create groups and events, and directly network with several thousand professionals around the world.

dgCommunities: Poverty
http://poverty.developmentgateway.org/
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.

Eldis Poverty Community

http://community.eldis.org
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. Meet other Eldis readers interested in poverty issues. Create a profile for yourself and publish your own research.

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

European Anti-Poverty Network: Fighting for a Social Europe Free of Poverty!
http://www.eapn.org
Since 1990, the European Anti Poverty Network (EAPN) has been an independent network of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and groups involved in the fight against poverty and social exclusion in the Member States of the European Union.

Human Development Resource Net (HDRNet)

http://www.yorku.ca/hdrnet/index.asp
A specialised information gateway and electronic library on human development and international co-operation. Part of an international collaborative effort bringing together UN organisations, practitioners and academics from around the world to contribute material relevant to the research and practice of human development. Archives otherwise unavailable material and offers unrestricted access to the documents in English, Spanish, French and Italian.

MAKEPOVERTYHISTORY
http://www.makepovertyhistory.org
Brings together a wide cross section of over 200 charities, campaigns, trade unions, faith groups and celebrities who are united by a common belief that 2005 offers a unprecedented opportunity for global change.

POVNET – The OECD DAC Network on Poverty Reduction
http://tinyurl.com/dlz2vt
The OECD DAC Network on Poverty Reduction (POVNET) promotes economic growth for poverty reduction, stressing the importance of both the rate and the pattern of growth to: create more and better jobs for the poor, including in the informal economy; expand access to social and productive infrastructure, particularly in rural areas where most of the poor live; increase agricultural productivity, which has so often been the key to national development; and promote social protection programmes, which help to make growth work for the poor

Poverty and Economic Policy (PEP) Research Network
http://www.pep-net.org
PEP brings together and provides scientific and financial support to teams of developing country researchers working to reduce poverty.

Southern African Regional Poverty Network (SARPN)
http://www.sarpn.org.za
Non-profit organisation that promotes debate and knowledge sharing on poverty reduction processes and experiences in Southern Africa. SARPN aims to contribute towards effective reduction of poverty in the countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) through creating platforms for effective pro-poor policy, strategy and practice.

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

Wold Bank’s PovertyNet
http://tinyurl.com/PovertyNet
The World Bank provides an introduction to key issues as well as in-depth information on poverty measurement, monitoring, analysis, and on poverty reduction strategies for researchers and practitioners.

UN List of Poverty Networks
http://www.undp-povertycentre.org/povnet.do
IPC-IG is organizing an online catalogue of Poverty Networks, which are web-based platforms that share development-related information. The aim of this directory is to facilitate the access to development knowledge across our network in 189 countries and help foster dialogue between researchers, policymakers, civil society and multilateral organizations.

Filed under: Development, Directories, Economy, Links, Methods, OECD, Poverty

OECD countries reaffirmed commitments to open trade and aid

OECD countries have pledged to abstain from trade protectionism as part of a concerted drive to shore up the world economy and combat recession. They also have reaffirmed their commitments on aid to developing countries. Already in November 2008, at a meeting of the OECD’s Executive Committee in Special Session, OECD countries agreed to sustain recent commitments regarding open trade in support of developing nations, promising, ”Within the next twelve months… [to] refrain from raising new barriers to investment or to trade in goods and services, imposing new export restrictions, or implementing World Trade Organization (WTO) inconsistent measures to stimulate exports.” They also committed to making efforts to close the Doha trade negotiations, reaching agreements that would lead to ”an ambitious and balanced outcome.”
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/32/41/41836868.htm#H51

Filed under: Banking, Crisis, Development, European Union, OECD, WTO

OECD publishes Principles and guidelines to promote sustainable lending practices in the provision of Official Export Credits to Low Income Countries

The provision of official export credits to public and publicly guaranteed buyers in low income countries should reflect Sustainable Lending practices (lending that supports a borrowing country’s economic and social progress without endangering its financial future and long-term development prospects). Export Credits Guarantees (ECG) Members agree to apply principles to obtain reasonable assurances that their commercial lending decisions are not likely to contribute to debt distress in the future in relation to any official export credit with a repayment term of one year or more.
http://www.oecd.org/topic/0,3373,en_2649_34169_1_1_1_1_37431,00.html

Filed under: OECD, Publications, Trade