[weitzenegger.de] September 2008

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Karsten Weitzenegger

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Sep 12, 2008, 5:11:50 AM9/12/08

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This Newsletter is a summary and analysis of trends in economic development in
international co-operation policy. This is a public version of the file sent to
professionals of the German cooperative AGEG Consultants eG by its Economic
Development Department. Feel free to post it on your website or to circulate it to
your constituency. Best regards, Karsten Weitzenegger, Editor

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__________________________________________________________

CONTENT

1. Accra Agenda for Action (AAA) shall reform aid
2. Annual report on EC aid reviews progress towards ''better delivery”
3. Priorities of the French EU presidency, security and migration on top
4. World Bank Updates Poverty Estimates for the Developing World
5. Special Feature: Web 2.0 for Development
6. Training and Events
7. Publications
8. Websites of the Month
__________________________________________________________
Take a Deep Thought | http://weitzenegger.de/thought/

Almost half the world's population lives on less than two dollars a day, yet even this
statistic fails to capture the humiliation, powerlessness and brutal hardship that is
the daily lot of the world’s poor. Kofi Annan
__________________________________________________________

1. 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 arecommitting
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, UNand 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 asthe 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 andconsiders
whether the AAA has made a real contribution to improving the aid effectiveness
agenda: http://tinyurl.com/5duf9p
__________________________________________________________

2. 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 Jordanand
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
__________________________________________________________

3. 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 EuropeanCouncil 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 offull
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
__________________________________________________________

4. World Bank Updates Poverty Estimates for the Developing World

New poverty estimates published by the World Bank reveal that 1.4 billionpeople in
the developing world (one in four) were living on less than US$1.25 a dayin 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 hasbeen
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 worldis 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
__________________________________________________________

5. Special Feature: Web 2.0 for Development

Web 2.0 has become a buzz word in recent years when talking, writing, andexchanging
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 this newsletter by RSS at http://weitzenegger.wordpress.com/feed/ for
adding it to your reading list or website. I started to save my bookmarksat
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 incontact with
other aid and development workers in your geographic area or working in asimilar 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 theyare 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 inthe 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
http://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 practiceto 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 ofeconomic
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 resourcesof 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 DACEvaluation
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 acommon
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.
__________________________________________________________

6. Training and Events

Understanding International Contracts and Loan Agreements
http://www.unitar.org/pft/elearning
15 September to 31 October 2008
UNITAR e-Learning Course

Boulder-Bergamo Forum on Access to Financial Services: Expanding the Rural Frontier
http://www.bouldermft.org/bergamo/index.htm
Bergamo, Italy, 18-20 September 2008, University

Fundamentals of Corporate Governance
22 September to 17 October 2008
http://www.unitar.org/pft/elearning
UNITAR e-Learning Course

Regional Workshop on SME Development and Regional Economic Integration
http://tinyurl.com /6z39wt
Tokyo, Japan, 22-26 September 2008

World Summit on the Knowledge Society
http://knowledge-summit.org
Athens, Greece, 26-28 September 2008.
The World Summit on the Knowledge Society will bring together academics, people from
industry, policy makers, politicians, government officers and active citizens to look
at the impact of information technology, and the knowledge-based era it is creating,
on key facets of today’s world: the state, business, society and culture.

Building for the future: Evaluation in governance, development and progress
http://www.eesconference.org
Lisbon, Portugal, 1-3 October 2008
European Evaluation Society Annual Conference. Source: GTZ NEDAnews.

XVI. International Conference on Cooperative Studies
http://www.igt2008-registration.de
Cologne, 7-9 October 2008, University
Contributions of cooperative self-help to economic and social development

Encouraging Regional Innovation SSTI II
http://www.ssticonference.org/Conf08/schedule.htm
Cleveland OH, USA, 14-16 October 2008
Many topics will be discussed such as: introduction to tech-based economic
development, effective entrepreneurship assistance, universities' currentand future
role in regional innovation, fostering a culture of entrepreneurship, assessing the
impact of tbed, innovative approaches to commercialization.

Deutsche Clusterkonferenz
http://www.clusterkonferenz.de
Leipzig, Germany, 20-21 October 2008,
Die Deutsche Clusterkonferenz etabliert erstmals ein nationales Forum für Unternehmer,
Clusterexperten sowie Förderer und Entscheider aus Politik und Verwaltung. Das Ziel
der Konferenz ist die Entwicklung neuer regionaler und nationaler Impulsefür die
Clusterentwicklung in Deutschland.

2nd Europe INNOVA Conference
http://tinyurl.com/5ubb44
Lyon, France, 22-24 October 2008
The Europe INNOVA Conference 2008 will focus on accelerating innovation in Europe and
how to optimise knowledge transfer, strengthening industry's innovation capacity
through strategic partnerships and supporting innovative entrepreneurs.

Inter-Agency Conference on Local Economic Development
http://www.ledknowledge.org
Turin, Italy, 22-24 October 2008
The purpose of the event is to stimulate knowledge sharing and inter-agency
collaboration on LED approaches. About 150 participants will be expected,presenting
and discussing topical issues and day-to-day practices. Source: GTZ NEDAnews.

Development's Invisible Hands
http://www.devstud.org.uk/conference.htm
London, UK, 8 November 2008, Church House, Westminster
Development Studies Association Annual Conference

Innovation and Entrepreneurship
http://www.hkbu.edu.hk/~iibd/IEW2008/
Hong Kong, 12-13 November 2008
Many topics will be discussed such as the entrepreneur as manager of a growing
company, strategies & milestones for successful ventures, high tech entrepreneurship
and technological innovation in ASEAN countries.

European Development Days 2008
http://eudevdays.eu/Public/Homepage.php
Strasbourg, France, 15-17 November 2008
European Development Days 2008 is the European Commission's major event. Each year the
EDD hosts some 3000 participants from every continent, representing over 1200
organisations in the development community. Source: GTZ NEDAnews.

InterCluster2008
http://intercluster.eu
Paris, France, 17-18 November 2008
InterCluster2008 will take place as an official event of the French Presidency of the
EU. The objectives are : to provide better understanding of strategic issues involved
in the Europe of Clusters in a context of increasing globalisation; to identify the
best ways of reinforcing European clusters and making them competitive; to identify
obstacles to intercluster cooperation and propose solutions and suggestions.
Registration will be open online starting 10 September.

Building Competitive Local Economies, First mesopartner Academy in Asia
http://www.mesopartner.com/asia-academy/
Hanoi, Vietnam, 1-5 December 2008
You are looking for new insights on local and regional development, and you want to
share and discuss your experience with practitioners from other countries? The first
mesopartner Academy in Asia can bring you more methods end experience.

5th International Conference on Innovation and Management (ICIM2008)
http://www.merit.unu.edu/ICIM2008/
Maastricht, The Netherlands, 10-11 December 2008
Organized by UNU-MERIT (The Netherlands) and supported by Wuhan University of
Technology (China) and Yamaguchi University (Japan), this conference willbring
together academics, practitioners and other professionals involved in thefiled of
innovation and management.

Current Trends in International Development Cooperation &
their Implications for Evaluation
http://www.feez.org/feez/zusatzmodul_2/
Marktbreit, Germany, 11-13 December 2008
Additional FEEZ training module. Content: Introduction to recent trends and new
instruments of development cooperation; Implications on programme management and
evaluation methods and instruments; Requirements and consequences for evaluation
missions and mission reports; Job sharing and contribution to data gathering and
report writing; Best practices and information sharing. Contact: Ms. Bettina
Nasgowitz, Tel. +49 7021-9708717, headoffice@feez.org
__________________________________________________________

7. Publications

Accessing Financial Services in Rural Areas
http://www.inforesources.ch/pdf/focus08_2_e.pdf
InfoResources Focus 2/2008.

Building Democracies and Markets in the Post-Conflict Context
http://www.cipe.org/publications/papers/pdf/IP0806.pdf
In post-conflict societies, reconstruction efforts must focus on rebuilding and
strengthening institutions in addition to providing humanitarian aid and basic
infrastructure. The private sector plays a crucial role in advancing reconstruction
and establishing credible institutions that give post-conflict societies a sense of
ownership and faith in the political and economic system and discourage the return of
armed conflict. Institutional and economic reforms must be carried out atthe
grassroots level in order to cultivate a sense of responsibility within local
communities and to engage the local private sector and civil society in meeting
specific development needs of post-conflict countries.

Building the capacity of producer organisations
http://tinyurl.com/4ykd5m
Addressing the food crisis will require an enabling environment and priceincentives
for small farmers to increase production. Cpacity.org looks at rural entrepreneurs and
value chains.

Business Constraints and Growth Potential of Micro and Small Manufacturing Enterprise
http://www.giga-hamburg.de/workingpapers
GIGA Working Paper No 78 by Esther K. Ishengoma and Robert Kappel.

Capacity, Change and Performance Study Report
http://www.ecdpm.org/dp59b
This ECDPM Discussion Paper 59B gives insights on Capacity Building and comes to
useful general recommendations. If you ever wondered, what CP is good forand how it
works, read this.

Chain empowerment: Supporting African farmers to develop market
http://www.mamud.com/chain_empowerment.htm
This book describes two basic strategies that groups of farmers can use to improve
their incomes: vertical and horizontal integration. Vertical integration means taking
on additional activities in the value chain: processing or grading produce, for
example. Horizontal integration means becoming more involved in managing the value
chain itself – by farmers’ improving their access to and management of information,
their knowledge of the market, their control over contracts, or their cooperation with
other actors in the chain.

Cluster Development and Knowledge Exchange in Supply Chain
http://xxx.lanl.gov/ftp/arxiv/papers/0806/0806.0519.pdf
Industry cluster and supply chain are in focus of every countries which rely on
knowledge-based economy. Both focus on improving the competitiveness of firm in the
industry in the different aspect. This paper tries to illustrate how the industry
cluster can increase the supply chain performance.

Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism
http://www.adb.org/Microfinance/Making-Capitalism-Work.pdf
Review Essay on Muhammad Yunus and Karl Weber's book by Nimal A. Fernando, Asian
Development Bank

Creating an enabling environment for private sector development in sub-Saharan Africa
http://www2.gtz.de/wbf/doc/07-89144_Ebook1.pdf
The study has been prepared as a joint GTZ/UNIDO input to the ''DCED/BEWGAfrica
Regional Consultative Conference: Creating Better Business Environments for Enterprise
Development—African and Global Lessons for More Effective Donor Practices”, held in
Accra, Ghana, in November 2007.

Creating Value for All Report: Strategies for Doing Business with the Poor
http://tinyurl.com/6qrld4
The first global report of UNDP's Growing Inclusive Markets Initiative and the first
one with such depth and local knowledge, Creating Value for All showcases50 studies
by researchers predominantly from developing countries. These case studies demonstrate
the successful pursuit of both revenues and social impact by local and international
small- and medium-sized companies, as well as multinational corporations.

Developing Cross Border Value Chains - Newsletter
http://www.valuechain-bimpeaga.com
This newsletter will serve as a vehicle to briefly inform everyone about the
developments and activities of the four subsectors – tourism, seaweeds, halal
products, and palm oil - where GTZ and the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East
ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) apply the value chain approach. Source: GTZ
ASSETSforASIAnews

Development Assistance: Positive Economic Impact
http://tinyurl.com/5vxpv5
The recently published study on the economic effects of official development
assistance (ODA) is extremely positive. It shows that ODA is capable of creating a
win-win situation for both beneficiary and donor countries.

Education quality and economic growth - World Bank Research
http://tinyurl.com/25t49l
Access to education is one of the highest priorities on the development agenda.
High-profile international commitment to progress has helped galvanise policy-makers
into action. This book aims to contribute to the World Bank's education agenda by
communicating research findings on the impact of education quality on economic growth.
It shows how differences in learning achievements matter more in explaining
cross-country differences in productivity growth than differences in the average
number of years of schooling or in enrolment rates.

Evaluation of the implementation of the Paris Declaration
http://www.undg.org/docs/9219/Synthesis-Report.pdf
This UN Development Group report synthesises the results of the first evaluation of
the early implementation of the Paris Declaration, from March 2005 to late 2007. The
Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness is now recognised as a landmark international
agreement aimed at improving the quality of aid and its impact on development. It lays
out a road-map of practical commitments, organised around five key principles of
effective aid. Each has a set of indicators of achievement. The Declaration also has
built-in provisions for regular monitoring and independent evaluation of how the
commitments are being carried out.

Evaluation of World Bank's Doing Business
http://tinyurl.com/43ua6v
The Doing Business Indicators are the Bank Group's well-known tool for comparing the
business regulatory environments of 178 countries. This independent evaluation
recommends significant changes to the indicators.

Fighting Corruption Business Guide
http://info.worldbank.org/etools/antic/Guide.asp
This practical Guide explains Collective Action, its benefits, and how touse it. The
Guide is intended primarily for use by anyone with responsibility for a major project
or market, and who operates in an environment where corruption is, or maybe present.

Financing Development 2008: Whose Ownership?
http://tinyurl.com/5hnfen OECD Development Centre Studies
Aid alone cannot finance development; bringing in fresh sources of finance is
essential. The emergence of a multiplicity of new financing options is good news for
developing countries, but it also raises challenges. The authors in this stimulating
book assess the changing landscape of international development finance from a global
and a developing-country perspective. The result is a vast range of policy
implications for donor and recipient alike. In an easily digestible format, the book
provides recommendations on innovative policy mechanisms, on the use of both grants
and loans in development finance, and on the challenges of managing diverse financial
flows at country-level.

GDN Toolkit: Proposal Writing and Fundraising
http://www.gdnet.org/middle.php?oid=363
This toolkit provides tips and practical suggestions for applying for funding and
proposal writing. It is based on interviews with experienced research fundraisers.
Obtaining funding for your research is a difficult achievement, so we hope this guide
will help give your proposal the best possible chance of success.

Improving the Local Business Environment
http://www2.gtz.de/wbf/doc/SA_LBE_booklet_v1_2008.pdf
This booklet describes the importance of the local business environment in the
creation of vibrant local economies by local and district municipalities.It
highlights the role of the local business environment in attracting new investment and
business development opportunities, and describes how to improve these conditions.
Tools and resources for local business environment reform are identified to help
elected representatives and local officials initiate the process of improving their
business environment. Source: GTZ ASSETSforASIAnews

Integrating poverty, gender and environmental concerns into value chain analysis : a
conceptual framework and lessons for action research
http://www.diis.dk/sw62931.asp
This paper develops a conceptual framework to overcome the shortcomings in stand-alone
value chain, livelihoods and environmental analyses by integrating horizontal and
vertical aspects that affect poverty and sustainability.

Making Money Transfers Work for Microfinance Institutions
http://tinyurl.com/3hcexj
Money transfers are often the first financial service used by low-income people.
Institutions that provide secure and affordable money transfer services can expand
their client base, and generate significant revenue. CGAP's Technical Guide helps
financial service providers determine the strategy, products, and institutional
structure needed to support a successful money transfer operation, shouldthey decide
to offer these services. The Guide offers a practical, hands-on approach to Money
Transfers and a good basic overview of the topic, including the risks involved.

Migration can contribute to development in Nigeria
http://www.id21.org/society/s7chdh1g1.html
Nigeria is a destination of migration within West Africa and a source of migrants to
Europe and the United States. But little data exists that could help policymakers
design policies to boost the contribution of migration to national development.
Migrants exist in a climate of insecurity that undermines their integration in host
countries as well as their contribution to their home country.

OECD Framework for the Evaluation of SME and Entrepreneurship Policies and Programmes
http://tinyurl.com/5olyht
This Framework provides policy makers with a practical and accessible guide to best
practice evaluation methods for SME and entrepreneurship policies and programmes. It
uses case studies from a wide range of OECD countries to examine the benefits of
evaluation and how best to address common issues that arise when commissioning and
undertaking SME and entrepreneurship evaluations.

Open and closed industry clusters: The social structure of innovation
http://tinyurl.com/64gge9
In this paper the authors discuss knowledge and innovation in clusters and the
benefits of clustering from a knowledge-based perspective. The authors seek to extend
on previous research focusing specifically on two major dimensions: the knowledge
dynamics involved in a cluster, and the social structure of relationshipsin the clusters.

The Growth Report: Strategies for Sustained Growth and Inclusive Development
http://tinyurl.com/5alajx - Commission on Growth and Development, May 2008.
This report analyses, among other issues, whether developing countries can grow as
fast as the fastest growing economies without causing global greenhouse gases to
spiral out of control. The answer is negative unless technology and new techniques are
used to ''radically'' reduce the amount of energy needed to produce goods, as well as
cut CO2 emissions, says the growth report. The report is the result of two years' work
on the requirements for sustained and inclusive growth in developing countries led by
19 experienced policymakers and two Nobel prize-winning economists.

The Social and Ecological Market Economy – A Model for Asian Development?
http://tinyurl.com/6znzvy
In 2007, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development issued
Social and Ecological Market Economy Principles in German Development Policy, which
details how this successful German and European tradition of economic, social, and
ecological policy design can be used to orientGerman development cooperation. The GTZ
Sector Network Sustainable Economic Development Asia took up the issue inthis brochure.

Towards an Employment-centred Development Strategy for Poverty Reduction in The
Gambia: Macroeconomic and Labour Market Aspects
http://www.undp-povertycentre.org/pub/IPCCountryStudy16.pdf
According to the authors, growth in The Gambia has not been pro-poor. Weak
productivity and the low quality of employment explain why. They recommend policies to
increase the supply of credit to the economy, particularly to employment-intensive
sectors.

Trading up: Building cooperation between farmers and traders in Africa
http://www.mamud.com/tradingup.htm
Trading Up stands up for traders. It shows how traders struggle to run their
businesses in the face of adverse policies and attitudes. With more respect and
support, they could develop markets, add value to products, invest in newbusinesses,
and improve the efficiency of the food distribution system. They could generate demand
for farm products and help improve the incomes and livelihoods of rural people.

more documents: GTZ Online-Library Sustainable Economic Development
http://www2.gtz.de/wbf/library/topics-en.asp
The Online - Library Sustainable Economic Development provides selected manuals,
materials, workshop documentation, and technical literature as well as field reports
and discussion papers from projects conducted by GTZ and other development institutions.
__________________________________________________________

8. Websites of the Month

AfDevinfo - African Development Information Service
http://www.afdevinfo.com
AfDevinfo tracks the mechanics of political and economic development across Sub
Saharan Africa. They draw together a diverse range of publicly available data and
present it as an accessible and ever expanding online database.

Africa Commission, for effective development cooperation with Africa
http://www.africacommission.um.dk/en
The Africa Commission focuses on how to create more jobs and further economic growth
in Africa in the years to come. The overall focus will be on youth, employment and
economic growth. The Danish Government started this commission to put economic growth
and employment in Africa higher on the international agenda. (Source: DCED)

African Foundation for Development
http://www.afford-uk.org
Over the next 3 years AFFORD will concentrate on supporting the African diaspora in
the UK to contribute to wealth and job creation in Africa. It runs projects and
programmes such as SEEDA (Supporting Entreprenuers and Enterprise Development in
Africa) which seek to mobilize the diaspora and other partners to supportand invest
in sustainable enterprises, particularly SME’s, that will generate wealth and jobs and
respond to the jobs crisis in Africa.

African University of Science and Technology in Abuja (AUST – Abuja)
http://www.aust-abuja.org
AUST was established by the Nelson Mandela Institution (NMI) in 2007 as the first of a
Pan-African Network of Institutes of Science and Technology and Centers of Excellence
located across the continent.

Association of African Business Schools (AABS)
www.aabschools.com
AABS's mission is to promote excellence in business and management education in Africa
by supporting graduate business schools through capacity building, collaboration and
quality improvement.

BizCLIR
http://bizclir.com
This site is a dynamic knowledge development and knowledge sharing tool to improve the
impact of USAID's efforts on Business Climate Legal and Institutional Reform. The site
will host information for development practitioners including: country assessments,
best practices, publications, and expert opinions.

Business Climate Legal and Institutional Reform: USAID BizCLIR website
http://bizclir.com
This USAID site provides a dynamic knowledge development and knowledge sharing tool to
improve the impact of USAID's efforts on Business Climate Legal and Institutional
Reform. The site will host information for development practitioners including:
country assessments, best practices, publications, and expert opinions. The goal is to
share and capture information in this field from around the world and to become an
active forum for sharing cutting-edge ideas.

Business Fighting Corruption
http://info.worldbank.org/etools/antic/index.asp
This website and the ''Fighting Corruption through Collective Action”guide are the
result of an on-going collaboration of businesses and non-governmental organizations,
led by the World Bank Institute.

Centre for Agricultural Resources & International Development
http://cefard.org
CEFARD is a not-for-profit, non-governmental, and humanitarian organisation in
Toronto, Canada. CEFARD's mandate is to champion the course of global poverty
alleviation through agricultural resources and developmental tools mostlyin the
developing nations of the world.

Centre for International Competitiveness
http://www.cforic.org
Founded in 2007, the Centre for International Competitiveness focuses on researching
and exploring the competitiveness of economies and businesses. The Centreis also the
home of the influential World Knowledge Competitiveness Index, European
Competitiveness Index, and the UK Competitiveness Index series of reports.

Centre for international competitiveness
http://www.cforic.org
Founded in 2007, the Centre for International Competitiveness focuses on researching
and exploring the competitiveness of economies and businesses. The Centreis also the
home of the influential World Knowledge Competitiveness Index, European
Competitiveness Index, and the UK Competitiveness Index series of reports.

CUIL
http://www.cuil.com
Cuil claims to be the largest search engine in the world, and that it searches three
times as many pages as Google. Cuil is an old Irish word for knowledge. For knowledge,
ask Cuil.

Enterprise for Pro-poor Growth (Enter-Growth)
http://www.entergrowth.com
Enter-Growth is a project of the International Labour Organisation (ILO),the Swedish
International Development Agency (Sida), and the Sri Lanka Ministry of Enterprise
Development and Investment Promotion. Its goal is to contribute to pro-poor economic
growth and quality employment for women and men, through an integrated programme for
development of micro and small enterprises. The Website has a good project library.

eponews.net News on Development & International Co-operation
http://www.eponews.net
eponews.net - the news & views channel of epo.de - delivers you with news(in
particular from NGOs) and views on international development.

Euforic RSS feeds
http://www.euforic.org
As an existing subscriber to the Euforic News Flash, we invite you to subscribe to our
Euforic Highlights. Follow this link to get a regular email alert. You can also sign
up for our alerts in Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish! You can
also subscribe to news alerts from Euforic member organisations –follow this link .

European Development Co-operation to 2020 [EDC2020]
http://www.edc2020.eu
The EDC2020 project combines both research and communication aspects. Itsaim is to
encourage close collaboration between researchers and policy makers and therefore it
enhances the co-operation with reputable European development research institutes.
EADI, SID and others launched the project in June. To subscribe to the regular EDC2020
e-newsletter please visit http://www.edc2020.eu/21.0.html. Two working papers entitled
''European Development Co-operation to 2020: The Issues” and ''Energy and Development:
Lessons from Nigeria” were published and available as a download.

Global Value Chains
http://www.globalvaluechains.org
The Global Value Chains Initiative seeks to develop an industry-centric view of
economic globalization that highlights the linkages between economic actors and across
geographic space. It is a multi-year effort to test and develop the GVC framework with
the aims of creating greater analytical precision, intellectual impact and policy
relevance. Our efforts include a research agenda, a publishing thrust, the development
and dissemination of industrial upgrading handbooks for practitioners, and a series of
intensive workshops convened to test and broaden the framework through interactions
among network participants and with the broader academic, policy-making and activist
communities.

globADVANTAGE - Center of Research on International Business & Strategy
http://www.globadvantage.ipleiria.pt/
The globADVANTAGE – Center of Research on International Business and Strategy in the
Instituto Poltécnico de Leiria (globADAVANTAGE – I.P.Leiria)was created in 2007 as a
research center for the study of international business and corporate strategy.
Researchers focus on issues of importance to international trade, international
investment, international strategy and global competitiveness.

Growing Inclusive Markets (GIM)
http://www.growinginclusivemarkets.org
The Growing Inclusive Markets Initiative has created a set of data, information and
analytical products that will increase understanding of the markets of the poor,
including existing opportunities and challenges.

GTZ: Promotion of Economic Development and Employment in Conflict and Post-Conflict
Environments (PEECE)
http://tinyurl.com/4soqhu
Development interventions can help prevent, transform or overcome conflicts, but at
the same time they can cause, trigger or aggravate conflicts. Since development
interventions always have an impact on conflict – either positiveor negative -
Private Sector Development (PSD) in conflict or post-conflict situations cannot be
planned and implemented in the same manner as in peaceful countries. Thisplatform has
been established as a dynamic space offering practical advice, tools and project
examples to economic development experts working in conflict or post-conflict situations.

Guide to Sources of information for Sustainable Development
http://www.comminit.com/es/node/265632
This is a project of Avina Foundation and The Communication Initiative Latin America
(CI LA), that aims to facilitate links between journalists/researchers and experts and
social organizations in 22 areas of sustainable development. The guide isa directory
that includes the name, contact data, and field of work of 634 social leaders and
specialists in 23 Latin American countries.

IDRC: Competition and Development
http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-119682-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html
This website demonstrates the importance of true and fair competition to sustainable
development. The site provides an overview of competition law and policy in developing
countries, results of IDRC-funded research, and the important lessons that have been
learned. The slide presentations, short case studies, research reports, and online
books also touch on issues of globalization, consumer welfare, cartels and monopolies,
and trade liberalization.

International Initiative for Impact Evaluation
http://www.3ieimpact.org
3ie seeks to answer the enduring questions of development. Submit your own enduring
question to enduring_questions@3ieimpact.org. Or make a submission to the3ie blog.
3ie is supported by governments, NGOs, official development agencies and private
foundations (List of 3ie members). More information on Joining 3ie.

International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie)
http://www.3ieimpact.org/
3ie seeks to improve the lives of poor people in low- and middle-income countries by
providing, and summarizing, evidence of what works, when, why and for howmuch.

International journal of microfinance and business development
http://practicalaction.org/?id=sed_journal
Enterprise Development & Microfinance (EDM) provides a forum for those involved in
designing and running enterprise development and microfinance programmes in developing
countries. EDM is essential reading for managers of projects, providers of technical
assistance, consultants to projects, policymakers and staff of donor agencies.

International Poverty Centre Online Resource Centre
http://www.undp-povertycentre.org/theme.do
IPC is pleased to announce a new section on its website where you will find its
publications organized by 16 thematic areas.

Joint Donors' Competence Development Network
http://www.train4dev.net
Train4dev is an open forum for donor agencies, currently comprising 17 donors:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, European Union, France, Germany, New
Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, United Kingdom, United Nations,
World Bank and ILO. The training course
(http://www.train4dev.net/training-courses/allcourses.html) are for members exclusively.

J-STOR give free access to scientific journals
http://www.gdnet.org/JSTOR
GDN announces access to JSTOR to eligible registered researchers on the Knowledge
Base. Through J-Stor, registered researchers can retrieve scanned images of journal
issues and pages as they were originally designed, printed, and illustrated. Access is
granted to Business, Business II and Arts and Science II Collections. If you are
registered with GDNET, update your profile to activate access to JSTOR. Register at
http://www.gdnet.org/register

London International Development Centre (LIDC)
http://lidc.bloomsbury.ac.uk
The LIDC is a unique collaborative project bringing together social and natural
scientists and educators across the six Bloomsbury Colleges of the University of
London. This project is designed to establish a collaborative, inter-disciplinary
Centre to address complex problems in international development.

MDG Monitor
http://www.mdgmonitor.org
The MDG Monitor shows how countries are progressing in their efforts to achieve the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). With the 2015 target date fast approaching, it is
more important than ever to understand where the goals are on track, and where
additional efforts and support are needed, both globally and at the country level.

MFTransparency for transparency in microfinance
http://www.mftransparency.org
A non-government organization was launched in Jluy 2008 which will make public the
interest rates charged by microfinance lenders.'' MFTransparency will be the venue for
the microfinance industry to publicly demonstrate its commitment to transparency,
integrity and poverty alleviation. MFTransparency will enable transparent
communication between suppliers and consumers of microcredit products, aswell as all
microfinance stakeholders, by presenting information on credit products and their
prices in a clear and consistent fashion.

Online Atlas of the Millennium Development Goals
http://devdata.worldbank.org/atlas-mdg/
Fancy new website by the World Bank on MDG progress.

ProFI Porgramme, Indonesia
http://www.profi.or.id/
ProFI is a comprehensive micro-finance program. The idea is to promote more
accessible, affordable, and effective micro-financial institutions (MFIs)for
low-income people.

Quick Impact Capacity Development and Knowledge Transfer Center
for Microfinance in Post-disaster Environments
http://quick-centre.or.id
The QUICK Centre is a knowledge sharing platform for the practitioners ofmicrofinance
in disaster surroundings. Here you will find the best practices and experiences on
post-disaster microfinance support measures, microfinance as a disaster preparedness
tool, disaster management for microfinance institutions.

Samea - South African Monitoring and Evaluation Association
http://www.samea.org.za
Samea strives to cultivate a community that will support, guide and strengthen the
development of monitoring and evaluation as an important discipline, profession and
instrument for empowerment and accountability in South Africa. Source: GTZ NEDAnews.

The African Diaspora Policy Centre (ADPC)
http://www.diaspora-centre.org
ADPC enables African Diaspora in Europe to connect more closely with the continent as
a collective force. The thematic areas are Peacebuilding, Research, Expert Meetings,
Training, Better Governance, Research, Expert Meetings, Migration & Development,
Research, Expert Meetings and Brain Gain.

The Commonwealth Business Council (CBC)
http://cbcglobal.biz
CBC provides leadership in increasing international trade and investment flows,
creating new business opportunities, promoting good governance and corporate social
responsibility, reducing the digital divide and integrating developing countries into
the global market.

The Wharton Africa Business Forum
http://www.whartonglobal.com/africa/index.html
Wharton takes a vigorous approach at identifying viable and attractive areas for
investment and trade with Africa. Within the context of discussion about business
opportunities, the changing economic and geo-political landscapes, and examples of
success stories, we hope that our panelists and speakers will enlighten the audience
on Africa's future, and how we personally can affect it both positively and profitably.

VeoSearch
http://veosearch.com
This is a search engine financing projects towards Sustainable Development through
your online searches. Every search generates advertisement revenues. 50 %of these
revenues are distributed to the charities presented on the site. They areengaged in
at least one of the three main pillars of Sustainable Development: socialwork,
environment protection or sustainable economics.