Monthly Highlights from ECDPM’s Weekly Compass Update, Great Insights, Volume 3, Issue 6 (June 2014)
Collective Leadership in the Sahel | African & European Positions on Post-2015 | PCD and the Post-2015 Agenda, Weekly Compass, 6 June 2014
The overarching goals of the Common African Position are to eradicate poverty and ensure human development. The goals are anchored in six pillars: (i) structural economic transformation and inclusive growth; (ii) science, technology and innovation; (iii) people-centred development; (iv) environmental sustainability natural resources management, and disaster risk management; (v) peace and security; and (vi) finance and partnerships. The position was formulated following a participatory approach and provides a unique opportunity for Africa to present a united and common set of priorities to ensure that Africa’s position is heard and fully integrated into the global development agenda.
EU Development Council Conclusions | European Development Finance Post-2015: Public Meets Private? Weekly Compass, 23 May 2014
The African Development Bank (AfDB) held its annual meetings this week under the theme “The next 50 Years: The Africa we want”. The African Economic Outlook 2014 was launched at the start of the meetings. It argues that more effective participation in regional and global value chains could serve as a springboard for Africa in economic diversification, domestic resource mobilisation and investments in critical infrastructure. However, the continent needs to avoid getting stuck in low value-added activities. Africa’s exports to the rest of the world grew faster than those of any other region in 2012, but they remain dominated by primary commodities and accounted for only 3.5 percent of world merchandise exports in 2012. Avoiding that trap involves investing in new and more productive sectors, building skills, creating jobs and acquiring new technology, knowledge and market information according to the report.
Implement the EU’s Comprehensive Approach | Sahel Strategies Compared | Narratives on Business Partnerships | African Funds for African Development? Weekly Compass, 16 May 2014
If ever there were a time when the EU needs to be more comprehensive and coherent in its international action, it is now – and not just in response to the crisis in Ukraine. In ECDPM’s past analysis of the EU’s Comprehensive Approach to external conflict and crisis we acknowledged that important progress had been made, but that real comprehensiveness was still ahead of us. We now have the recent Conclusions of the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council to add to the mix. Now, ECDPM’s Andrew Sherriff and Volker Hauck ask more practically, will this be a great leap forward in actual practice? The new action plan for the comprehensive approach will help to gather momentum for more comprehensiveness and partnering across the Union, providing the basis for concrete joint action starting with early warning, joint analysis, political activities and programming. Yet ultimately the success of this endeavour will be judged on results, not communications and conclusions.
ECDPM is Transparency Leader | Value Chains and Industrialisation | A Call to Action For Europe to Reshape Global Development, Weekly Compass, 9 May 2014
ECDPM is a leader in financial transparency according to a report comparing the funding of 169 think tanks worldwide. It is one of only 21 think tanks to receive the maximum five star rating, and it ranks as the top think tank for funding transparency in the Netherlands. Transparify, an initiative devoted to advocating for greater think tank transparency worldwide, said ECDPM showed “exemplary transparency” and “set the gold standard for the field as a whole”. Transparify strongly believes that financial transparency boosts the credibility of a think tank’s research findings and policy recommendations. Geert Laporte, Deputy Director at ECDPM, said: “ECDPM is very pleased to have been rated with the maximum score in terms of funding transparency... For ECDPM our excellent record on transparency is key to building and keeping the trust of all our partners and stakeholders."
