ODI Blog
The ODI Blog features the personal views of ODI experts on a range of current events and issues. This page contains our most recent blogs. For a full list of ODI blogs, use the search on the left (selecting 'ODI blog posts' under 'Flagship resource series').
‘Approach large projects with caution, with realistic expectations and armed with the right set of questions. Learn from the past and look at successful models for guidance. And, finally, don’t let attention on foreign direct investment push domestic investment issues into the shadows.’.. (more)
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Anna Locke on
Wednesday, November 30, 2011 1:33 PM
ODI Director Alison Evans reflects on negotiations at the Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (HLF4) and says: 'Not so long ago many of us were fearing a damp squib in Busan, but the indications now are that it will be far from that: with big ticket political representation; a clear focus on country-led results frameworks; and the basics of a new global partnership'... (more)
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Alison Evans on
Monday, November 28, 2011 10:37 AM
The Independent Commission on Aid Impact (ICAI) yesterday published its first set of reports on UK aid. In this blog, Ed Hedger asks what should we make of the detailed findings and recommendations, and how much longer can we avoid difficult questions around risk?.. (more)
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Edward Hedger on
Wednesday, November 23, 2011 3:08 PM
In this blog, Lindsey Jones argues that despite knowing that children are one of the most vulnerable groups to the impacts of climate change and that the nature of their vulnerability is multidimensional, we don’t have a good understanding of how climate change is likely to directly affect children at the local level, and how policy can best address their specific needs. .. (more)
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Lindsey Jones on
Wednesday, November 23, 2011 1:44 PM
What is the impact of biofuels project on local communities? Responding to a report published by ActionAid which demonises biofuel investment for harming local communities, Anna Locke explores both sides of the coin and argues that phrasing biofuels investments purely in negative terms does not provide any real understanding of the issues nor does it offer any basis for credible policy responses... (more)
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Anna Locke on
Friday, November 18, 2011 12:10 PM
To mark this year's anniversary of the UN Convention on the rights of the Child, Caroline Harper and Hanna Alder reopen the conversation on the importance of considering the impacts of economic crisis on children... (more)
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Caroline Harper on
Friday, November 18, 2011 11:32 AM
In the lead up to the UN Climate Conference in Durban, Smita Nakhooda and Shelagh Whitley explore how to harness the expertise, competencies, and capital of the private sector in a response to climate change... (more)
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Smita Nakhooda on
Tuesday, November 15, 2011 10:49 AM
Alison Evans reflects on what was missing from Andrew Mitchell's 'Beyond Aid' speech at the Wellcome Trust in this ODI Blog... "There was no mention of the eurozone crisis or the recent G20 summit, but the most glaring omission was acknowledgement that the UK has a lot more to do on it's beyond-aid agenda to make UK policy as a whole development-friendly.".. (more)
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Alison Evans on
Thursday, November 10, 2011 3:16 PM
Liesbet Steer -Senior Research Associate at ODI and project leader for the Development Progress Studies - reflects on Bill Gates presentation on development finance at the G20 summit in Cannes and asks: what’s getting the biggest buzz around the G20 leaders’ summit this week?; what’s the single word that best captures Gates’ thinking on development?; and What sort of delivery mechanism is most likely to succeed? .. (more)
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Liesbet Steer on
Thursday, November 03, 2011 3:53 PM
To get more traction on operationalising political analysis in the current climate you need to be able to demonstrate the difference it makes, and this remains a challenge. A recent meeting at ODI launched a jointly produced edition of the journal Developing Alternatives – focusing on ‘Political economy analysis and the practice of development’. I took away three main messages from the discussion... (more)
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Andrew Norton on
Friday, October 28, 2011 3:06 PM
Claire Melamed reflects on the key messages she took away from Tony Blair's speech on leadership for development, a speech delivered at an event jointly hosted by the Overseas Development Institute and Africa Governance Initiative. This blog discusses what changes can be made to the development agenda to enhance and support strong developing country leadership... (more)
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Claire Melamed on
Friday, October 21, 2011 9:25 AM
Marta Foresti reflects on key messages of an event jointly hosted by the Overseas Development Institute and the Africa Governance Intitative where former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair delivered a speech on the role of supporting African leadership to transform government and achieve development... (more)
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Marta Foresti on
Thursday, October 20, 2011 2:55 PM
This blog provides an overview of a roundtable event that brought together key people involved in the food prices agenda to understand the differences in projections of food prices that have emerged over recent months and possible policy responses to this. .. (more)
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Steve Wiggins on
Tuesday, October 18, 2011 9:31 AM
With the publication of 'An Agenda for Change', the new EU development policy launched by EU Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, this ODI Blog explores important shifts in EU policy and what it means for the development agenda... (more)
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Mikaela Gavas on
Monday, October 17, 2011 5:20 PM
Whilst the tenth anniversary of the ‘war on terror’ has given rise to myriad reflections on the past decade of conflict, little attention has been paid to the impact that legislation to combat terrorism has had on humanitarian action across the globe. This blog explores how counter-terrorism laws have profound effects on the work of humanitarian organisations. .. (more)
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Sara Pantuliano on
Monday, October 17, 2011 9:14 AM
As the g7+ – a grouping formed in 2010 of 17 of the world’s most fragile and conflict-affected countries – has pointed out, the MDGs do not adequately take account of their very particular development needs. In response, the g7+ is calling for a ‘New Aid Deal’ based on a set of more realistic interim goals needed in fragile states. Lisa Denney explores what this means for the aid effectiveness agenda... (more)
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Lisa Denney on
Friday, October 14, 2011 3:33 PM
Following Denmark’s General Election on 15 September 2011 which led to a centre-left minority coalition and brought 10 years of right-wing coalition government to an end, this blog reviews Denmark’s foreign policy. .. (more)
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Christian Kingombe on
Thursday, October 13, 2011 5:49 PM
To mark the 2011 international day for disaster reduction, Tom Mitchell discusses the role of children and young people (CYP) in humanitarian policy. Borrowing from the disaster risk management continuum, this blog maps strategies for strengthening the resilience of CYP and argues that strengthening the resilience of development pathways involves making investments that deliver action across multiple scales... (more)
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Tom Mitchell on
Thursday, October 13, 2011 8:43 AM
At the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI) and the Development Studies Association (DSA) conference in York, the voices of the world’s emerging economies were in the spotlight. Focusing on so-called ‘non-DAC donors’ as an emerging research topic and public affairs agenda, Lidia Cabral shares three observations. .. (more)
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Lidia Cabral on
Friday, September 30, 2011 3:07 PM
The application for recognition of an independent Palestinian state embodies a legitimate diplomatic strategy that has placed the Palestinian question at the centre of international debate. International recognition is certainly an indispensable component of modern statehood, but it may not be enough to deliver a resilient and sustainable state over the long term. .. (more)
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Alina Rocha Menocal on
Monday, September 26, 2011 2:34 PM
in the midst of a debt, equity and policy crisis, confidence is sliding amidst lags in global policy responses. A path out of the crisis is still possible – including through a G20-led rebalancing from the public to the private sector and from current account surplus to deficit countries. So far the markets have reacted favourably to yesterday’s G20 commitment, but it still needs to be followed by action... (more)
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Dirk Willem te Velde on
Friday, September 23, 2011 3:34 PM
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) has set in train a number of corporate governance reforms. These endeavours have the potential to have a highly beneficial impact on the behaviour of British companies to issues of international development... (more)
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Peter Davis on
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 3:45 PM
Policy interest in skills development (or technical vocational education and training, TVET) to provide increased options for employment or self-employment has grown dramatically in the last decade and has sharpened with the economic recession. Consequently, this week the UK Forum on International Education and Training’s (UKFIET) 11th biennial conference on education and development invited delegates to examine a range of global challenges for education, including what skills can best meet the needs of highly mobile labour markets. .. (more)
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Christian Kingombe on
Thursday, September 15, 2011 5:09 PM
Ever since cereals prices spiked on the world market in 2007/08 and, after a brief decline, rose again from mid-2010 onwards, there has been concern over what the future may hold for the cost of staples and the resulting impacts on food security and poverty. So, how high will cereals prices be in ten years?.. (more)
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Steve Wiggins on
Monday, September 12, 2011 8:00 AM
Recent reforms at DFID, USAID and elsewhere attempt to improve the quality of aid by stressing a more robust focus on results. So far, this has largely translated into a more rigorous measurement of impact. This ODI blog argues agencies need to recognise the complexity of the many problems they face, and adjust implementation structures accordingly... (more)
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Harry Jones on
Friday, September 09, 2011 11:23 AM
Do current water supply and sanitation sector interventions designed for the ‘drive to 2015’ take into account the ways in which politics matter in achieving the Millennium Development Goals for access to safe drinking water and sustainable sanitation? Is political analysis still a missing component to be integrated with sanitation planning processes and toolkits? What are the tools available to unpack the concept of ‘enabling environment’ and ‘generating political will’? .. (more)
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Michelle Kooy on
Tuesday, August 30, 2011 11:41 AM
The challenge of constructing a stable, prosperous and democratic country in Libya is infinitely complex. What is clear is that the endeavour will be very much harder without the active involvement of the international corporate sector. Those responsible for the reconstruction process ensure that international companies are engaged as a strategic partner from the outset, and are seen as fundamental to the stable and durable reconstruction of the country.
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Peter Davis on
Thursday, August 25, 2011 10:15 AM
The outcome document that will frame discussions at the fourth High Level Forum (HLF) on Aid Effectiveness in Busan, South Korea later this year is already drafted. Over the coming weeks researchers at ODI will be writing about the ‘road to Busan and beyond’, reflecting, amongst other things, on: some of the known knowns; some of the new dimensions to the effectiveness debate; and, finally, what next for the effectiveness agenda once the jamboree in Busan is over. .. (more)
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Alison Evans on
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 1:23 PM
We recently finished a series of ODI events considering what may happen once the Millennium Development Goals expire in 2015. In planning the series, we tried to cover a range of issues that aren’t included in the MDGs, but which have become increasingly important since the year 2000. This blog investigates what we have learned... (more)
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Claire Melamed on
Thursday, August 11, 2011 4:42 PM
Prime Minister David Cameron ended his whirlwind trip to South Africa and Nigeria on 19 July with a speech at the Pan-African University in Lagos in which he argued that ‘Africa’s moment’ may be within reach. Emphasising the crucial role of aid (as well.. (more)
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Alina Rocha Menocal on
Monday, July 25, 2011 11:15 AM
Aid for Trade, which accounts for a third of total aid, has been effective in improving trade performance of developing countries, but there remain challenges. Whilst David Cameron was making the case for trade in Africa important discussions .. (more)
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Yurendra Basnett on
Thursday, July 21, 2011 5:23 PM
The humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa demands action and raises difficult questions. If early warning systems are in place, why the late response? If the humanitarian system is geared to responding to the wrong signals, what are the rights ones? Above all, how do governments, donors and NGOs help protect livelihoods before lives are threatened? Tough questions – and questions the Water Policy Programme at ODI has been addressing through the DFID-funded RiPPLE programme in Ethiopia. .. (more)
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Roger Calow on
Monday, July 18, 2011 7:45 AM
This week, the spectre of famine in the Horn of Africa has reappeared on our television screens and in our newspapers. In this ODI blog post Simon Levine discusses the causes, impacts and implications of the crisis... (more)
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Simon Levine on
Wednesday, July 06, 2011 2:08 PM
Ever since Germany secured the transfer of the climate change secretariat from the UN Geneva buildings some 16 years ago, mid-year negotiations have been held in Bonn. Another set has just drawn to a close, so what is there to show for this effort? .. (more)
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Merylyn Hedger on
Wednesday, June 22, 2011 6:07 PM
The lesson that climate finance may need to learn from the long, troubled implementation of aid is that rather than being an indefinite, open-ended transfer of public resources, it should be time-bound... (more)
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Neil Bird on
Monday, June 20, 2011 12:34 PM
I read the UK Government’s Response to Lord Ashdown’s Humanitarian Emergency Response Review (HERR) with great interest. I was most anxious to see if the Government would agree with Lord Ashdown’s call to place anticipation and resilience-building at.. (more)
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Tom Mitchell on
Friday, June 17, 2011 10:47 AM
Secretary of State Andrew Mitchell’s impassioned ‘one year on’ speech yesterday was clear about the importance of a robust narrative on results. ODI Director, Alison Evans, listened to the speech with a mental checklist of what she wanted to hear. .. (more)
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Alison Evans on
Friday, June 10, 2011 9:00 AM
China has developed an ambitious five-year reform plan to propel the economy into the ranks of rich economies. Whether China is a model for other developing countries will hinge on whether the current re-balancing of the economy delivers, argues Linda Yueh in a guest blog for ODI... (more)
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Linda Yueh on
Thursday, June 09, 2011 11:45 AM
The Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group – established at the initiative of the Commonwealth Heads of Government in November 2009 – has recently launched a consultation process to feed into its report on strengthening the impact and effectiveness of the Commonwealth Secretariat. The consultation report highlights several areas of strategic Commonwealth Secretariat involvement. Surprisingly, however, the report is almost silent on the issue of governance and institutions... (more)
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Alina Rocha Menocal on
Monday, June 06, 2011 2:09 PM
Of the £2.9 billion designated as an International Climate Fund, the UK Government must decide how to spend the money earmarked for forests. With the Fund objectives covering climate change mitigation, poverty alleviation and biodiversity conservation, the question is: make the most impact on what? .. (more)
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Kristy Graham on
Monday, May 23, 2011 5:32 PM
Recent events in the Arab world have had observers scrambling to identify the catalysts of social change. The role of social media has been placed at the heart of subsequent analysis but as an ODI/One World Media event on Monday evening highlighted, we.. (more)
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Leni Wild on
Thursday, May 12, 2011 10:48 AM
The release of the report by the UN Secretary-General’s Panel of Experts on Accountability in Sri Lanka is to be welcomed on a number of fronts.
Significantly, it offers the first UN estimate of the death toll in Sri Lanka’s war, which culminated.. (more)
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Samir Elhawary on
Monday, May 09, 2011 12:44 PM
Ahead of the fourth UN Conference on Least Developed Countries (UNLDC IV), Christian Kingombe considers past efforts to meet infrastructure gaps and sets out priority issues for discussion in Istanbul... (more)
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Christian Kingombe on
Friday, May 06, 2011 4:35 PM
The 21st World Economic Forum ends in South Africa today. Nine hundred delegates have spent the past three days discussing how Africa can move ‘From Vision to Action’.
The spirit is different from earlier gatherings on Africa. ‘There is a palpable.. (more)
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Liesbet Steer on
Friday, May 06, 2011 10:57 AM
Following a recent ODI event on research needs in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector, Nathaniel Mason suggests now is a critical time for dialogue around what kind of results count, and how we can collect, verify and evaluate those that do... (more)
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Nathaniel Mason on
Thursday, April 21, 2011 12:29 PM
With impact evaluations becoming increasingly popular in development and humanitarian arenas, Ben Ramalingam suggests that we need to recognise the complex dynamics of how knowledge is used in policy and practice and learn how to learn. .. (more)
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Ben Ramalingam - ALNAP on
Thursday, April 14, 2011 10:05 AM
The World Bank’s latest World Development Report (WDR) presents some sobering realities for the relationship between conflict and underdevelopment in the world today. It estimates that 1.5 billion people live in countries affected by repeated cycles.. (more)
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Leni Wild on
Wednesday, April 13, 2011 11:26 AM
Following a recent EDC 2020 workshop in Brussels, Lidia Cabral considers the opportunities and challenges of a Brazil-EU partnership for development cooperation in this ODI blog. .. (more)
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Lidia Cabral on
Monday, March 28, 2011 2:02 PM
Evaluating the impact of interventions to support climate change adaptation is paramount, but first we must identify common characteristics and indicators to better understand adaptive capacity, according to Lindsey Jones in this ODI Blog... (more)
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Lindsey Jones on
Friday, March 25, 2011 1:09 PM
DFID’s Humanitarian Emergency Response Review (HERR) will report to the Secretary of State for International Development early next week in the context of fierce public debate about the state of public finances.
What is the HERR?
The review,.. (more)
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Sara Pantuliano on
Friday, March 25, 2011 10:54 AM
It can’t be denied that progress in development needs to be accompanied by greater spending on sectors that contribute to development, such as education, health, social protection, etc. But exactly how much needs to be spent, on which sectors, and what.. (more)
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Jessica Hagen-Zanker on
Thursday, March 24, 2011 6:27 PM
Ajoy Datta reflects on the relationship between think tanks and political systems, and asks that we step back from out-dated US-centric views and consider political contexts within countries... (more)
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Ajoy Datta on
Wednesday, March 23, 2011 12:51 PM
This year’s World Forestry Day is special, as 2011 is also the International Year of Forests. There has been remarkable international consensus over the past 20 years that all people and all nations should follow the one goal of sustainable forest management. Nowhere can this be seen more clearly than in international development circles and the discussions over the future of tropical forests. But is this consensus misplaced?.. (more)
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Neil Bird on
Monday, March 21, 2011 8:00 AM
The recent turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa has pushed the price for a barrel of Brent crude oil to $115, an increase of more than 40% on last year’s average of $79.6. UK Development Minister Alan Duncan suggests the unrest could double current.. (more)
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Dirk Willem te Velde on
Wednesday, March 16, 2011 9:00 AM
Over the last ten years there has been a quiet revolution in how the International Monetary Fund (IMF) operates in the poorest countries. As one official in an African Ministry of Finance put it, the IMF has turned from ‘dictator to partner’. The IMF is now considering further changes, especially in relation to fragile states. This is what I’d like the IMF to be saying to its mission chiefs... (more)
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Marcus Manuel on
Wednesday, March 09, 2011 10:30 AM
There has not been an effective and independent collaborative voice on what ‘aid transparency’ should mean from any recipient country or group of countries – until now.
Representatives from ODI’s Centre for Aid and Public Expenditure (CAPE) were.. (more)
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Samuel Moon on
Friday, March 04, 2011 11:01 AM
Much of the reaction to the reviews published yesterday is likely to focus on the results of the Bilateral Aid Review (BAR), and the decision to cut direct aid from the Department for International Development (DFID) to countries such as Burundi and Niger, while continuing with programmes in India and South Africa. Away from that debate, the findings of the Multilateral Aid Review (MAR) will have equally significant implications for how the UK aid budget is spent. .. (more)
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Edward Hedger on
Wednesday, March 02, 2011 5:20 PM
Given the pressing political need to mollify critics of aid, it is little wonder that this review is based on a now-familiar emphasis on results and value for money, but lacks reference to the kind of issues that more seasoned observers of aid will be looking out for. Having said that, the two fundamental pillars of this review are sound: a reduction in the geographical scope of DFID’s ambition, and a new way of allocating aid according to a projection of concrete and costed results... (more)
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Jonathan Glennie on
Tuesday, March 01, 2011 3:50 PM
The UK Department for International Development (DFID) will this week publish its Multilateral and Bilateral Aid Reviews, looking at how the aid budget is being spent. Claire Melamed guides us through some of the likely stories in this ODI blog post. .. (more)
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Claire Melamed on
Monday, February 28, 2011 10:36 AM
What is the mood music at this year’s annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos? A favoured meeting place for high flying financiers, business leaders and Heads of State, it is often said that what gets discussed in Davos will set the tone for global meetings during the rest of the year. So what’s new in 2011? .. (more)
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Alison Evans on
Thursday, January 27, 2011 3:48 PM
The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, which began yesterday in Davos, is discussing the Eurozone fiscal problems, rising inflation, rising unemployment, fears of trade and currency wars, and increased food prices. The Forum now needs to respond to long-terms trends, not just short-term crises, but what does this mean for poor and vulnerable countries (PVCs)? .. (more)
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Dirk Willem te Velde on
Thursday, January 27, 2011 3:14 PM
Urbanisation is happening on a huge scale in developing countries, and is set to continue – in part driven by rural-urban migration. If planned and managed well, both urbanisation and migration can benefit both sending and receiving areas. However, governments around the world often take a pessimistic view of migration to cities and institute policies that actively seek to discourage it. One instrument used to exclude migrants by reducing their legal status in cities is personal identification and urban registration. .. (more)
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Ursula Grant on
Monday, January 17, 2011 8:12 AM
In 2008 developing countries, and poor people within them, were hit hard by the price spike in the international cereals market. Once again food prices are moving up, not that far short of the levels seen three years ago, so does this mean another bout of hardship? Some think so. Is this right? Not quite: there’s a difference this time... (more)
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Steve Wiggins on
Thursday, January 13, 2011 2:21 PM
The general reaction to the just completed UNFCCC Cancun Conference of the Parties (COP) meeting was that it was a great deal more successful than its predecessor in Copenhagen a year ago. Do the final agreements on long-term cooperative action justify such a positive assessment? In developmental terms, the answer is probably not, at least not yet. .. (more)
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Neil Bird on
Tuesday, December 14, 2010 10:29 AM
Why do we still see development support provided in ways which does not account for existing political conditions and processes? There is an urgent need to identify the different elements of this problem in order to start identifying solutions: this is the main aim of a high level policy debate organised by ODI’s Politics and Governance programme. .. (more)
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Marta Foresti on
Monday, December 06, 2010 2:32 PM
A lot of new thinking on poverty in developing countries aims to look at income as one of a wide range of factors that define and describe poverty. Claire Melamed investigates how debates on poverty in the UK are starting to mirror debates on poverty in developing countries. .. (more)
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Claire Melamed on
Monday, December 06, 2010 11:39 AM
Multilateralism is clearly under strain. Much optimism was pinned on the ability of the G-20 to reach agreement on finance for climate change; after all. But, with negotiations for a new deal on climate change at COP16 rapidly approaching, and the expiry of the Kyoto Protocol in 2012 clearly in sight, how optimistic should we be about any new deal now? .. (more)
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Jodie Keane on
Friday, November 26, 2010 12:28 PM
There’s a clear line of descent from the Human Development Report (HDR) to the UK Prime Minister David Cameron's recent proposal to happiness indicators to help him make decisions. What can we learn from the HDR?.. (more)
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Claire Melamed on
Tuesday, November 23, 2010 1:06 PM
With food prices rising again, concern rightly mounts over land being used to grow biofuels. While there is good reason to criticise US and EU policies to replace transport fuels from oil by biofuels, the real issue is protecting tropical forests and other land from mass conversion to oil palm groves and sugar cane fields... (more)
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Steve Wiggins on
Tuesday, November 09, 2010 1:36 PM
While the High-Level Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing (AGF) report is a step in the right direction for climate finance, Neil Bird considers the unanswered questions and challenges that remain.
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Neil Bird on
Friday, November 05, 2010 1:02 PM
The number has been secured, the definition has not. Following publication of the High-Level Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing (AGF) report, what we really want to know is which climate finance activities achieve the best results. .. (more)
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Dirk Willem te Velde on
Friday, November 05, 2010 1:01 PM
With World Food Day being marked this weekend, sensitivities to the price of food have rarely been higher. Many still see volatility in international grain markets as their number one priority. It shouldn’t be. Curtailing speculation on grain futures is a red herring. Despite what some claim, there is little evidence that this was a major factor in the 2007/08 price spike... (more)
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Steve Wiggins on
Friday, October 15, 2010 3:18 PM
A staggering 925 million people worldwide are currently undernourished, according to the 2010 edition of The State of Food Insecurity in the World, published by FAO earlier this month. As we approach World Food Day on Saturday, this is a stark reminder that hunger remains a daily reality for millions of men, women and children around the world... (more)
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Sara Pavanello on
Thursday, October 14, 2010 8:32 AM
Many of the major disasters of 2010 (the Pakistan flood, the Russian heat wave and a slew of landslides in East Asia and Central America) match the IPCC’s 2007 prediction that climate change will cause rains to become more intense, and hot and cold snaps to become more extreme. A new report from the DFID-funded 'Strengthening Climate Resilience' consortium, launched today on the UN’s International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction, suggests that climate change will have diverse impacts on disaster risks and not just on weather hazards. .. (more)
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Tom Mitchell on
Wednesday, October 13, 2010 6:50 AM
Breathe the atmosphere here at the UN Summit on the Millennium Development Goals this week and, for the first time in several years, there's a whiff of hope. Less of the language of ‘Development Emergency', and more encouraging numbers – on just how many.. (more)
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Liesbet Steer on
Thursday, September 23, 2010 10:29 AM
It is easy to criticise the Millennium Development Goals . Some consider them, at best, naïve and, at worst, a sop to misguided global welfarism. Not surprisingly, there are plenty of sceptics who predict a damning failure to reach the goals by the 2015.. (more)
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Alison Evans on
Tuesday, September 21, 2010 2:45 PM
The Report of the Commission for Africa five years on: ‘Still Our Common Interest’ headlines with a strong message about Africa’s progress. The Commissioners note that 'There is much to celebrate. African governments have done more than ever before.. (more)
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Alison Evans on
Wednesday, September 15, 2010 9:08 AM
The economy in sub-Saharan Africa is scheduled to grow by 5 per cent this year, and 6 per cent next, after a meagre 2 per cent in 2009. Some argue that current growth prospects have been inflated by rising commodity prices and the growing trade and investment links between Africa and emerging markets, notably China.
However, African growth prospects had already turned around in the mid 1990s, long before the more recent upturn in commodity prices and growth spurt in emerging markets. This blog argues that we need to look again at what Africa has been doing right all along. Joint research by ODI and IPPG, published in a new set of essays, Effective state-business relations [SBRs], industrial policy and economic growth, shows that structural factors have also contributed to African growth, highlighting in particular the nature and scope of state-business relations as a key institutional feature behind the growth process... (more)
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Dirk Willem te Velde on
Friday, September 10, 2010 6:38 AM
New research by ODI suggests that the climate change mitigation policies of rich countries could have as big an impact on growth prospects for developing countries as climate change itself.
These policies will also determine how the costs of reducing.. (more)
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Karen Ellis on
Thursday, September 09, 2010 10:51 AM
One antidote to pessimism lingering from China's strategic stalemate at last December's climate change negotiations at COP 15 in Copenhagen is to spend time with China's next generation of leaders. My recent encounter with an energetic, impassioned cohort.. (more)
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Michelle Kooy on
Tuesday, August 24, 2010 5:18 PM
Today is the second annual World Humanitarian Day. The day aims to increase public awareness about humanitarian work and the importance of international cooperation, to honour humanitarian workers in the field , and commemorate all of those who have lost.. (more)
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Sarah Bailey on
Thursday, August 19, 2010 9:21 AM
Shares in India's largest microfinance institution, SKS, are now on sale and are expected to raise as much as $360 million. But is there a real link between the commercialisation of microfinance and actual results for the poor? Or is India in danger of.. (more)
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Milford Bateman on
Tuesday, August 17, 2010 6:28 PM
Climate research and policy make extensive use of two concepts, ‘mitigation' and ‘adaptation'. And while these are a helpful starting point, a broader focus on 'climate
compatible development' may now be needed.In the Kyoto Protocol (1997), and more.. (more)
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Simon Maxwell on
Friday, July 23, 2010 4:50 PM
Current debates on South-South cooperation (SSC) and its effectiveness are marked by the absence of some of the most prominent providers of financial and technical assistance to the South. Brazil is a case in point. But is the country ready to engage.. (more)
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Lidia Cabral on
Thursday, July 22, 2010 3:13 PM
The debate over whether the UK should continue providing development assistance to India is not new, but it has become a lightning rod for those who argue that the UK aid programme has lost its way. In reflecting on the specifics of the case it is worth.. (more)
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Alison Evans on
Tuesday, July 20, 2010 9:46 AM
The UN system has long been criticised for not matching its often impressive and widely supported commitments to gender equality with the human and budget resources, as well as the requisite institutional muscle, to translate commitments into reality.. (more)
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Nicola Jones on
Tuesday, July 06, 2010 6:04 PM
When the great and the good gather at the Millennium Development Goals Review Summit in New York in September, it will be interesting to see how prominent general budget support (GBS) is on the agenda. Back in May, a paper on ‘Budget Support and MDG performance',.. (more)
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Heidi Tavakoli on
Tuesday, July 06, 2010 9:58 AM
Responding to policy-makers' needs is important, and being able to clarify and communicate research is an essential skill for development researchers. But it may have unintended consequences. By always giving policy-makers what they want – shorter, simpler and easier things to read – are we implicitly accepting that they should not be held up to the same standards as other professionals? In short, are we unintentionally ‘dumbing down' the audience? .. (more)
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Enrique Mendizabal on
Monday, July 05, 2010 2:50 PM
The EU's Foreign Affairs Council discussed development issues on 14 June. Its Conclusions can fairly be considered as a partial endorsement of the proposals put forward by the Commission in its Spring Package back in April. Of 31 specific proposals,.. (more)
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Simon Maxwell on
Wednesday, June 30, 2010 3:16 PM
Most developed G-20 countries are walking a tightrope, trying to balance actions to promote growth whilst ensuring fiscal sustainability. So most headlines about the G-20 Summit in Toronto were about the agreement on growth-friendly plans to reduce deficits,.. (more)
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Dirk Willem te Velde on
Monday, June 28, 2010 1:17 PM
Next week, G-20 leaders will meet in Toronto, only weeks after their Finance ministers agreed a shift toward collective austerity. Today, ODI launches a collection of essays in a study to inform the G-20 leaders and underline the impact their decisions.. (more)
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Dirk Willem te Velde on
Friday, June 18, 2010 10:49 AM
In New York this week, leaders from civil society, NGOs and the business world met at Informal Interactive Hearings of the General Assembly on the MDGs. The hearings were organised as a forum for UN Member States to engage with civil society, NGOs and.. (more)
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Kate Higgins on
Friday, June 18, 2010 9:53 AM
Juba – an isolated garrison town during Sudan’s civil war – is now an important political and economic centre as the new capital of South Sudan, and a hub for regional trade. But the throngs of hard-headed investors, the new roads and busy restaurants.. (more)
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Ellen Martin on
Wednesday, June 16, 2010 11:31 AM
There is strong consensus that growth is important to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). We know that growth tends to be positively correlated with improvements in income, and that there is a strong link between growth and poverty reduction... (more)
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Kate Higgins on
Thursday, June 10, 2010 3:04 PM
At his recent speech at the Royal Society, UK Secretary of State for International Development, Andrew Mitchell, representing the new coalition government, made a significant step forward in the push for greater aid transparency by announcing a commitment.. (more)
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Samuel Moon on
Monday, June 07, 2010 11:20 AM
A renewed donor interest in stabilising countries affected by political violence, armed conflict and chronic poverty – so-called fragile states – should come as a welcome development to humanitarians who have long complained of the indifference shown.. (more)
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Samir Elhawary on
Friday, May 28, 2010 4:34 PM
Yesterday saw the launch of the UK coalition agreement. Whilst such documents should not be seen as White Papers (and while continental European coalition negotiations tend to take longer to prepare such documents), it is rather tempting to go directly.. (more)
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Dirk Willem te Velde on
Friday, May 21, 2010 4:06 PM
The overall tenor of the report by the Reflection Group on the future of the EU to 2030, issued earlier this month, can best be described as alarmism leading to a call for renewal. According to the report, internal and external threats to Europe's prosperity.. (more)
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Simon Maxwell on
Thursday, May 20, 2010 4:35 PM
European Union Foreign Ministers are meeting today to agree the shape and functions of the new European External Action Service created by the Lisbon Treaty . This is not the final stage of the approval process. The European Parliament must agree the.. (more)
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Simon Maxwell on
Monday, April 26, 2010 12:03 PM
The EU Commission’s ‘Spring Package’ on development, launched this week, will be scrutinised with special care, as the first major policy statement by the new Development Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs. Does it mark new strategic leadership? Does it suggest the Commissioner will take political risks? Will it excite and challenge the Member States? .. (more)
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Simon Maxwell on
Thursday, April 22, 2010 4:15 PM
The UK election campaign is hotting up. Last week all the major political parties issued their manifestos and a few others besides. We also witnessed the first live televised debate between the three main contenders for the UK’s highest.. (more)
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Alison Evans on
Tuesday, April 20, 2010 10:47 AM
ODI Director Alison Evans voices concerns about the lack of focus on development issues in the latest UK budget, and asks whether this represents a subtle shift away from the international development agenda.
.. (more)
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Alison Evans on
Friday, March 26, 2010 6:41 AM
In early 2009, a global network of 50 researchers coordinated by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) embarked on a unique monitoring study on the economic and social impact of the global financial crisis in 10 developing countries. They revealed.. (more)
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Dirk Willem te Velde on
Friday, March 19, 2010 10:16 AM
A National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) paper issued this week by Xavier Sala-i-Martin and Maxim Pinkovskiy shows that: poverty in Africa is falling; that it is falling at a faster rate than expected; and that this holds true for a wide range.. (more)
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Alison Evans on
Thursday, March 04, 2010 3:18 PM
When world food prices shot up in 2007-8, lots of countries hastened to put in place emergency policy measures ranging from food export bans to food vouchers many of which were quite different from well-meaning advice they were given by economists and international agencies. How did it all pan out? This blog discusses early findings from an ODI study and workshop... (more)
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Julia Compton on
Friday, February 19, 2010 2:32 PM
Recent controversies around climate change science have highlighted the need for researchers to become more politically 'savvy'. There should be greater recognition that science is, by its very nature, political, and researchers need to be equipped with the tools they need to ensure that their findings have the desired impact on policy. .. (more)
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Harry Jones on
Friday, February 12, 2010 4:28 PM
There is much debate on whether climate finance will be additional to official development assistance (ODA, or ‘aid’). Some climate finance can be classified as aid (within the OECD-DAC creditor reporting system) so the question remains: is newly announced climate finance really additional, or is it just recycled aid? ODI research shows that certain sectors and regions will lose out if aid is diverted to finance future climate change adaptation needs. This blog argues that such finance should be in addition to, rather than instead of, existing aid spending. .. (more)
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Jessica Brown on
Monday, February 01, 2010 11:02 AM
What is the acceptable face of international tourism? Should we condemn those who holiday in poverty-stricken countries? For the last four years, ODI has been looking at this question through the lens of economics, to focus on the money and, specifically, who gets what from international tourism. The key question is how international tourism to developing countries works (or doesn’t) as a way of transferring resources from affluent tourists to poor households around tourist destinations... (more)
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Jon Mitchell on
Thursday, January 28, 2010 3:57 PM
As discussions begin in Rome on donor support to the Comprehensive Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), it is time to move beyond debate on sound principles and address the root causes of failed policy coordination in agriculture The Annual General Assembly of the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development (GPDRD) seems a good opportunity to start this shift in thinking. .. (more)
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Lidia Cabral on
Monday, January 25, 2010 1:49 PM
The World Bank's Global Economic Prospects (GEP) Report is a painful reminder of the overall effects of the crisis in both developed and developing countries, which were, in fact, much bigger than initially expected. Research by ODI suggests that donors have responded in different ways, with multilaterals such as the IMF responding more extensively than bilateral programmes. But the response has been nowhere near enough to counteract the large financing gaps emerging from the crisis. .. (more)
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Dirk Willem te Velde on
Friday, January 22, 2010 10:41 AM
A few days into any emergency, operational responses hit a turning point, when aid starts to flow and be scaled up. The decisions made at this stage are crucial. This blog draws on a report by ALNAP on earthquake response, based on an assessment of almost 30 years of responses to such natural disasters. The research suggests a number of important considerations for agencies in the operational setting in Haiti, including the importance of recovery starting as soon as possible, without prolonging the relief effort... (more)
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Ben Ramalingam - ALNAP on
Tuesday, January 19, 2010 11:36 AM
Dr. Alison Evans, Director ODI, sets out the need for long-term thinking on Haiti, even as aid agencies struggle to deliver aid. Haiti has been a humanitarian crisis for ten years, and enforced dependence on the outside world is partly to blame. The country itself has no internal resources to help its own people in this disaster. Whatever happens next, this vulnerability has to be tackled – long-term... (more)
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Alison Evans on
Monday, January 18, 2010 4:58 PM
Leo Peskett, ODI Research Fellow
In a paper produced in the run up to Copenhagen, Pius Yanda and I argued that ‘reduced emissions from deforestation and degradation’ (REDD+) might take one of three trajectories in a post 2012 world: .. (more)
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Angela Hawke on
Tuesday, December 22, 2009 3:03 PM
As the Copenhagen climate change conference ends, this blog reflects on what progress has been made for developing countries. While there are questions about the process itself, the blog highlights a blurring of once traditional lines between developed and developing countries, that could pave the way for greater progress in future... (more)
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Jessica Brown on
Monday, December 21, 2009 1:23 PM
Any deal emerging from the Copenhagen climate change conference needs to recognise the importance of agriculture and food security. 'No agriculture, no deal' was the mantra at the Agriculture and Rural Development Day. This blog stresses that climate change has only added to the already severe challenges facing the world's poorest farmers. .. (more)
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Natasha Grist on
Thursday, December 17, 2009 10:48 AM
The difficulties of thrashing out a deal at the Copenhagen conference on climate change suggest a lack of trust between developing and developed countries. This blog argues that this stems from the broken promises on aid volume and effectiveness in recent years, and proposes a new coalition of the willing, with strong leadership to address climate change. .. (more)
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Neil Bird on
Tuesday, December 15, 2009 4:02 PM
As delegates at the Copenhagen Summit on climate change debate, argue and even walk out, this ODI blog focuses on three areas of critical importance for the world's poor. First: a commitment by rich nations to further emissions cuts beyond 2012 as part of the Kyoto framework. Second: a proper timeframe for the financing, and clarity on whether funds to address climate change are new, or just re-packaged. And third: the need for clear, simple targets to monitor what countries have agreed to deliver. .. (more)
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Alison Evans on
Tuesday, December 15, 2009 7:36 AM
The Seventh Session of the WTO Ministerial was a networking, not a decision making event. The official WTO summary of the working day on WTO activities, including Doha, took about 15 minutes and can be reduced to two words: nothing new. .. (more)
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Sheila Page on
Monday, December 07, 2009 10:08 AM
The Copenhagen negotiations on climate change policies will depend on what 'numbers' policy makers have on mitigation costs. These numbers are normally drawn from economists' studies that use complex methodologies: integrated assessment models (IAMs). Do these IAMs provide a coherent policy view?.. (more)
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Nicola Cantore on
Wednesday, December 02, 2009 4:46 PM
This blog, released on World Aids Day, reviews progress on the issue, highlighting how the financial crisis has affected developing countries' response and recent ODI work on combating AIDS in fragile situations. .. (more)
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Fiona Samuels on
Tuesday, December 01, 2009 7:59 AM
Is it worth waiting for major WTO members to finalise the Doha Development Agenda? This blog lays out three key arguments in favour of waiting, arguing that bringing the process to an end -- even without a deal -- is preferable to letting the discussions drift on. .. (more)
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Massimiliano Cali on
Monday, November 30, 2009 6:31 AM
The private sector has an enormous role to play in achieving low carbon growth and development. It is the private sector that is well placed to undertake the investment and technological innovation that will underpin low carbon growth, provide finance for mitigation and adaptation, adopt lower carbon production processes, and encourage and facilitate more climate conscious purchasing decisions by consumers. But policy makers need to establish the rules of the game. .. (more)
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by
Karen Ellis on
Monday, November 30, 2009 5:58 AM
New products, services and mindsets will be needed in the transition to a low carbon global economy. This blog argues that tapping effectively into new market opportunities that arise from global efforts to mitigate climate change could release additional resources for investments to increase resilience to climate change and adaptation to its impact. It reviews some of the new products and services that are going to be needed, and how existing trade instruments and new sources of climate change finance could work together to harness new market opportunities for poor countries, with a strong focus on the agricultural sector. .. (more)
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Jodie Keane on
Monday, November 30, 2009 5:46 AM
This blog sets out the risks of a shift to results-based aid, with fears that countries in greatest need -- such as fragile states -- may miss out. There is general agreement on the need to ensure that aid is effective. But where there is conflict and instability, or weak state institutions linked to poor accountability and governance, or underdeveloped markets and inadequate regulation, aid ineffectiveness is more likely.. (more)
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Leni Wild on
Wednesday, November 25, 2009 4:59 PM
Following the statement by the UK Conservative Party on climate change and development, this blog focuses on three key issues in the run-up to the Copenhagen: global fossil fuel subsidy reform; the UK Export Credit Guarantee Department; and the need to give developing countries a greater voice in climate change negotiations. It asks whether a World Environment Organisation might be one solution... (more)
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Dirk Willem te Velde on
Wednesday, November 25, 2009 4:53 PM
Following a meeting at ODI on the importance of equity, this blog examines why equity matters to development. It outlines the intrinsic and instrumental arguments for equity, and set out the implications for policy makers, which go beyond social protection to encompass wider developmental issues. .. (more)
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Kate Bird on
Tuesday, November 24, 2009 4:40 PM
The food price spike in 2007-8 and low food production is one of the reasons that an estimated 1 billion people in developing countries still go hungry. This blog examines how hedging tools can be applied to risk management in agriculture and food security to have an impact on hunger... (more)
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by
Julia Compton on
Thursday, November 12, 2009 4:38 PM
In an effort to ‘drive momentum towards Copenhagen’ the European Union has just agreed that measures to tackle climate change will need €100 billion a year by 2020. In the short-term, the leaders agreed that up to €7 billion a year would be needed from January 2010 for three years for ‘fast-track’ funding in the developing world. This news raises some significant questions and potential concerns regarding how finance will be raised... (more)
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Jessica Brown on
Wednesday, November 04, 2009 3:35 PM
This blog looks at how the Lisbon treaty could put the EU in a stronger position: ready and able to play a more prominent role in the world; looking after its own interests whilst recognising that those interests are reinforced by an international outlook that actively promotes stability and sustainable development. .. (more)
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Mikaela Gavas on
Monday, October 05, 2009 3:49 PM
This blog provides a summary of a meeting with developing country experts held at ODI on 7 September 2009. A key element emerging from the meeting was the need to understand which poor countries are best positioned to take advantage of a recovery if and when it comes... (more)
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Dirk Willem te Velde on
Wednesday, September 23, 2009 8:08 AM
Everyone talks about reaching a global deal over a successor to the Kyoto Agreement at Copenhagen, but as the World Bank’s new World Development Report comprehensively outlines there is a long way to go to secure an adequate response to tackling climate change. This blog outlines seven headline messages from the report... (more)
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Neil Bird on
Tuesday, September 15, 2009 2:46 PM
Many believe that the global financial crisis is the fault of risk-taking by bankers in America, the UK and other rich nations, and poor regulation by their governments. The impact of the crisis has rippled across the developing world. Given that the rich nations made the mess, shouldn’t they also clear it up? Some people think so. Others claim that charity begins at home – and with government revenues down in many rich countries, aid budgets have been under pressure. Furthermore, there is no consensus on what southern governments should do, or what rich countries should do to help southern governments. This blog highlights some of the debates raging over the issue... (more)
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Kate Bird on
Wednesday, September 09, 2009 5:04 PM
Amid a flurry of initiatives to support agriculture, including a pledge of $20 billion from the G8 meeting in Italy, this blog stresses the need for careful targeting of extra funds. It sets out five key questions that policy-makers need to address to ensure that the new support for agriculture has an impact for the world's poorest... (more)
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Steve Wiggins on
Tuesday, July 14, 2009 2:18 PM
"This blog reviews progress on Aid for Trade (AfT), following the Second Global Review on Aid for Trade in Geneva last week (6-7 July. It argues that AfT can and does enhance trade performance, but this is only part of the picture. When thinking about these indicators it is important to recognise that AfT-related programmes and projects can help aid recipient countries to:
• Increase the volume and value of trade;
• Enable a wider range of producers, workers, traders and entrepreneurs to engage in trading sectors – and in such a way that they benefit;
• Reduce the negative impact of trade-related adjustment – particularly where poor people are affected.".. (more)
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Kate Bird on
Monday, July 13, 2009 6:01 PM
Research suggests that one in three women have experienced sexual violence at some time. This blog asks what can be done to break the culture of silence around this issue, as participants gather for the first Sexual Violence Research Initiative Conference. .. (more)
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Jessica Espey on
Thursday, July 09, 2009 11:43 AM
The new UK Government White Paper on international development stresses the need for resilient economic growth strategies. This blog welcomes this emphasis, but finds the White Paper is missing a few ingredients essential to the creation of lasting growth... (more)
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Dirk Willem te Velde on
Wednesday, July 08, 2009 7:50 AM
This blog welcomes the new UK Government White Paper as a valiant attempt to walk the blurred line between promoting international development on moral and pragmatic grounds. .. (more)
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Alison Evans on
Monday, July 06, 2009 5:18 PM
As ODI's meeting series on climate change draws to a close, this blog draws out six key messages:
1. Climate change is big, urgent and happening right now.
2. Uncertainty about future carbon emissions and their impact makes it vital to focus on specific contexts.
3. Middle income countries must play their part in mitigation.
4. Climate change is going to cost a lot, and innovative finance is crucial
5. We need to be clear about our expectations for Copenhagen.
6. Lessons about politics and policy-making on climate change are critical... (more)
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by
Natasha Grist on
Wednesday, June 10, 2009 10:03 AM
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. .. (more)
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Dirk Willem te Velde on
Thursday, June 04, 2009 3:48 PM
Piracy off the coast of Somalia has its roots in state collapse and fragmentation within Somalia itself. This blog argues that security measures alone will not solve the problem, and that a development approach is needed that will restore order and rule of law within Somalia. It sets out three principles for an effective development approach: strategies that are driven locally; a willingness to engage with those on all sides; and the development of new economic opportunities. .. (more)
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by
Leni Wild on
Thursday, June 04, 2009 6:56 AM
This blog welcomes the publication of a new World Bank book, Moving Out of Poverty: Success from the Bottom Up, with its emphasis on personal empowerment, gender and power relations, families and collective action. But the blog finds that its emphasis on such social relations does not carry through into the conclusions or recommendations. .. (more)
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by
Caroline Harper on
Thursday, June 04, 2009 6:51 AM
A ground-breaking study on participatory governance in Nepal is launched, as the country celebrates its first peace-time Republic Day. As well as highlighting participation issues in Nepal, the study has implications for wider governance issues both within and beyond the country... (more)
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by
David Walker on
Thursday, May 28, 2009 3:38 PM
UK Members of Parliament face public scrutiny in the wake of an expenses scandal, sparking a wide-ranging debate on the very nature of politics and governance. Taking this further, the blog warns against the wholesale transfer of western 'models' of democracy, such as the Westminster Model, to other contexts. It suggests that various governance initiatives in developing countries may provide useful lessons for western democracies. .. (more)
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by
Alan Hudson on
Thursday, May 28, 2009 1:47 PM
Once, think tanks worried about how to communicate the research they already had. Then, they worried about how to communicate the research they were doing. Now, they worry about how to communicate. Research is implied, but this blog raises concerns that it may sometimes be overlooked... (more)
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by
Enrique Mendizabal on
Wednesday, May 27, 2009 7:28 AM
It is clear that Europe is important for development, but the EU is battling against charges of irrelevance and strategic confusion. This blog outlines what the authors would like to see emerge from a development ministers meeting in Brussels in May. .. (more)
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Alison Evans on
Monday, May 18, 2009 10:53 AM
Alison Evans, ODI's new Director, pays tribute to her predecessor, Simon Maxwell. She highlights the expansion of ODI under his leadership, and his determination to transform researchers into policy entrepreneurs... (more)
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Alison Evans on
Friday, May 01, 2009 8:00 AM
Latest aid volume statistics look good, but are not adequate to reach the agreed targets for 2010 and beyond. This blog rings alarm bells for European aid, but welcomes the UK Government's commitment to agreed aid levels.
.. (more)
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Simon Maxwell on
Wednesday, April 22, 2009 5:00 PM
As ODI prepares to host, jointly with the UK Department for International Development (DFID), a series of meetings in London on the change agenda in EU Development Cooperation, we should celebrate the publication of new proposals by the European.. (more)
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Simon Maxwell on
Tuesday, April 21, 2009 3:40 PM
The G-20 London summit is over. The numbers have been agreed. Some really good promises on aid and finance, but now we need to wait and see whether and how the $50 billion earmarked for low-income developing countries will actually flow to those who.. (more)
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by
Dirk Willem te Velde on
Wednesday, April 08, 2009 11:20 AM
Investment in sanitation for the dignity and health of millions of poor people should be an urgent development priority. Based on research carried out by ODI and the RIPPLE Programme, this blog proposes three rules for successful policy-making for sanitation... (more)
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by
Peter Newborne on
Tuesday, April 07, 2009 9:20 AM
The G-20 Communiqué was published yesterday. Probably fewer than a dozen people in the world fully understand the numbers, but the words and numbers together secure gains for development and for the poor. The text provides a plan of attack, but also.. (more)
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by
Simon Maxwell on
Friday, April 03, 2009 11:20 AM
ODI Director, Simon Maxwell, outlines why we need to reinvent globalisation and international institutions to ensure they genuinely reflect and represent regional, cultural and income diversities and provide a framework to govern the world amid new global threats. .. (more)
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Simon Maxwell on
Tuesday, March 31, 2009 9:30 AM
Following on from the recent World Water Forum, this blog explores the global solutions to the crisis in water and sanitation sector. With a focus on developing a central narrative on water and growth and linking to other sectors such as finance, economics and social protection should enable the sector to respond more effectively and quickly to new challenges.
.. (more)
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by
Alan Nicol on
Monday, March 30, 2009 3:51 PM
Is the overwhelming emphasis on water and climate change at the 5th World Water Forum (WWF) justified? Certainly water is predicted to be the primary medium through which early climate change impacts will be felt by people, ecosystems and economies. However, the recent IPCC Technical Report on climate change and water recognises impacts on water have yet to be adequately addressed in either scientific analyses or water policy... (more)
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by
Roger Calow on
Friday, March 20, 2009 5:03 PM
Given that a major share of the cost of the financial and economic crisis will be borne by hundreds of millions of people who have not shared in the benefits of recent growth (like poor women, children and young people) , focussing on these vulnerable groups is vital, particularly as evidence from past crises shows us that children are severely affected by economic shocks... (more)
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by
Jessica Espey on
Friday, March 20, 2009 3:45 PM
As an ODI event examines 'Forests in a future climate regime', this blog argues that efforts towards ‘reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation’ (REDD) should be implemented in a way that, at the very minimum, is ‘no-cost’ for the poor... (more)
posted
by
David Brown on
Tuesday, March 03, 2009 5:27 PM
This blog investigates the four major climate change challenges for development planners: scientific uncertainty, a mismatch of short-term planning and funding needs with long-term strategy and science; awareness raising and mainstreaming within organisations; and sector specific and tailored responses to address different levels of resilience and adaptive capacity... (more)
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by
Natasha Grist on
Wednesday, February 25, 2009 4:20 PM
In October 2008, the New Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) was restructured into the world's single largest bilateral donor. As part of the reconfiguration, the New JICA also established the JICA Research Institute (JICA-RI), a think tank focusing on issues of international development. Yesterday, Professor Keiichi Tsunekawa, JICA-RI’s director, met ODI researchers... (more)
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by
Fletcher Tembo on
Friday, January 30, 2009 11:30 AM
This blog investigates responses by donors and governments to the cholera epedemic in Zimbabwe, arguing that more analysis of the roots of current cholera outbreak is needed to draw lessons and options for future policy in the sector... (more)
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by
Sobona Mtisi on
Wednesday, January 28, 2009 1:34 PM
On Monday 26 January, Yvo de Boer and Joan Ruddock MP will speak on the process for agreeing a deal on climate change in 2009 at the next event in the series "Climate change and international development". This blog asks some key questions participants may want to consider in advance of the event... (more)
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by
Natasha Grist on
Friday, January 23, 2009 9:58 AM
The crisis in Gaza raises serious questions about the means and methods of warfare in densely populated areas. Past experiences in Sarajevo, Grozny and Baghdad show how the conduct of war in contexts of high civilian concentration intensifies the consequences for civilian populations. .. (more)
posted
by
Sorcha O'Callaghan and Sara Pavanello on
Tuesday, January 13, 2009 1:25 PM
Last week’s startling news that Chinese trade shrank for the first time since 2001 and that India’s industrial output fell for the first time since 1994 will have dispelled any remaining hope that developing countries would be insulated from the global financial crisis... (more)
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by
Dirk Willem te Velde on
Friday, December 19, 2008 12:40 PM
The Doha Financing for Development Conference closed this afternoon. Six thousand delegates, politicians, NGOs, private sector representatives, journalists and hangers-on breathed a sigh of relief and headed for the airport. The Conference wasn’t the political train wreck some had predicted, and even achieved some useful outcomes. But the atmosphere is very different from the heady optimism at the end of the original Monterrey Conference in 2002... (more)
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by
Liesbet Steer on
Tuesday, December 02, 2008 4:35 PM
The early recovery agenda is gaining momentum in bilateral and multilateral policy circles and this high-level event was a major contribution to efforts to strengthen international support and push forward this agenda. But what is it?.. (more)
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by
Sara Pavanello on
Monday, November 24, 2008 11:52 AM
This blog marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, on 25 November -- a brief moment to reflect on the state of women’s rights and empowerment. It argues that complacency in tackling gender concerns is reinforcing appalling human rights abuses. .. (more)
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by
Jessica Espey on
Thursday, November 20, 2008 4:46 PM
This blog assesses the recently-published Eliasch Review on international financing to reduce deforestation. It argues that the review focuses too much on the finances and not enough on the politics that affects forest conservation, at national and international level... (more)
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by
Neil Bird on
Friday, November 14, 2008 4:28 PM
According to the most recent UN World Urbanization Prospects around half of the world's population is living in urban areas in 2008, and the world will be increasingly urban from now on. The World Bank, in a recent piece on 'The Urbanisation of Global Poverty', noted a simultaneous trend towards the urbanisation of poverty, with the poor moving into towns and cities faster than the rest of the population. Are donor strategies, policies and programmes keeping up with the pace of change occurring in the least developed countries?.. (more)
posted
by
Ursula Grant and Kristin Smart on
Friday, November 14, 2008 1:55 PM
The global financial crisis is bound to have a major impact on developing countries, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF ) having downgraded its growth forecasts for 2009 for both developed and developing countries. With two key global events coming up (the G20 crisis summit and the Doha Finance for Development meeting), this blog asks how deep a fall developing countries can expect, and what should be done about it. .. (more)
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by
Dirk Willem te Velde on
Thursday, November 13, 2008 8:20 AM
Reshaping Economic Geography, the World Development Report for 2009, is launched today. The World Bank’s flagship report puts place and space very firmly in the development spotlight, outlining how countries can speed up their own development by ‘reshaping economic geography’... (more)
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by
Kate Higgins on
Wednesday, November 12, 2008 11:44 AM
The World Economic Forum's Summit on the Global Agenda has just ended in Dubai. By both luck and judgement, the meeting was well-timed to contextualise current crises and look ahead. The big debates were on this being a time of great risk, but also an opportunity to get things right – on finance, of course, but also climate, ecology, social welfare and global governance. There was much talk of 're-booting' world systems, ranging from better regulation to more collective action, and from green growth to better global leadership. .. (more)
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by
Simon Maxwell on
Monday, November 10, 2008 5:24 PM
The Millennium Villages Project (MVP) is headed by Professor Jeffrey Sachs of the Earth Institute at Columbia University. The MVP is similar to a number of other new village-based initiatives (1, 2) – born, in part, out of frustration with limited progress toward the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). But are these initiatives just a replay of the unsuccessful Integrated Rural Development (IRD) programmes of the 1970s and 1980s – or can they make poverty history?.. (more)
posted
by
Kent Buse on
Monday, November 03, 2008 7:09 AM
This blog argues that the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) need to be well informed, deal proactively with legitimate criticism, and ensure stakeholder buy-in. Three features of the EPAs stand out: their complexity; their potential impact; and the fact that there has been almost no informed discussion of their potential impact based on independent analysis. News on the EPAs will be coming in at erratic intervals and in varying forms for the foreseeable future. The blog invites visitors to the ODI website to subscribe to updates on the EPA process... (more)
posted
by
Chris Stevens on
Thursday, October 30, 2008 7:23 AM
In a recent keynote address, World Bank President Robert Zoellick called for a ‘modernisation of multilateralism’ to meet the challenges of the present era, and for a new approach to dealing with fragile states. Fragile states are not just ‘harder cases’ of development but wholly different cases that require new thinking and a new integration of international tools and actors... (more)
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by
Timothy Othieno on
Wednesday, October 29, 2008 5:30 PM
It has been argued that “think tanks exist to bring fresh ideas to bear in policymaking and politics”. This, for sure, is what most of their mission statements say. But think tanks exist for other reasons too. A look at think tanks in the rest of the world sheds some light into this eclectic family of organisations... (more)
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Enrique Mendizabal on
Wednesday, October 15, 2008 6:00 PM
The global financial crisis has caused a considerable economic slowdown in developed countries such as the UK, Germany, France and the USA. The USA and UK face the greatest financial crisis since the 1930s. By contrast, the Malawian finance minister told me last week that he projects growth in Malawi of more than 8% this year. Nigeria is also projected to see economic growth of 8%, and China 9%. Will all developing countries be isolated from the downturn in the west? If not, which countries are at risk and how might the global financial crisis affect them?.. (more)
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by
Dirk Willem te Velde on
Wednesday, October 15, 2008 5:55 PM
If I had two minutes with Dr Diouf, the Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), I would pitch for the rebuilding of physical stocks of food, back to something like 30% of typical annual use, or around 650 million tonnes. .. (more)
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by
Steve Wiggins on
Thursday, October 09, 2008 12:01 PM
There is lots to say about risk analysis. Global or Local? Long-term or short-term? Financial or social? There is lots to say, too, about the implications for development planning. It is a useful approach. However, a risk analysis is only half the story. We are missing the opportunities. A sensible guide to making decisions and spending money should take account of risks, but also of opportunities. Where is the opportunity analysis?
.. (more)
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Simon Maxwell on
Wednesday, October 01, 2008 2:44 PM
Gender-based relations of power are at the root of gender inequality and form one of the most influential social determinants of health. Yet, immunisation – one of the ‘best buys’ in health, and a focus of MDG 6 – is often assumed to be ‘gender-neutral’... (more)
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by
Cora Walsh and Nicola Jones on
Tuesday, September 23, 2008 6:57 PM
A high profile European report on the MDGs is being launched in Brussels on Friday and in New York on 24 September. It says the Millennium Development Goals have been a force for good in the world, but that progress is uneven, too slow and threatened by the global economic slowdown. The authors also argue that the European Union brings particular strengths to the MDG project... (more)
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by
Simon Maxwell on
Friday, September 19, 2008 10:03 AM
I've just returned from the ministerial day at the third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness, where I moderated the two main plenary discussions. The forum generated a great deal of drama over the outcome document, known as the Accra Agenda for Action. This had been carefully prepared over many months, as a consensus statement to be approved by Ministers. When I turned up for my breakfast briefing at 7 am on Thursday morning, the news was that the process had broken down over dinner the previous evening and that the whole negotiation was in jeopardy... (more)
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Simon Maxwell on
Monday, September 08, 2008 4:56 PM
The recent UK progress report on aid effectiveness is a positive step towards providing a transparent account for meeting the Paris Declaration. The report is not only aimed at aid agencies but a more broader audience to follow the UK’s 'model' on better aid effectiveness... (more)
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by
Nick Highton on
Thursday, September 04, 2008 5:41 PM
Why has the world been unable to solve the water supply and sanitation crisis and what solutions will the international community of water experts propose? The "World Water Week" in Stockholm had a special focus on sanitation under the heading 'Progress and Prospects on Water: For a Clean and Healthy World'. The conference was characterised by agreement and pragmatism and emphasised the key role of political decision makers. .. (more)
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by
David Steinhilper on
Friday, August 29, 2008 10:56 AM
Evo Morales has jumped over yet another hurdle this weekend. He has managed to secure a new vote of confidence from among the social movements and grassroots that constitute the loose coalition that is his political platform. This backing is what he needs to further advance his drive to transform Bolivia into a socialist state. But this is also an unfortunate step further into a vicious cycle of ideological polarisation from which, Latin American history says, one can only leave through violence and the absolute rejection of the past... (more)
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Enrique Mendizabal on
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 11:23 AM
Does the Accra Agenda for Action provide the solutions and momentum needed to accelerate progress towards the Paris Declaration or are we getting something rather plain and uninspiring? The answer may soon become clear as Ministers and participants of the HLF3 will officially receive the Accra Agenda for Action today to endorse in Accra. .. (more)
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by
Cecilie Wathne on
Friday, August 08, 2008 2:28 PM
The trade talks have collapsed over the issue of Special Safeguard Measures (or SSMs) in agriculture. This was not even among the hottest negotiating issues. This suggests that the talks could (and probably would) have collapsed over any other (more controversial) issues. The bottom line is that the (real) interest for a far-reaching agreement to liberalise multilateral trade regimes has quickly been vanishing in the face of faltering global economy... (more)
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by
Massimiliano Cali on
Wednesday, July 30, 2008 5:44 PM
Is the first WTO Director-General Peter Sutherland right to call the collapse of the trade talks a 'disaster'? It would certainly have been better for world trade, world income, and most people in developing countries if the Doha negotiations had succeeded in producing a significant liberalisation in trade rules. But it has been clear for at least five years that a 'big' agreement was not possible, so the claims that several hundred billion dollars worth of potential world trade gains have been lost this week are not realistic. .. (more)
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by
Sheila Page on
Wednesday, July 30, 2008 2:19 PM
If every word written about the global food crisis were a grain of rice, hunger in the world would be a distant memory. But let’s not be cynical - there is cause for cautious optimism. Progress is being made on the policy front and the commitments are beginning to stack up. That does not mean the crisis is over. The food crisis has been testing our capacity for collective action this year, and we have not been entirely disappointed. .. (more)
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Simon Maxwell on
Thursday, July 24, 2008 5:56 PM
As we wait for the final draft of the Accra Agenda for Action (AAA) to be published it seems a good time to take stock of what will be happening at the third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (HLF3), which takes place in Accra, Ghana in the first week of September. A recent Commonwealth workshop to bring together senior finance officials from across the Commonwealth to prepare for HLF3 highlighted for me the potential that the HLF3 offers for moving the aid effectiveness agenda forward... (more)
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by
Simon Burall on
Wednesday, July 23, 2008 12:11 PM
The Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations is once again at a crucial juncture. But will it deliver for developing countries? As discussed in a new ODI paper, developing countries have varying interests in a final settlement at next week’s ministerial talks... (more)
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by
Massimiliano Cali on
Thursday, July 17, 2008 1:40 PM
It is clear that many of today's poor will simply stay poor, even if economic growth is sustained. They are caught in one or more of five poverty traps: insecurity of life or livelihood; weak citizenship status; living in a deprived area; experiencing social discrimination; or held back by poor quality work. The second international Chronic Poverty Report, launched next week, shows that the poorest can be included in progress. .. (more)
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by
Andrew Shepherd on
Wednesday, July 02, 2008 10:41 AM
In 2005, Africa was promised an additional $25 billion per year in aid. But has the G8 delivered? There is no simple answer, given the complex package of commitments. As we approach the Japanese G8 summit at Hokkaido in July, there is a dangerous dearth of concrete and accessible information in the public domain... (more)
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by
Geoff Handley on
Friday, June 20, 2008 2:49 PM
The EU Council meeting on 19 and 20 June represents an important marker in this year of the Call to Action on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). There are some serious issues to consider, including the failure of European donors to meet their commitments on aid, both in terms of the levels of funding and in delivering harmonisation and alignment. Most importantly, however, the future of the MDG project itself will be debated... (more)
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by
Simon Maxwell on
Wednesday, June 18, 2008 1:01 PM
Latin America is a laboratory of democratic governance and experimentation. As such, it is an important learning ground for other regions in the developing world. The challenge for donors is how to work with these weak democracies to harness their representative nature and their developmental potential. This means having to develop a deeper understanding of the political economy and context of the settings in which they are involved... (more)
posted
by
Alina Rocha Menocal on
Friday, June 13, 2008 4:51 PM
The Commonwealth mini-Summit in London is the latest sign that reform of the international system is moving rapidly up the agenda. The Summit discussed reform of the UN, the Bretton Woods Institutions and global environmental governance. On all these, there is enthusiasm among Heads of Government for faster and better coordinated change... (more)
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by
Simon Maxwell on
Friday, June 13, 2008 10:19 AM
While the Peruvian government has been busy figuring out how to talk about inequality and bold redistributive policies without scaring local and foreign investors and markets, the corporate sector has leap frogged them and is now – unlike the government – ready for radical policies. .. (more)
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by
Enrique Mendizabal on
Wednesday, June 11, 2008 3:13 PM
The Food Summit in Rome turned out better than expected. It was not derailed by Robert Mugabe. It survived the unedifying wrangling over a final communiqué. It gave the topic a good hearing. It confirmed some practical actions. And it passed the torch successfully to the G8 in Japan in July... (more)
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by
Simon Maxwell on
Friday, June 06, 2008 12:12 PM
In ’Watch YOUR Space’ I argued that open innovation would provide a new strategic solution for think tanks. I suggested the think net model as a way to keep think tanks on the cutting edge of production and communication of policy relevant, research-based.. (more)
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by
Enrique Mendizabal on
Thursday, June 05, 2008 7:07 PM
The Food and Agriculture Organisation summit is a vital step in a process that will develop through a series of events in 2008, including the G8 in Hokkaido in July, and the UN Call to Action on the Millennium Development Goals, in New York in September. At this stage, the Rome summit must deliver four things... (more)
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by
Simon Maxwell on
Monday, June 02, 2008 11:38 AM
In April, after several years of negotiation and discussion, the member states of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a governance reform package. The impetus for the reform was to ensure that the IMF maintains credibility and legitimacy with fast growing developing countries. It is, therefore, envisioned as a first step in a longer process of reform for the representation of developing countries in the IMF... (more)
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by
Lauren Phillips on
Monday, May 19, 2008 3:01 PM
As governance indicators have proliferated in recent years, so has their use and the controversy that surrounds them. As more and more voices are pointing out, existing indicators – many of them developed and launched in the 1990s – have a number of flaws. This is particularly disquieting at a time when governance is at the very top of the development agenda. .. (more)
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by
Verena Fritz on
Friday, May 16, 2008 9:17 AM
2008 is turning into another of those milestone years for aid. A cluster of high level meetings are focusing international attention on the challenges around effective development assistance. This presents familiar challenges: how to scale-up, align and harmonise aid to support achievement of the MDGs by 2015. But what is crucially different is the global context in which this must now be achieved. .. (more)
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by
Alison Evans on
Wednesday, April 16, 2008 2:39 PM
We have been busy working with the European Centre for Development Policy Management to analyse all the African interim Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs).Our new report on the subject has been described as 'encyclopaedic' – another way of saying 'mind bogglingly complex'. If so, it reflects the character of the EPAs themselves. Absorbing all the detail, and identifying priorities for further in-depth country- and issue-specific work, will take time, but we have pinpointed some general themes... (more)
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by
Chris Stevens on
Tuesday, April 08, 2008 9:59 AM
This proliferation of global health initiatives is ringing alarm bells in terms of the challenges for partner country leadership and transaction costs. So it was welcome news that the concept of "Health as a tracer sector" would be on the table at the Accra High Level Forum (HLF) in September 2008. But when we look at the agenda, why has health been relegated to one of three topics to be addressed in one of the nine round tables? .. (more)
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by
Kent Buse on
Friday, March 28, 2008 1:22 PM
After decades of work to tackle gender disparities in healthcare, gender remains a significant factor in the poor health of millions around the globe.
Women account for the majority of the world’s poor, and being a poor woman carries serious health.. (more)
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by
Cora Walsh and Nicola Jones on
Thursday, March 06, 2008 5:59 PM
Rising food prices are very much in the news. Farmers may gain, but poor consumers are hard hit – and don’t hesitate to let the politicians know. Governments and aid agencies are under pressure to provide more robust safety nets, while simultaneously.. (more)
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by
Simon Maxwell on
Friday, February 29, 2008 1:45 PM
The UK’s Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, delivered an excellent speech
last Tuesday (12 February) on the importance of international efforts
to support democracy in the developing world, or what he called ‘the
democratic imperative’. The speech.. (more)
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by
Alina Rocha Menocal on
Monday, February 18, 2008 6:24 PM
What began as a dispute over election results in Kenya has escalated into something much worse in recent weeks. More than 1,000 people have now been killed and around 600,000 have been forced to leave their homes. Though Kofi Annan, who is currently leading.. (more)
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by
Fletcher Tembo on
Friday, February 15, 2008 5:23 PM
When Douglas Alexander talked at the Foreign Policy Centre last week, he described climate change as an issue of ‘global social justice’. This has triggered me to pull together some thoughts on ‘global social justice’, to ask how the concept relates.. (more)
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by
Simon Maxwell on
Wednesday, February 13, 2008 9:46 AM
The National Audit Office report on General Budget Support (GBS) published today is, in most respects, very much to be welcomed. However, by focusing narrowly on the risks of misappropriating GBS funds, the report risks a return to projectised aid to poor countries, in ways that avoid government systems... (more)
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by
Nick Highton on
Friday, February 08, 2008 4:01 PM
Last week, I attended the World Economic Forum in Davos. This is
the second of four blogs with my reflections and predictions on how the
debates will be taken forward in 2008. (for the other blogs, visit 'ODI on... Davos 2008')Substantively, my enduring.. (more)
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by
Simon Maxwell on
Friday, February 01, 2008 10:36 AM
The 2008 G8 Summit in Toyako, Japan will be particularly significant because there are big issues on the international development agenda that require firm G8 commitments to be made in 2008; and yet the risk of not delivering on these agendas has never been higher... (more)
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by
Fletcher Tembo on
Thursday, December 20, 2007 10:29 AM
Tomorrow is International Migrants Day, a day to recognise the enormous role that migrant workers play in the global economy and to share experiences to ensure their continued protection. For illegal or forced migrants, however, this day is pretty insignificant since international discussions on the topic tend to exclude them, focusing instead on the rights of legal migrants... (more)
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by
Priya Deshingkar on
Monday, December 17, 2007 11:23 AM
Today the UN begins a year long campaign leading to the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, on the theme of ‘Dignity and Justice for us all’. Over the years, the Declaration inspired the creation of more than 60 human rights instruments and it is one of the most translated document of all times. However, 60 years on, these are not easy days for human rights. .. (more)
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by
Marta Foresti on
Monday, December 10, 2007 10:15 AM
We always knew that the final few days before the EU’s self-imposed deadlines for initialling Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) texts to forestall the application of generalised system of preferences (GSP) tariffs on 1 January would be frenetic. And so it has proved to be... (more)
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by
Chris Stevens on
Friday, November 30, 2007 5:56 PM
Past leadership, of different types, has been successful in controlling sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Despite this, we are still far from curbing the HIV/AIDS pandemic. What types of leadership will be needed in 2008 and beyond in order to achieve real progress, and to which particular challenges these types of leadership might best be directed?.. (more)
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by
Kent Buse on
Friday, November 30, 2007 11:34 AM
Is the breakthrough in the negotiations on Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) being claimed by the Commission an example of spin or has the chasm that existed only a couple of weeks ago really been bridged? Mandelson labelled the initialling of an.. (more)
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by
Mareike Meyn on
Wednesday, November 28, 2007 4:33 PM
For a long time, the development aid community has worked to ring-fence aid and ensure that it is used specifically for ‘poverty reduction’. Historically, this has its roots in the often well-founded fear that ‘they’ would use ‘our’ money to further geo-strategic political or commercial interests that could only loosely be described as developmental. But what if ‘we’ and ‘they’ were actually on the same side? Would it make sense to reconsider the acute ring-fencing that currently prevails?
Starting with a discussion about Ethiopia on 6 December, ODI will be organising a series of meetings exploring where development and foreign policy meet. The programme is being prepared. In the meantime, why not help us think through the issues by contributing to this blog?.. (more)
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by
Simon Maxwell on
Tuesday, November 27, 2007 11:58 AM
The International Year of Sanitation is an opportunity to draw attention to S&H goals. From ‘World Toilet Day’ on November 19th, the launch of the IYS on November 21st and the year of activity that follows, development practitioners around the world can expect to witness a renewed and more determined effort to make the case that providing better sanitation & hygiene facilities for poor households is a development priority – especially for the benefit of all the people who are currently without basic means to carry out a basic daily function. .. (more)
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by
Peter Newborne on
Wednesday, November 14, 2007 6:26 PM
Agriculture has been in and out of fashion over the last half century. Since the turn of the Century, however, its stock has once again been rising. This is reflected most notably in the publishing of the World Development Report 2008, entitled ‘Agriculture for Development’, which confirms the importance of agriculture to development and the policy agenda ODI, and many others, have been developing for the past decade... (more)
posted
by
Steve Wiggins on
Wednesday, November 14, 2007 3:59 PM
At the end of a turbulent week in Pakistan, there are two questions to ask about the nation’s return to a state of emergency. First, how should we interpret it? Second, what, if anything, should Western powers and aid donors do? This blog focuses on the.. (more)
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by
Diana Cammack on
Friday, November 09, 2007 2:50 PM
African economies are booming. This was a key message from a recent meeting organized by the City of London Corporation in collaboration with Rwanda and Tanzania, and DFID, Africa Matters and Africa Practice. Developed countries are looking at Africa once again, but it is different this time, it was suggested. .. (more)
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by
Dirk Willem te Velde on
Thursday, November 08, 2007 2:21 PM
This weekend, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank held their annual meetings in Washington. Top of the agenda was the reform of IMF governance, and in particular the formula which determines the representation of each country in the IMF, which has been under negotiation since last spring. No progress was made, despite high expectations and a need to push the reform programme forward prior to the end of the year. .. (more)
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by
Lauren Phillips on
Monday, October 22, 2007 2:09 PM
There have been some important messages on international development from the UK Government since the change of administration in June – and they signal changes of emphasis to which we might want to react.
A first set of changes was to do with structure,.. (more)
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by
Simon Maxwell on
Monday, October 15, 2007 9:51 AM
Imagine the Berlaymont late at night. A full moon hangs in the sky. High up in the building, an office lamp still shines. It illuminates four people. They are sprawled comfortably in armchairs for an intimate conversation. The four lead the EU on international.. (more)
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by
Simon Maxwell on
Tuesday, October 09, 2007 12:31 PM
A couple of years ago, when the Free Trade Agreement between the US and Peru was still being negotiated, a friend who had worked in the Peruvian Ministry of Trade and had been involved in the negotiations told me that studies about the effects of the agreement on poverty had been commissioned but not been made public. Why? Because they could have been used against them by civil society groups opposing the FTA, he said.
.. (more)
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by
Enrique Mendizabal on
Monday, October 08, 2007 2:06 PM
Has anyone read Paul Collier’s ‘The Bottom Billion’? What did you think? My own review will appear early next year in Development Policy Review. The draft follows. Comments welcome.
A master-class in bridging research and policy
I.. (more)
posted
by
Simon Maxwell on
Tuesday, October 02, 2007 6:08 PM
The Ibrahim Index of African Governance is the latest addition to the flourishing field of governance assessment. The World Governance Assessment (based at ODI), the Kaufman and Kraay indicators, and the Bertelsmann Transformation Index all seek to tell us about governance scores and progress in developing countries. So, what does the Ibrahim Index measure? Why is it distinctive? Is it offering something new? What are the most interesting features? How does it compare to other indices? .. (more)
posted
by
Marta Foresti on
Tuesday, October 02, 2007 12:43 PM
Earlier this week an HPN/ALNAP/Reuters AlertNet event hosted at ODI addressed: ‘Can journalists and aid workers trust each other?’ The meeting brought together aid workers, journalists, donors and researchers to explore issues of accountability, trust.. (more)
posted
by
Kirsty Cockburn on
Wednesday, September 26, 2007 5:01 PM
The International Health Partnership was launched in London on 6 September, signed by 8 bilateral donors, 7 developing countries, 9 international organisations, and 2 other donors. Importantly, the ‘signature party’ was led by two Prime Ministers,.. (more)
posted
by
Simon Maxwell on
Friday, September 07, 2007 2:56 PM
A new initiative jointly led by the African Union (AU) and the UN to resume peace negotiations for the Darfur conflict was launched in June 2007. This initiative follows the failure of an earlier peace process concluded in 2006 with the signature of the.. (more)
posted
by
Sara Pantuliano on
Friday, September 07, 2007 1:30 PM
The World Bank’s Chief Economist and Senior Vice-President, Francois Bourguignon, was in London yesterday, for informal consultations on the future strategy of the World Bank. This contributes to the Long Term Strategic Exercise (LTSE), described.. (more)
posted
by
Simon Maxwell on
Wednesday, August 29, 2007 12:55 PM
Though talk of the urgency of achieving Millennium Development Goals targets on water supply and sanitation is not new, there was a definite sense of drive to get things done at the World Water Week in Stockholm (12-18 August 2007)... (more)
posted
by
Josephine Tucker on
Thursday, August 23, 2007 11:15 AM
The recent scaling-up of aid flows and the harmonisation agenda have focused on increasing the effectiveness of the international aid system. For example, the Paris Declaration and associated targets have focussed on public financial management and procurement.. (more)
posted
by
Martin Prowse on
Tuesday, August 21, 2007 10:59 AM
UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s speech at the UN last week was strongly focussed on renewing global commitments on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It is interesting to reflect on this in the light of three recent ODI public events on the MDGs... (more)
posted
by
Tim Braunholtz on
Wednesday, August 08, 2007 4:55 PM
The Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) of the World Bank hosted a conference in Addis Ababa on ‘Engaging with Fragile States: Challenges and Opportunities’ on Tuesday and Wednesday last week (24-25 July). It was organised in close collaboration with the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).
Overall, I thought the conference was very interesting, especially in terms of the people it was able to bring together.
.. (more)
posted
by
Alina Rocha Menocal on
Tuesday, July 31, 2007 5:17 PM
The Conservative Party’s Globalisation and Global Poverty Policy Group reported today. At nearly 500 pages long, the report is a substantial contribution: there are 76 recommendations. Without being party political, we are going to use the.. (more)
posted
by
Simon Maxwell on
Saturday, July 21, 2007 3:39 PM
Just weeks after the leadership debacle at the World Bank seemed to have finally faded from front page news, the uncertainty spread across H Street to the Bank’s sister institution, the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Rodrigo de Rato, Managing Director of the IMF, announced his intention to resign from his post much earlier than expected. .. (more)
posted
by
Lauren Phillips on
Sunday, July 15, 2007 2:45 PM
Mainstreaming pro-poor tourism is a bold aim, and the subject of a recent event, organised by the ODI Tourism Programme on Friday 15 June. This aimed to find new and better ways to assess the current reality and future potential for tourism to benefit the poor in developing countries and to change reality through influencing the operating practices of the mainstream tourist industry as a sharper force for good... (more)
posted
by
Jon Mitchell on
Monday, June 25, 2007 6:23 PM
With Gordon Brown about to take office, ODI asked representatives of the three main political parties in the UK to speak on the theme ‘What’s Next in International Development?’. These three speeches tell us something about the issues that will.. (more)
posted
by
Simon Maxwell on
Friday, June 22, 2007 1:05 PM
The number of refugees in the world has increased for the first time since 2002, largely as a result of the crisis in Iraq. Wednesday 20 June marks World Refugee Day - a chance to reflect on this trend.
The current mass flight of Iraqis from their.. (more)
posted
by
James Darcy on
Tuesday, June 19, 2007 4:28 PM
The EU Code of Conduct on Complementarity and Division of Labour in Development Policy, approved by the Council on 15 May 2007, is potentially revolutionary, with significant implications for the future of British and other bilateral aid.
The Code of.. (more)
posted
by
Simon Maxwell on
Friday, May 25, 2007 10:02 AM
DFID’s 2007 Annual Report was published on 15 May. As in previous years, the report outlines what DFID has done over the last year to tackle global poverty. In response to a demand from Parliament, a whole chapter is devoted to 'Working with others on policies beyond aid'. This chapter – along with sections of other chapters on fragile states, conflict, the environment and climate change – sets out how DFID has worked across Whitehall and with international partners including the EU in an effort to ensure that UK and wider international policies on beyond-aid issues are supportive of, are at least do not harm, international development... (more)
posted
by
Alan Hudson on
Thursday, May 17, 2007 3:48 PM
As Health Ministers meet at the 60th World Health Assembly on May 14th, they are poised to make various commitments to international health which will be both well intended and well-informed. Yet progress toward the health MDGs is off track and many recent.. (more)
posted
by
Kent Buse on
Wednesday, May 09, 2007 5:55 PM
Speaking at the 2nd meeting in a series on 'Parliaments and development' organised by ODI and the Africa All-Party Parliamentary Group, the Secretary of State for International Development, Hilary Benn talked about two things. First, the contribution which improved governance, support to democratic politics and 'politics that work' can make to poverty reduction. And second, DFID's support to parliaments in developing countries... (more)
posted
by
Alan Hudson on
Tuesday, May 08, 2007 4:05 PM
Just last week Kofi Annan, in his new role as chairman of the Africa Progress Panel, called on G8 leaders to deliver on the promises for increased aid to Africa that were made at Gleneagles in 2005. While large amounts of additional aid have so far failed to materialise, there is little doubt that in the near future aid will play an important part in efforts to assist African countries in reaching the MDGs. Yet, how and when scaling up happens is likely to be as important as how much additional aid is actually given. .. (more)
posted
by
Paolo de Renzio on
Tuesday, May 08, 2007 3:03 PM
With the trade talks failing and aid volume way below target, is Tony Blair's legacy on Africa at risk? The G8 meeting in Heiligendamm, Germany, in June, provides a last opportunity to persuade the most powerful leaders in the world to deliver on.. (more)
posted
by
Simon Maxwell on
Tuesday, May 08, 2007 2:20 PM
Participants at the launch of Roger Riddell’s new book, ‘Does Foreign Aid Really Work?’ at ODI last week were surprised to hear Sir Mike Aaronson, former director of the Save the Children Fund, suggest that DFID should be merged back with the FCO... (more)
posted
by
Simon Maxwell on
Thursday, May 03, 2007 5:59 PM
With July 7th 2007 designated the official mid-point of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the time is ripe to assess challenges to meeting these goals, and to look beyond them. In this blog we ask: how do the physical impacts of climate change affect the prospects for achieving the first goal, to halve world poverty?.. (more)
posted
by
Martin Prowse on
Thursday, April 19, 2007 5:12 PM
This has been a challenging couple of weeks for DFID. On 19 March, Bronwen Maddox published a sceptical piece in The Times newspaper, that was followed up in its tabloid stablemate, The Sun, and then in a series of interviews on 25 March on the World.. (more)
posted
by
Simon Maxwell on
Wednesday, April 04, 2007 9:47 AM
(note: this blog was written by Maurice Herson and John Mitchell)At yesterday’s meeting at the ODI, there surfaced some new perspectives on an old dilemma about managing the quality of humanitarian action. The meeting was called by ALNAP, under the.. (more)
posted
by
Maurice Herson on
Wednesday, March 28, 2007 5:34 PM
On 24 November 2006, David Cameron, the Leader of the Conservative Party in the UK, gave an important speech in which he said that it was no longer sufficient to think about absolute poverty, but that relative poverty should be the main frame of reference.
The speech appears to mark a highly significant shift. .. (more)
posted
by
Martin Prowse on
Monday, March 12, 2007 5:09 PM
There is a growing concern in academic and practitioner circles alike that 12 years after the lofty optimism of the 1995 UN Beijing Conference on Women we have reached a state of ‘gender fatigue’. The energy of global women’s movements appears to be waning;.. (more)
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Nicola Jones on
Wednesday, March 07, 2007 9:01 PM
As floods continue to displace thousands of people in central Mozambique, Save the Children UK has urged that cash grants should be considered rather than food aid for long term recovery.* A new report from the Humanitarian Policy Group addresses the.. (more)
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Paul Harvey on
Monday, February 19, 2007 5:18 PM
Lots of ink has flowed last week on Hu Jintao’s visit to eight African countries, reigniting the debate about the role that China’s increasing engagement with the African continent can play in promoting development and democracy. Yet, the debate is still.. (more)
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Paolo de Renzio on
Tuesday, February 13, 2007 2:56 PM
In a recent article in Foreign Affairs, Laurie Garrett, Senior Fellow for Global Health, of the Council on Foreign Relations argues persuasively that the recent financial windfall for global health may not only fail to improve health but may well.. (more)
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Kent Buse on
Friday, February 02, 2007 12:20 PM
On Tuesday of this week, British MPs debated the decision taken in 2001 by the UK Government to license the export of an air traffic control system to Tanzania. Here, Alan Hudson, a Research Fellow at ODI, reflects on one of the many issues which the.. (more)
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Alan Hudson on
Wednesday, January 31, 2007 4:23 PM
The business agenda dominated at Davos this year, with fewer NGOs invited, hardly any Africans, and fewer sessions with ostensible development content. On the other hand, our ‘What’s Next’ theme at ODI reminds us that the business agenda is actually.. (more)
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Simon Maxwell on
Monday, January 29, 2007 10:36 AM
(This piece was first published in www.openDemocracy.net)
2007 will be a difficult year in international development, for five reasons.
First, there will be many reminders that poverty remains ubiquitous, that conflict destroys lives and livelihoods,.. (more)
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Simon Maxwell on
Friday, December 22, 2006 12:55 PM
The issue of avoided deforestation hit the headlines at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties (COP) 11 in Montreal in November 2005, with a two year process initiated. This article takes stock of the progress that has been made on this issue during the recent negotiations in Nairobi, during COP12. .. (more)
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Leo Peskett on
Friday, December 15, 2006 5:27 PM
International Migrants Day, on the 18th of December, is usually marked by a number of international events to highlight the role of migrant workers in today’s globalised economy and draw attention to improving labour standards. However, the event passes unnoticed for those who have been championing the cause of internal migration... (more)
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Priya Deshingkar on
Friday, December 15, 2006 5:10 PM
We may be seeing a hitherto unknown coalescing of interests in developing tourism in a way that counts for local communities and the poor in particular. There is obviously a need for research into practical ways to do this. Any research must include the key private sector actors, especially tour operators, to be effective... (more)
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Jon Mitchell on
Thursday, December 14, 2006 11:00 AM
The Lancet is currently publishing a series of papers on Sexual and Reproductive Health; bringing to policy maker attention the current state of knowledge on the topic. Few people would argue, publicly at least, that they oppose evidence-informed policy. Yet, as we demonstrate in a Viewpoint published in The Lancet on December 9th, in the field of sexual and reproductive health at least, all too often affordable and cost-effective interventions which are technically feasible, in even the most resource constrained settings, are not implemented due to passive or active resistance. .. (more)
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Kent Buse on
Monday, December 11, 2006 4:11 PM
The recently published Stern Review on the economics of climate change offers a rounded and informative picture of the underlying issues and interests relating to forestry with regards to the economics of climate change. Many will see it as putting another nail in the coffin of industrial logging in old growth forests. However, while the renewed focus that the report brings to the interface between climate change and forestry is welcome, some of its key proposals may prove difficult to implement... (more)
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David Brown on
Tuesday, December 05, 2006 4:03 PM
In the heart of Whitehall, negotiations are currently underway on two matters that will shape the Government’s actions on international development until 2011. Surprisingly, there is little public debate about either. Yet there should be. .. (more)
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Simon Maxwell on
Tuesday, December 05, 2006 12:17 PM
The 2006 UNDP Human Development Report (HDR), entitled ‘Beyond Scarcity: Power, Poverty and Global Water Crisis’ is now available. While many of the individual issues and arguments presented will already be familiar to water sector experts, the report cleverly draws together the wealth of existing knowledge, lays bare the challenges faced and sets them within a much wider context. .. (more)
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Tom Slaymaker on
Monday, November 27, 2006 12:01 PM
I welcome the release of ‘Delivering as One’, the Report of the High Level Panel on UN Reform. The Report is blunt and brutal. That’s what happens when you commission a report from three serving Prime Ministers and have Gordon Brown.. (more)
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Simon Maxwell on
Friday, November 10, 2006 1:22 PM
Kemal Dervis, the UNDP Administrator, spoke for ODI and the UK All Party Parliamentary Group on Overseas Development on Wednesday and hinted at the recommendations of the UN High Level Panel on System Wide Coherence, due to be published next Thursday,.. (more)
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Simon Maxwell on
Monday, November 06, 2006 12:32 PM
Bill Easterly's new book has attracted a lot of publicity, mainly because it provides a strong criticism of aid. We helped him launch the book in London on 21 September, at a meeting chaired by David Goodhart, Editor of Prospect Magazine. .. (more)
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Simon Maxwell on
Monday, November 06, 2006 12:18 PM
We need to start having a discussion about ‘human security’ as a vehicle for thinking about aid, especially with respect to the EU, and with the following question in mind: is human security a neat way of framing a poverty-focused aid programme in the modern era, or is it a clever device to appropriate development aid for the purposes of foreign policy?.. (more)
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Simon Maxwell on
Friday, October 27, 2006 4:26 PM
On the 5th and 6th of October 2006 Chatham House organised an event entitled HIV/AIDS: Scaling-up Effective Interventions and the Contribution of the Private Sector. This was a high level meeting with a range of government representatives from the developed.. (more)
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Fiona Samuels on
Tuesday, October 10, 2006 12:17 PM
This morning, Hilary Benn, the UK Secretary of State for International Development, announced that Britain would withhold £50m from the World Bank. There were two – rather different – reasons cited for this move, which coincides with the start of the.. (more)
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Verena Fritz on
Thursday, September 14, 2006 5:38 PM
The front page of today’s Financial Times carried another story on the impending reform of the governance of the IMF. But where’s the news?
The article repeats what has been in the press since at least April (see article in the FT.. (more)
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Lauren Phillips on
Wednesday, August 30, 2006 1:18 PM
The World Water Week in Stockholm is a yearly event that brings together around 1,500 international scientists, policy makers, practitioners and donor organisations to discuss issues concerning the water sector. Katharina Welle and Halla Qaddumi.. (more)
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Katharina Welle on
Friday, August 25, 2006 5:26 PM
ODI researcher, Fiona Samuels reports from the 16th international AIDS conference held in Toronto last week (12th-18th August). The theme of this conference was ‘Time to Deliver’. The previous one was held in Bangkok 2 years ago. These conferences are.. (more)
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Laura Jarque on
Thursday, August 24, 2006 5:15 PM
In a Personal View in yesterday’s Daily Telegraph, Ruth Lea puts forward a series of arguments which will sound very familiar to people following the debates for and against foreign aid and its role in tackling global poverty and underdevelopment. What.. (more)
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Paolo de Renzio on
Tuesday, August 08, 2006 11:04 AM
On 18 July, ODI and the World Bank organised a joint seminar to discuss the current state of knowledge on General Budget Support (GBS) as an aid modality, bringing together a small audience of researchers, practitioners, policy makers and civil society.. (more)
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Paolo de Renzio on
Wednesday, July 26, 2006 10:31 AM
Three weeks after the presidential elections held on 2 July, the situation in Mexico remains tense and volatile. The race was decided by the narrowest of margins. According to the Federal Electoral Institute (IFE), Felipe Calderón of the Party of National.. (more)
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Alina Rocha Menocal on
Monday, July 24, 2006 10:29 AM
(note: this blog was written by Sara Pantuliano and James Darcy)
The current events in Lebanon and their impact on the civilian population raise urgent questions about who is responsible for the protection of civilians. The emergent doctrine of.. (more)
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Sara Pantuliano on
Friday, July 21, 2006 6:19 PM
It was quite surprising to read in yesterday's Financial Times that the Bolivian government is set to approve a US$ 2.3bn bid by two Indian companies (Jindal Steel and Power of India) to extract of one of the world's largest untapped iron ore deposits... (more)
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Massimiliano Cali on
Wednesday, July 19, 2006 12:40 PM
The UK government is re-enforcing its commitment to improving governance and anti-corruption efforts. To do so, it will work at the national level in recipient countries, at the international level - promoting anti-bribery efforts and greater transparency.. (more)
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Verena Fritz on
Friday, July 14, 2006 12:12 PM
Last night at 11 o’clock, the Instituto Federal Electoral (IFE), the Mexican federal institute in charge of elections, announced that the presidential election that took place yesterday was too close to call. Results will have to wait until this coming.. (more)
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Alina Rocha Menocal on
Friday, July 07, 2006 2:14 PM
In the run up to the 16th International AIDS Conference, which takes place from 13th-18th August in Toronto, ODI is hosting a series of four meetings with the central theme of HIV/AIDS. Partnering with the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, UNAIDS, UNHCR.. (more)
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Fiona Samuels on
Wednesday, June 28, 2006 3:20 PM
With the start of the football World Cup, the world's attention has turned to sport. While most people focus on the games, the events have significance that go far beyond the realm of international competition and entertainment. History shows that sport.. (more)
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Julius Court on
Friday, June 09, 2006 9:39 AM
Anne Kruger’s comments in yesterday’s Financial Times article (“IMF to give more weight to Asian vote”) disingenuously makes it sound as if there is still some scope of negotiation on IMF governance reform. In fact, behind closed doors, both the.. (more)
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Lauren Phillips on
Wednesday, June 07, 2006 11:52 PM
Yesterday global financial markets faced their worst sell of since the Russian default and Asian crisis of 1997-98. The Brazilian and Mexican stock markets – two of the largest in the developing world – closed massively down, as did those.. (more)
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Lauren Phillips on
Tuesday, May 23, 2006 3:31 PM
President Hugo Chavez opened last night's Canning House speech by saying that making economic policy without consideration for social goals is like having hydrogen without oxygen - in other words, having only half of the ingredients necessary.. (more)
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Lauren Phillips on
Tuesday, May 16, 2006 1:03 PM
What are the implications of Bolivia’s recent decision to nationalise its energy sector? To answer the question, several levels of analysis have to be completed: international, regional and national.
At the international level, the largest.. (more)
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Lauren Phillips on
Tuesday, May 09, 2006 1:58 PM
Day 5: The last two days of a five-day forum drag on and on. Piles of publications remain piles, people start to thin out - though ministerial sessions pick generate some energy (though not much) - and the first signs emerge of exhibitors migrating elsewhere... (more)
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Alan Nicol on
Friday, March 24, 2006 10:47 AM
Day 4: The forum continued to grow in numbers. At times switching between sessions became an exercise in mass-marching accompanied by African drumming. Sometimes the flow would drag you into directions you would prefer not to go - sessions on complex.. (more)
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Alan Nicol on
Tuesday, March 21, 2006 8:48 PM
Day 3: After a five-day wait the ODI publications arrived in Mexico City. They were snapped up in minutes by hungry participants flooding our impromptu stand…
The theme of the day was Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM). Sessions attended emphasised.. (more)
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Alan Nicol on
Monday, March 20, 2006 12:19 PM
Day 2 of the forum focused on water for growth and development. WPP covered twelve sessions throughout the day. This was an important day giving the water sector a chance to showcase new thinking on availability, access and use and growth issues.
.. (more)
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Alan Nicol on
Saturday, March 18, 2006 6:07 PM
The 4th World Water Forum opened yesterday in Mexico City with a central theme of 'local actions for a global challenge'. The Water Policy Programme (WPP) team of Alan Nicol, Marialivia Iotti, Josie Tucker and Maeve Hall attended the.. (more)
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Alan Nicol on
Friday, March 17, 2006 11:32 AM
How we got where we are;
Take a small developing country somewhere in the depths of Asia, Africa or Latin America which continues to enjoy the attention of the donor community and in particular of the multilateral development banks. It is not particularly.. (more)
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Michael Green on
Thursday, March 02, 2006 12:19 PM
How does one influence the design of a policy that is still being negotiated – or decide whether alternatives are needed? This is the task facing Christopher Stevens, who joins ODI as IEDG Co-ordinator in April, and the European Parliament’s Development.. (more)
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Chris Stevens on
Wednesday, March 01, 2006 1:05 PM
1. This year's Davos gathering, the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, was designed to focus more on business and less on 'development', thus fewer sessions on Africa and few African representatives - but ironically the business agenda threw.. (more)
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Simon Maxwell on
Tuesday, January 31, 2006 11:01 AM
After months of diplomacy and political pressure, yesterday Secretary of State for International Development Hilary Benn confirmed that the UK Government would no longer provide budget support to the Ethiopian Government, over concerns about its commitment.. (more)
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Paolo de Renzio on
Friday, January 20, 2006 4:24 PM
Only a few months
ago ODI began asking itself what a blog was. Today, we recognise it is, at least,
a useful communication tool and enjoys significant support. At its best, blogs
can filter information from previously inaccessible sources; can convene.. (more)
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by
Enrique Mendizabal on
Thursday, January 19, 2006 9:16 AM
The recent special report on the 'leaked' DEC (Disasters Emergency Committee: http://www.dec.org.uk/) evaluation report that appeared on the BBC television's Newsnight (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/default.stm), was not good news for.. (more)
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John Mitchell on
Monday, January 16, 2006 12:17 PM
An explanatory note: using the blog to help develop ideas
In our blog on the WTO last week, we posted a text by me and then four sets of comments by ODI colleagues. This seemed like an interesting way to share our own thought processes and perhaps.. (more)
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Simon Maxwell on
Monday, January 16, 2006 11:44 AM
The WTO is certainly complicated, and not just because of the profusion of acronyms and the arcane detail of trade policy. The real complexity lies in the way many different issues are brought to the table, with the idea that losses in one area may be.. (more)
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Simon Maxwell on
Wednesday, January 11, 2006 11:02 AM
Is anyone following the judgement of the International Court of Justice on Uganda’s activities in the Democratic Republic of Congo? This is an extraordinary story, which I first noticed on the BBC website. The BBC reported that the International Court.. (more)
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Simon Maxwell on
Thursday, December 22, 2005 4:32 PM
The European Union has a new financial framework for the years 2007-2013. This fact is suprising in itself and marks a positive end to the UK Presidency. The deal was not expected by many observers, because the Presidency was an active partner in the.. (more)
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Sven Grimm on
Wednesday, December 21, 2005 3:26 PM
With the 6th WTO ministerial at Hong-Kong less than a week away, there are a surprising number of trade-related ‘myths’ still in circulation. Journalists and researchers got together at a media roundtable held at ODI yesterday (7th December) to talk about.. (more)
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Dirk Willem te Velde on
Thursday, December 08, 2005 3:58 PM
An ambitious WTO trade round will benefit most developing countries, but they need to have the tools and time to benefit from further liberalisation. The Zurich proposals, and most recently a revised offer by the EU on 28th October, have given new impetus.. (more)
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Dirk Willem te Velde on
Monday, October 31, 2005 9:52 AM
The Africa strategy is a nice re-wrapping of EU policy towards Africa. Don’t get me wrong, this is not to belittle the paper. It is laudable to have the multitude of different policies in one reference document. The strategy refers to the new Development.. (more)
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by
Sven Grimm on
Saturday, October 22, 2005 12:06 AM
The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) has been named ‘think-tank to watch 2005’ in the Prospect ‘Think-tank of the Year’ awards, announced on 20 September. David Goodhart, awards organiser and Editor of Prospect magazine, said the award recognises.. (more)
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by
Peter da Costa on
Tuesday, October 04, 2005 11:12 PM
