Editor’s Pick

Politically Smart and Locally Led Development
The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) looks at seven cases where donors were successful at facilitating developmental change ‘despite the odds’ when they adopted politically smart, locally led approaches, adapting the way they worked in order to support iterative problem-solving and brokering of interests by politically astute local actors. ODI’s study highlights the changes that donors need to make to their own thinking and practices in order to act as effective facilitators of development change. They need to be politically informed and astute to assess the scope for change, and to make good choices regarding issues to work on and partners to work with; and they need to allow local actors to take the lead in finding solutions to problems that matter to them.

Policy News

The Future Africa Wants Post-2015
A matrix of power in the current world system impinges on the dynamics of multilateral negotiations, the nature of international development assistance, and on Africa’s ownership of its own development according to this paper from The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD). They argue that while the common negotiating position on the Post-2015 Development Agenda was a major step forward demonstrating agency on the part of Africa, there are many hurdles that must be overcome for this achievement to result in prosperity for all. As 2015 approaches, there is growing realisation of how poorly MDG interventions were implemented, and the negative ramifications of this on Africa. ACCORD critically discusses the Common African Position on the Post-2015 Development Agenda against lessons learnt from operationalisation of the MDGs. 

A Safer Entrance than Lampedusa?
To better govern migration for the future economic benefit of both Europe and Africa, and to ease the current crisis of migrant deaths in the Mediterranean, Jean-Claude Juncker’s new Commission College must show innovation and leadership and bring effective synergies in the way the EU works across all its policy areas. ECDPM’s Anna Knoll and Essete Abebe Bekele argue that the new Commission set-up offers potential to overcome siloed working and design more integrated and effective solutions. Yet, pressure by Member States for a new post that narrowly caters to migration interests and reinforce borders will be high. Given the current crisis of tragic sea deaths, the opportunity presented by a new Commission should not be wasted on retrograde approaches long proven to be ineffective.

Shallow Political Summits but Active Technical Dialogues for the EU?
Technical dialogues could be used better by the EU in order to run more effective strategic partnerships. Along with the concept of “reciprocal engagement”, the European Council on Foreign Relations argues that the EU could leverage stronger on this and that an adequate management of bilateral technical groups could improve its international negotiation power. While the EU lacks some of the tools of a traditional diplomacy (notably military power, visas and the prestige of nations-states), its norm setter’s power, as well as its technological collective knowledge, make it attractive for third countries to discuss at technical level.

Better Growth, Better Climate
Just one week before a major climate summit opens at the United Nations, a new UN report released by a commission of global leaders argues that major structural and technological changes in the world economy are making it possible to achieve lower carbon emissions and economic growth at the same time. The Better Growth, Better Climate: the New Climate Economy uses new data in an attempt to refute the idea that the world must choose between fighting climate change and growing the world's economy. Simply put, eradicating extreme poverty is not possible without fighting climate change - the two agendas must be pushed simultaneously.

Why a New Dutch Food and Nutrition Security Policy Should Invest More in Improving Governance
A review of Dutch food security policy is underway, By the end of this year, the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economic Affairs will send a joint food security policy paper to the Dutch Parliament. The Food & Business Knowledge Platform has launched an online consultation to ensure that the newest topics and debates on food security are included in the paper. Paul Engel, Director of ECDPM and Chair of Steering Committee Food and Business Knowledge Agenda, provides input to the discussion. ‘A new Food and Nutrition policy needs to invest in the governance and the transformation of key institutions’, Engel says, ‘to help create an enabling institutional environment for diverse stakeholders to be able to improve food and nutrition security’.

VIDEO Sustainable Economic Development, Views from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Marcel Vernooij presents policy and priorities that the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) have adopted for its work on sustainable and inclusive economic development. This includes support for an enabling environment for entrepreneurship, support for local SMEs and for Dutch companies that can present innovative solutions to development constraints. He also speaks about the role of the EU in private sector for development and also how the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) process can support farmers to get a fair price in markets. In a recent GREAT insights article, his colleague, Jeroen Roodenburg, Ambassador of Private Sector and Development Cooperation in the Dutch MoFA, outlined the Dutch Approach: Combining Aid and Trade and Working Together for Effective Private Sector Development

VIDEO ECDPM Interview with Mandi Rukuni, Strategic Review Panel Member for the CAADP
Francesco Rampa, Head of the Food Security programme at ECDPM, speaks with Mandi Rukuni who is an expert on the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). Rampa asks if in this African Year of Food Security, leaders have done enough to transform agriculture? And have the new targets set for trade in agriculture been enough to make the CAADP more results oriented?

A Civil Society How-To-Guide to Monitor the African Peer Review Mechanism
The extent of civil society engagement with the African Peer Review Mechanism varies greatly between the two stages of Country Review Report and the National Programme of Action (NPoA). The South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) argues in spite of rules and guidelines, the implementation of the NPoA as well as the monitoring and reporting of it remains vested solely in the government domain. The country review meanwhile tends to be inclusive of non-state actors and many countries have already benefitted from the opening up of political space and normalisation of debate about governance.

From Best Practice to Best Fit
Complex systems research are increasingly being used and valued by international development organisations and evidence is that these methods can help development partners better navigate the complex, dynamic realities they face on a day-to-day basis. There are considerable opportunities for doing more programming using these methods, with real potential for enhancing development decision-making in the face of wicked problems. This ODI Working Paper summarises the findings of a series of small-scale pilots of selected complex systems methods in DFID’s wealth creation work.

• The latest UN MDG Gap Task Force report found much progress towards achieving the goals set under MDG 8, but also highlighting the many challenges that remain.

• A new UNICEF progress report finds that while child survival rates have increased dramatically since 1990, one million babies each year do not see their second day of life due to complications during labour and delivery that could be easily prevented with simple, cost effective interventions.

• The IMF’s proposed quality of growth index (QGI) for developing countries finds that quality of growth has been improving in the vast majority of developing countries over the past two decades, although the rate of convergence is relatively slow. At the same time, there are considerable cross-country variations across income levels and regions.

• The OECD finds that, with a number of new country-level frameworks for agricultural policies that will become operational in 2014, overall producer support is slowly in decline, and differences in support levels across OECD countries remains large and in the In the longer term. An increased focus on innovation will be needed to improve productivity and sustainability.

• Bringing together the voices of people in poverty to the sustainable development debate, this ATD Fourthworld report  brings a unique voice to the global debate on international development with over 2,000 participants from over 20 countries, a majority of whom came from a background of poverty.

• The return of the proceeds of corruption can have a significant development impact and development agencies and those committed to development effectiveness have a role in the asset recovery process. This StAR-OECD publication provides recommendations and good practices, and suggests specific actions for development agencies.

• A Review of Strategic Foresight in International Development from the  Institute of Development Studies, providing an overview of the published and grey literatures relating to the use of foresight-type approaches and techniques in policy-related work in international development.

• Economic convergence: The headwinds return, says The Economist. ‘Ten years ago, developing economies were catching up with developed ones remarkably quickly. It was an aberration.

• The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2014. The latest  Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates indicate that global hunger reduction continues: about 805 million people are estimated to be chronically undernourished in 2012–14, down more than 100 million over the last decade, and 209 million lower than in 1990–92.

• African Regional Economic Communities' engagement with China. The development of effective African Regional Economic Communities (RECs) stands to benefit African countries immensely says the Centre for Chinese Studies, Stellenbosch University.

• Moral Hazard? 'Mega' public-private partnerships in African agriculture. A paper from Oxfam. African governments are increasingly turning to partnerships with donors and multinational companies to stimulate investment in agriculture, after decades of neglect.

• Interview with new chair of the ACP Committee of Ambassadors. Former Mines Minister of Guinea and current Ambassador to the European Union H.E Dr. Ousmane Sylla will preside over the Committee of Ambassadors of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group for the period 1 August 2014 - 31 January 2015.

• Migration in the post-2015 process: Analyzing key trends. The post-2015 process finds itself in a phase of transition, providing an important opportunity to review comprehensively the work that has been done over the past year and a half.