Overseas Development Institute (ODI) Blog : Blogging international development

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# re: Blogging international development – a new kind of conversation @ Thursday, June 16, 2005 8:25 AM

Congratulations on your Blog

May it prosper and be widely read

and find space for contrarian views
Unlike EU Royal Societies which reject papers which reject science consensus on climate warming and its causes so as to establish consensus![www.sepp.org]

Dr Alister McFarquhar

# re: Blogging international development – a new kind of conversation @ Thursday, June 16, 2005 8:25 AM

Another development blog?

The more the merrier...

Paul Staines

# re: Blogging international development – a new kind of conversation @ Thursday, June 16, 2005 8:26 AM

It is quite interesting to read on this article on bloogging as a method of helpoing reducing porverty, by simply airing opinions and making suggestions.The recent interest in porvety to me will make no effect untill practical policies are effected by those concerned(those concerned are not only the policy maker or the poor but everyone).As vague as it seems its actually very simple .If we really want to eradicate porverty there is nothing that can stop us.Thanks for reading

Jeremy Ngaira

# re: Blogging international development – a new kind of conversation @ Tuesday, July 05, 2005 6:22 AM

As someone very interested in the potential of blogs (recently 'infected' by the enthusiasm of some colleagues at a workshop), I was really excited to see that ODI has started a blog. Although very enthusiastic about the technology, I was not really able to appreciate its potential application in a development context, despite an example I've heard about new ways of working which have come about in the Pacific because of blogging. This new ODI blog gives a practical example of how blogs can indeed be used and I'm looking forward to see how it develops. Congratulations!

Sarah Cummings

# re: Blogging international development – a new kind of conversation @ Thursday, July 07, 2005 11:19 PM

Congratulations. Another great service from ODI to the aid community. May it be as successful as your publications.

\larry Hollingworth

# re: Blogging international development – a new kind of conversation @ Saturday, July 30, 2005 9:01 AM

Congratulation for initiating blog. It will provide great oppertunity to share developmental issues of both developing and transitional countries.

prligal

Blogging international development – a new kind of conversation

Tuesday, June 14, 2005 3:40 PM by Simon Maxwell

Welcome to the Overseas Development Institute’s 2005 blog!

http://www.odi-blogs.org.uk/blogs/2005/

This is the place to find quick comment on all the international development issues of 2005. The blog doesn’t replace all our usual products – the academic papers, Briefings, Opinion pieces and meetings. It does give us the opportunity to respond to events as they unfold – and give you the opportunity to comment and engage.

Why now and why us?

Why now because 2005 is an extraordinary year in international development. We’ve already had the Report of the High Level Panel, the Sachs Report on the MDGs and the Africa Commission. Coming up we have the G8, the UN MDG Summit and the Hong Kong trade talks. The EU is writing a new development policy and about to agree its financial framework to 2013. At the same time, the Make Poverty History Campaign is making waves and many NGOs are producing policy papers and campaigning documents. All of us who care about reducing poverty are deeply embroiled on all of this – not just in general terms, but day to day and issue by issue. The agenda changes fast as leaders fly around the world to meet each other and as new issues crop up. It’s hard to stay ahead, harder still to contribute constructively.

That’s where ODI comes in. We describe ourselves deliberately as a think-tank, because we work at the interface of research and policy. On the one hand, we work hard to help shape the agenda and contribute to debate. That’s why so much of our output is short, written in non-technical language and designed to be accessible. On the other hand, our core mandate is research. That’s why we have 60 researchers on our staff, each of them specialist in the core areas of international development. Whether the topic is business, social policy, trade, natural resources, or humanitarian crisis, there are specialists at ODI whose job it is to know the theory, apply it to the real world and help develop policy.

The blog will create a new conversation on the internet – specialist but policy relevant, rooted in long-term research but responding to short-term issues. We want to create space for substantive discussion. If you want to respond to anything we raise in this blog, to pose a development question, to give feedback on our work, or to collaborate on cutting edge, policy-relevant research, send us a comment. In the meantime, spread the word. The ODI 2005 blog has arrived…

Related projects

Making oil and gas work for inclusive development: lessons from the South
May 2008 - June 2008

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Using papers from UNDP conference in Doha to produce a book that will present and compare country experiences and justify the need for policy, legal, regulatory and institutional arrangements that underpin efficient and effective management of the resource boom.

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Results of PSIAs on Bank operations
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Reviewing Results of Poverty and Social Impact Analysis on Bank operations and Policy Formulation In-country

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Reviewing the Results of Poverty and Social Impact Analysis on Bank Operations and In-Country Policy Formulation
April 2008 - September 2008

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The overall aim of this project will be to improve the practice and enhance the use of poverty and social impact analysis in the World Bank and in partner countries. Building on, rather then duplicating, previous PSIA Reviews. This will be achieved specifically by determining whether or not a PSIA positively contributes to policy dialogue and whether and how it contributes to improved capacity for pro-poor policy analysis and planning in country. Throughout the course of the project a literature review, field and desk based case studies and a synthesis report will be produced. ODI will carry out 100% of the work on this project.

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2008 Survey on Monitoring the Paris Declaration
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2007 Pakistan National Survey of HIV & STIs
March 2008 - April 2008

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Following the 2007 Pakistan National Survey of HIV and STIs this consultancy is to (1) consider and improve the feasibility of their adoption and implementation; and (2) strengthen the capacity of relevant national stakeholders to more systematically understand and address the political dimensions of the recommendations. The outputs are a report on the feasibility of the adoption/implementation of the policy recommendations and a full day workshop understanding and addressing the political dimensions of select policy recommendations, Pakistan early 2008.

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Aid for Trade: Promoting Inclusive Growth
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This project explores ways of understanding and communicating the differentiated benefits derived from Aid for Trade investments.

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Political Interests and Incentives for Economic Growth.

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GAVI Alliance Gender Policy Development
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The GAVI Alliance is a unique organisation which is baaed upon a partnership between private and public sectors, combining their resources in order to enhance the effectiveness and scope of health systems and strengthen immunisation programmes. The Alliance’s strategic goals focus on the attainment of gender equality in healthcare: based upon a significant amount of empirical evidence which suggests that gender discrimination is an obstacle to development and the achievement of the MDGs and is also a cause of poverty, in this analysis the GAVI Alliance aim to conduct a gender-based analysis of immunisation programmes in order to provide a more gender-sensitive delivery of such programmes and ultimately achieve the twin pillars of gender equality and child health.

The formation of the gender policy is intended to synthesise the existing body of evidence regarding the links between gender and immunisation within the context of health service strengthening; to identify the gaps in existing research and providing suggestions for the direction of future research; provide an assessment of the current gender perspective employed within GAVI Alliance approaches, including interviews with stakeholders. Ultimately the aim of this consultation is to develop an implementation strategy for a comprehensive gender policy.

The work will comprise three overall tasks:

1. The production of a background document outlining the current policies of GAVI’s partners and their approaches to gender issues, supplemented by a review of the GAVI Alliance Secretariat's current gender practices;

2. The development of a comprehensive gender policy for the GAVI Alliance to present to the board;

3. The formulation of a proposed strategic plan to implement, encompassing staff training methods. Work for this project began in January 2007 with an inception report being presented in February. The final gender policy will be presented to the Alliance Board in June 2008.

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Millennium Villages Project Review
January 2008 - December 2008

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The recent UN summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) stressed that not enough progress has been made to meet the goals by 2015. The Millennium Villages Project aims to show how an integrated package of proven, low-cost interventions can lift people in rural Africa out of extreme poverty, and that meeting the MDGs is still possible within the agreed timeline. The project is led by Professor Jeffrey Sachs of the Earth Institute, Columbia University. The five year project was launched in 2006 and targets 80 Millennium Villages across ten African countries. It provides low-cost interventions in agriculture and nutrition, health, water and sanitation, education, infrastructure and the environment to the villages at a cost of $120 per person per year.

Given the importance of this experiment, the Open Society Institute, a major sponsor of the project, commissioned ODI to review its prospects for scaling up. Case studies from project sites in Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi and Uganda, particularly in the agricultural and health sectors, found that the MVP reports success across the countries. Achievements include improved crop yields, increased labour productivity, increased school enrolment, and decreases in the burden of various diseases.

The review found room for improvement, with a need for more emphasis on rural-urban linkages, such as roads and markets, and upstream investments in, for example, human resources if investments are to be sustained and scaled up. The institutional constraints to equitable scaling up need to be addressed by, for example strengthening local administrations, supporting civil service reform to motivate front line staff to serve in remote areas, and dealing with contested property rights or gender discrimination.

The over-arching lessons for the MVP and other village-based initiatives are:

The MVP has achieved results and has demonstrated the impact of greater investment in evidence-based, low-cost interventions at village level on progress towards the MDGs.
The MVP points to the upstream investments, rural–urban linkages, infrastructure and institutions required to scale up village-level investments, but does not have the budget to address them.
Countries need to position the scale-up of MVP-type investments within a national development strategy. Donors should give special support to at least one country that, having successfully implemented the MVP, now wants to take it to national scale.
Scaling up rural investment depends on donors living up to their commitments. Donors should support such scale-up if plans demonstrate adequate vertical linkages and are embedded in national plans.

Kent Buse, Eva Ludi, Marcella Vigneri

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2008 Progress Report on the Paris Declaration
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Backstopping support to SDC 2008
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Mutual Accountability Concept Note
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Literature review on the topic of Education of migrant, minority and marginalized children in Europe (EMMME) , focusing on the EU countries, in particular France, Germany, United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

Caroline Harper

Background paper for 2008 Commonwealth Conference of Auditors General
December 2007 - May 2008

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Ed Hedger

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December 2007 - March 2008

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This project reviews DFID’s approach to conducting and using Country Governance Analysis (CGA) and makes recommendations on how DFID might raise its game in this area. The findings will be input to the main report which will be prepared by the lead consultant and will include learning about what the CGAs have to say about governance in some DFID partner countries.

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Approaches to assessing multilateral performance
December 2007 - January 2008

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DFID Human Rights Practice Review
December 2007 - March 2008

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This project follows up from an earlier review of DIFD human rights policies, and is to review a selection of DFID’s human rights practice, at country level, with a view to documenting good practice and lessons to be learnt on what human rights adds to development. The four country case studies are Peru, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Malawi. In addition to reporting on these, the outputs are a series of brief programme studies which will focus on specific human rights projects and programmes, from a variety of countries and a synthesis report summarising the lessons learned.

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Human Rights Practice Review
December 2007 - March 2008

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This project follows up from an earlier review of DIFD human rights policies, and reviews a selection of DFID’s human rights practice, at country level, with a view to documenting good practice and lessons to be learnt on what human rights adds to development. The four country case studies are Peru, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Malawi. In addition to reporting on these, the outputs are a series of brief programme studies which will focus on specific human rights projects and programmes, from a variety of countries and a synthesis report summarising the lessons learned.

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Consultancy to design and run a Pilot Learning Event which will facilitate a more common understanding of a national policy on pro-poor growth objectives as well as its elaboration and implementation by the partner country government and the donors’ support.

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Synergy between bilateral and multilateral activities
November 2007 - January 2008

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Fragile State Analysis and Baseline
October 2007 - January 2008

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In 2006 DFID’s Development Committee set out a Fragile States Policy Implementation Plan to ensure that DFID and their partners would be equipped to reduce poverty in fragile states and address the causes of state fragility. To asses progress against one aspect of this plan, this project carried out a light touch, desk based review, to draw together information on the extent to which DFID country programmes are carrying out analysis of fragility issues through existing tools. The countries studied will be Zambia, Tanzania, S Africa, Uganda, China, Bangladesh, DRC, Nigeria, Cambodia, Afghanistan and Sudan.

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World Bank Guidance Note on PRS / Budget Links
October 2007 - December 2007

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ODI drafted a guidance note for World Bank operational staff which supports their efforts in assisting governments to build stronger linkages between national development plans and budgets. The guidance note builds on the lessons from the Minding the Gaps study and other relevant literature and guidance materials. Country examples are also included to illustrate good (and not so good) practice.

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The primary output from this project is 4 country case studies and a synthesis report about donor support to parliaments in developing countries. The project is a collaboration between ODI and the Parliamentary Centre (Canada HQ, Ghana Africa Office), working together with local research teams.

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Tanzania Scenario Analysis
September 2007 - December 2007

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ODI provided support to the Government of Tanzania task force who had been carrying out an initiative to incorporate different aid scenarios into the budget process, as a way of managing the unpredictability of future aid projections, and improve the alignment of aid and public expenditures to the Poverty Reduction Strategy. In the first stage, Tim Williamson reviews the preliminary outputs of the sector working groups and drafts recommendations on how the task force could design the next stages of scenario analysis preparation. The second stage reviews progress on the preparation of the scenarios and recommends how conclusions might be taken forward into budget preparations.

China in Africa
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This project is with the International Poverty Reduction Center China, which has received funding from DFID to explore African poverty. The programme of work consists of various inputs. ODI will provide background material on Western aid for poverty-reduction in Africa, focusing on current debates about poverty, governance and aid, and on poverty and aid in Nigeria and Tanzania . The IPRCC team will explore the poverty-reduction model that China has used domestically, and its relevance for Africa. The IPRCC team will undertake field research with African partners on poverty in Nigeria and Tanzania . A meeting will be held to share findings in Beijing in early 2008, and a written report will follow.

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Policy coherence for Development: Synthesis Report
September 2007 - January 2008

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This project is a collaboration between ODI and the Institute for Public Policy Research. The primary output is a report on OECD countries' progress towards achieving greater policy coherence for development, based upon the OECD's Peer Reviews. A second section of the report proposes a series of indicators which might be used to assess progress towards more development-friendly migration policies and policy processes.

Alison Evans, Alan Hudson, Linnea Jonsson

Sindh Education Reform Programme
August 2007 - February 2012

Details:

ODI are working with the British Council on this five year EC funded project providing technical assistance to the Sindh Education Reform Programme in Pakistan (SERP) focussing on budget reform in the education sector at the provincial and district levels. The Programme aims to: strengthen Sindh education sector management and governance; improve access especially among girls and rural children through effective use of public facilities, improved design and implementation of demand side programs and effective partnerships with the private and non-governmental sector, and; improve the quality of teaching of learning.

Wilton Park Democracy Papers
August 2007 - September 2007

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Co-funded by the DFID and the World Bank Institute (WBI) with input from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), this Wilton Park Conference addressed the linkages and tensions between democratic politics and development.

It was the first in a series of three connected conferences exploring different dimensions of this relationship. The aim of this first Conference was to contribute to international policy debates about the role of democratic politics in development; and about the ways in which internal and external actors can best support it. ODI (Alina Rocha Menocal) was asked to produce three peer-reviewed “Background Notes” that succinctly capture some of the main academic and policy debates under discussion during the conference to serve as platforms to encourage further discussion among participants.

The three Background Notes include the following:

“Analysing the relationship between democracy and development: Defining basic concepts and assessing key linkages”

“Hybrid regimes and the challenges of deepening and sustaining democracy in developing countries”

“Assessing international democracy assistance and lessons learned: How can donors better support democratic processes?”

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Commitment to Development Index Launch
August 2007 - December 2007

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The Commitment to Development Index (CDI) ranks donor nations on the extent to which their policies help or hurt developing countries. The 2007 CDI was launched by CGD and ODI in October. Building upon this launch, ODI held two roundtable discussions to promote dialogue on the CDI and “Beyond Aid” policies amongst relevant policy influencers (including Whitehall departments, NGOs, think tanks, and academics).

Funding Sources of UN Agencies in Malawi
August 2007 - September 2007

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This scoping study provides proposals to the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) in Malawi regarding the introduction of a single budgetary framework for the UN’s development operations. The work includes desk-based analysis and a country visit. The desk-based component identifies funding flows to the UN system in Malawi, briefly reviews relevant experience from other countries, and establishes a methodology for the fieldwork. The country visit involves interviews with UN Organisations, other aid agencies and Government officials to further map the willingness and feasibility for reform, identifying constraints and, where possible, potential solutions.

Quality of Aid - advisor to CGD
August 2007 - January 2008

Details:

The purpose of this project was to serve as an expert advisor for the Centre for Global Development's (CGD) initiative to quantify the quality of aid of bilateral donors.

Policy Paper on taxation and accountability
July 2007 - October 2007

Details:

ODI (David Booth) was asked by the OECD Secretariat to assist them in editing and finalising the July 2007 revised version of the DAC-GOVNET Policy Paper on Taxation and Governance with support from the GOVNET secretariat. The purpose of the policy paper, which draws on work of the Future State centre at IDS, was to bring the DAC’s attention to the issues of domestic revenue mobilisation and governance by presenting work proposals for 2007-08 and asking for endorsement. The paper clearly describes the motivation for investigating the linkages between tax, governance and aid.

David Booth

Africa Power & Politics Programme (APPP)
July 2007 - June 2012

Details:

There is growing recognition that in low-income Africa the way power is exercised needs to change if widespread poverty reduction is to be achieved. This is supported by a well established general analysis of African states. But existing knowledge is of limited practical use. It does not tell us which types of hybrid formal-informal power structures may be capable of providing “good enough governance” and which are irremediably anti-developmental. This knowledge is essential because developmental states have invariably emerged out of neopatrimonial ones, and within contemporary Africa there is significant variation in outcomes across places, times and institutional spheres.

We hypothesise that there is scope for reforms that work “with the grain” of the prevailing (often corrupt) practices to mitigate their most negative consequences and harness any unexpected strengths. We propose a systematic study of this issue, based on intensive case studies and linked survey work in a range of African countries. This is proposed as part of an integrated programme, combining research, research training, organisational capacity strengthening, and policy influence and policy development. The research will be carried out in a way that helps to create constituencies for the needed changes in thinking and practice.

Alina Rocha Menocal, David Booth, Diana Cammack, Sonia Sezille, Tammie O'Neill, Timothy Othieno, Abe Goldman, Dorothy Tetteh, Todd Leedy, Staffan Lindberg, Leonardo Villalon, Corrina Greene, Edge Kanyongolo, Patricia Mupeta, Winifred Pankani, Renata Serra

Budget Support, Aid Instruments and the Environment - The country context
July 2007 - February 2008

Details:

This study examines the linkages between environmental policies and outcomes, public expenditure on the environment and the influence of different modalities of development cooperation. It is based on four short country studies of Ghana, Mali, Mozambique and Tanzania. The primary objective has been to analyse what lessons might be learned from the four case studies and to draw out key principles and best practices to help guide donor engagement within the environmental sector.

The origins of the study lie in concerns expressed within the international development community over the inadequacy of public funding for environmental objectives in many Developing Countries and the apparently limited attention given to the environment within national development strategies and within the daily practice of public administration. With the advent of climate change and the likelihood of more severe environmental hazards arising from climatic variations, it has become increasingly important to find effective ways of addressing these concerns.

Five Key Lessons have emerged from this study relating to measures which Governments and Development Partners might take to expand the scope of public actions on the environment and increase their effectiveness:

Recognise the limitations of environmental mainstreaming through Poverty Reduction Strategies.
Focus on raising recurrent not project financing for the environment.
Control the use of taxes, fees and levies as a direct method of financing environmental agencies.
Structure Thematic and Sector Working Groups so as to maximise the quality of policy dialogue and minimise transaction costs.
Use all avenues of dialogue within General Budget Support arrangements and make prudent use of Performance Assessment Framework indicators.

Neil Bird, Cecilia Luttrell, Lídia Cabral, Andrew Lawson

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Design of a Climate Change Innovation Programme (CCIP) for India
July 2007 - December 2007

Details:

In response to the growing importance of climate change in DFID’s strategic priorities, DFID India plans to create a Climate Change Innovation Programme (CCIP). The goal of CCIP is to strengthen the resilience of India’s poor to climate change. The purpose is approaches tested to help the poor adapt to climate change and to access opportunities in the carbon market.

In this project, ODI is supporting DFID India in design of Climate Change Innovation Programme, including selection and appraisal of thematic areas of focus, and specifications for the management of the Fund. The main output will be a draft Programme Memorandum for submission to DFID Senior Management, and supporting technical and operational documentation.

Leo Peskett, Priya Deshingkar

MORE DETAILS

Spatial disparities and development policy
June 2007 - November 2007

Details:

ODI was contracted by the World Bank to conduct background analysis for the World Development Report 2009. This was organised as 3 separate projects on rural-urban transformation (Massimiliano Cali); territorial development policies, and regional trade integration in low and middle income countries (Dirk Willem te Velde) and policy responses to spatial poverty traps (Kate Bird and Kate Higgins). The analysis consisted of reviews of relevant policy literature, primary analysis using micro and country level data, key informant interviews and specific illustrative country case studies.

Dirk Willem Te Velde, Kate Bird, Massimiliano Cali, Simon Maxwell

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EUROsociAL
June 2007 - December 2007

Details:

This initiative spearheaded by EUROsociAL was intended to promote the sharing of experiences and good practice in social policy aimed at supporting social cohesion between European and Latin American institutions. To that end, EUROsociAL commissioned ODI to undertake four case studies, two drawn from Latin America (‘Oportunidades’ and ‘Programa 3 X 1 para Migrantes’, both in Mexico), and two drawn from Europe (Sure Start in the UK and Social Inclusion in Southern Italy).

David Booth, Marta Foresti, Martin Prowse, Alina Rocha Menocal, Rachel Slater

SPA Budget Support Surveys 2007 and 2008
June 2007 - March 2009

Details:

The aim of this project is to conduct two surveys on the Alignment of Budget Support with National PRS processes: the first in 2007 and the second in 2008. A report on each survey will be produced for the Strategic Partnership with Africa (SPA) Budget Support Working Group (BSWG). This project follows on from previous surveys carried out by ODI for the SPA between 2003 and 2006.

Joint Learning Programme on SWAps: Cambodia
June 2007 - August 2007

Details:

ODI worked with Nils Boesen to deliver a Joint Learning Programme (JLP) workshop in Cambodia on Planning and Poverty Reduction. JLP learning events aim to develop capacity among donor and partner country staff to effectively participate in SWAp processes. The events are workshops focusing on ongoing local processes and are tailored so as to respond to local needs as defined by the partner country stakeholders and by donor agencies. The JLP is currently co-financed by Denmark, the European Union, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK.

Mapping the Global Partnership for Development: Country-level mappings of global issues, external policies and country contexts.
June 2007 - March 2008

Details:

The aim of this project is to design and pilot a tool to map the impact in developing countries of a range of externally-driven issues such as trade, migration, security and the environment.

Alan Hudson, Linnea Jonsson

Norad Country Evaluation – Zambia
June 2007 - August 2007

Details:

The donor, Oxford Policy Management, undertook an evaluation of Norwegian development cooperation with Zambia from 1991 to 2006. Diana Cammack contributed to this evaluation as an International Political Scientist. The first phase was a study of power structures and development cooperation. Diana’s role: analysis of secondary material; key stakeholder interviews in Zambia; assistance to the development of the case study work and drafting the interim report. Involvement in the second phase was input to the case studies and the case study report.

Oxford Policy Management

Irish Aid Selection of 10th Programme Country - Statistical Indicators
May 2007 - June 2007

Details:

A document providing data for 38 developing countries in the following areas: (i) poverty; (ii) potential for development; (iii) need / aid levels; (iv) country size; (v) governance, and; (vi) presence of like-minded donors. The service was intended as an input into an assignment to provide guidance to Irish Aid on the selection of an additional programme country.

Facilitator CAPS Results Framework
May 2007 - May 2007

Details:

The purpose of this advisory work was to facilitate dialogue within DFID-Ghana to develop the programme Results Framework covering the Country Assistance Plan (CAP) period, in accordance with DFID’s CAP guidance. As well as a Results Framework for DFID-Ghana’s CAP there is a brief report with recommendations on completing the Results Matrix.

Analytical Paper on State-Building
May 2007 - July 2007

Details:

This is a background paper to give a broad overview of the literature and debates in the field of state building. The aim is to bring insights from a developmental states perspective to bear on the challenges of state-building in fragile and post-conflict states; and to explore some of the challenges for why externally supported state-building has not led to expected results in a number of cases. The paper informs the donor, DFID, in drawing together conclusions about the main lessons for the future in terms of how to approach state building.

David Booth, Alison Evans, Verena Fritz

Project Completion Reports for DFID Budget Support Programmes 04/05 and 05/06
May 2007 - May 2007

Details:

The aims of this project were to: Fulfil DFID’s corporate reporting requirements; Assess in broad terms the impact that DFID’s budget support programme has had in Sierra Leone; Make broad recommendations on improvements that could be made to DFID Sierra Leone’s budget support programme based on best international practice. This project involved a review of key documents and meetings with key Government officials and Donor Agencies, in particular the World Bank, EC and African Development Bank.

Assessment of Paris Baseline Survey Findings
May 2007 - June 2007

Details:

The overall objective of the assessments was to contribute to a prioritised and targeted approach for Danish and Norwegian development assistance to meet the 2010 targets of the Paris Declaration.

The specific objective was to obtain a more detailed mapping and analysis of Danish and Norwegian development assistance with regard to baseline data on the Paris Declaration indicators, pointing to areas where special attention is needed.

David Booth

Re-thinking aid policy in response to Zimbabwe's protracted crisis
May 2007 - June 2007

Details:

Roundtable discussion on 4th June 2007 at the ODI office, to focus on the deepening crisis in Zimbabwe, current aid modalities and programmatic design.

Kate Bird

UNCT Rwanda Liaison
May 2007 - June 2007

Details:

Establishment of Single UN Budgetary Arrangement at Country Level: Liaison with Rwanda UNCT

Scoping DFID's Policy on Human Rights
April 2007 - October 2007

Details:

This is a desk based study to scope DFID’s current policy on specific human rights in the UN Human Rights Conventions. The output is a report which describes and analyses DFID’s current policy on human rights as it relates to the UK’s external relations.

Tim Braunholtz, Marta Foresti, Tammie O'Neill, Bhavna Sharma

Strengthening Public Expediture Management in Bosnia and Herzegovina
April 2007 - June 2007

Details:

The aim of the project was to improve consistency between government policy objectives and expenditure allocations by strengthening budget planning and preparation processes at State, Entity and Canton levels of government.

Short Term Consultancy for Strategic Conflict Assessment
April 2007 - May 2007

Details:

This is a strategic conflict assessment study for The Asia Foundation (TAF) based in Pakistan. This entailed: 1) Designing the analytic framework for the study for the local consultants.
2) Mentoring the local consultants. 3) Writing the national overview based on the regional papers prepared by the local consultants subcontracted by TAF.

Diana Cammack

2007 Annual Report on the Results and Impact of IFAD Operations
April 2007 - September 2007

Details:

ODI provided a range of inputs into the fith Annual Report on the Results and Impact of IFAD Operations preparation process including leading on, reviewing and co-authoring various chapters and papers; facilitating workshops etc.

Ed Hedger

Application of the Performance Based Allocation (PBA) System to Fragile States
April 2007 - June 2007

Details:

The aims of this project were to: Provide input for discussion at the coordination meeting of IDA15 EU deputies in June 2007; Provide scientific background information for strengthening the German position on the IDA15 special theme of ‘fragile states’ and for the German evaluation of the Performance Based System (PBA) in general; Provide recommendations on Germany’s position on PBA with respect to fragile states.

This project involves an analysis of World Bank data and analysis of current literature, including existing studies on PBA and fragile states and current debate within the World Bank, NGOs and the academic community.

Nick Highton, Cecilie Wathne, Rowan Putman

EU Aid Effectiveness
April 2007 - June 2007

Details:

This study on EU Aid Effectiveness has been commissioned by the European Parliament’s Committee on Development. The study selects a number of countries to look at as case studies with a particular focus on aid effectiveness at the EU level.

ODI/AAPPG Meetings Series: Parliaments and Development
April 2007 - May 2007

Details:

A series of public meetings on parliaments and development, jointly-organised by ODI and the Africa All-Party Parliamentary Group in April-May 2007.

Alan Hudson

Strategic Governance and Corruption Assessments
April 2007 - March 2009

Details:

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Netherlands awarded ECORYS Nederland BV a contract for the implementation of ‘Strategic Governance and Corruption Assessments’ (SGACA). The overall objective of this project is to perform SGACA’s for up to 35 partner countries of Dutch development cooperation. The ultimate aim is to provide relevant and stimulating material that assists the local Royal Netherlands Embassy staff in preparing both specific governance strategies as well as multi-annual strategies for Dutch development assistance over the 2009-2012 period. ODI is a contract partner in this project.

Diana Cammack

Nepal Participatory Poverty Assessment
March 2007 - June 2007

Details:

Design and implementation of Nepal’s first post-peace process participatory governance assessment, commissioned by DFID Nepal.

This consultation for DfID resulted in the production of a participatory governance assessment which focuses on the grassroots experiences of citizens in post-conflict Nepal. The research process and ultimate presentation of findings in June 2007 aimed to explore the views of poor and excluded Nepalese citizens on the post-conflict state and the democratisation process, identifying their development priorities and illuminating the relations between poor and excluded communities and the government. The findings were then used to inform the development of the NPC’s 3-year Interim Development Plan and serve as the basis for a regional, district and community communications strategy.

Harry Jones, Sara Pantuliano

Contribute expertise to lesson-learning seminar in DfId
March 2007 - March 2007

Aid, Resource Rents and the Politics of the Budget Process
March 2007 - April 2007

Details:

ODI were working with the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) on this DFID funded project. The study aimed to provide a fleshed-out framework for interpreting the inter-relation between aid-dependency (or resource-dependency), politics and budget institutions, in order to provide a basis for improved assessments on the opportunities for reform and for increased aid effectiveness in different countries. It complements that with a thorough assessment of existing data sources which can be used for cross-country analysis and comparative research, with direct policy implications for understanding the politics of budget reforms and budget support, especially in the African context.

Simon Burall, Simon Maxwell, Nick Highton

Biofuels, agriculture and poverty reduction
March 2007 - March 2007

Details:

This project was commissioned by DFID to examine the potential pros and cons of biofuel production and trade for agricultural growth and poverty reduction in developing countries. The project assessed the potential contribution to agricultural sector development and economic opportunities for poor people in rural areas. What might future scenarios of enhanced biofuel production mean for small farmers, agricultural labourers, the non-farm economy and food security? What might the impact be on the dynamics of rural growth and poverty reduction? Will a push on biofuels offer a lifeline to rural economies, or will the opportunities and benefits largely bypass poor people?

Rachel Slater, Leo Peskett, Christopher Stevens

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