I’m not sure if this happens to you or not, but frequently
when I go to a restaurant I check the menu for both the main course and side
dishes. The main course is just what it claims to be – the solid foundation of
the meal - but the sides allow the chef to add a particular flavour or twist that
gives free rein to their imagination.
I felt something similar when participating in the First High Level Meeting of the
Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation, held in
Mexico 15-16 April 2014. The meeting brought together the main global actors in
development co-operation for intense, two-day-long discussions on some of the
hottest topics in the field. More than 1 600 participants from over 150
countries attended, including ministers and senior officials from national and
local governments, as well as representatives of multilaterals, civil society,
businesses and parliamentarians.
The meeting helped to strengthen consensus on some key
issues: progress in the implementation of the Busan commitments,
tactics/policies for greater domestic resource mobilisation, knowledge exchange
and south-south cooperation, the participation of business in development and
middle income countries’ role in development co-operation. But even more
important, it validated the inclusive way in which the Global Partnership is
set up. Indeed, the main feature of the Global Partnership is that all
stakeholders, from governments and international financing institutions to civil
society platforms and business organisations, have a place at the table. This
is probably the best approach to help the international community successfully
drive development co-operation and encourage dialogue among the international
community after 2015.
Certainly, there is still room for improvement. First of
all, not all the relevant actors are at the table - mainly some of the biggest
middle-income countries. It would be necessary to find different ways to engage
with them. Secondly, a major commitment must be made by Global Partnership members
to participate beyond these high level fora. Debate must be sustained at the
steering committee meetings of the Global Partnership three to four times a year
and linked with the daily, on-the-ground work of partners in development. The
newly extended membership of the steering
committee or initiatives like Learning
Alliances on Public Sector Reform could serve this purpose. Finally, the Global Partnership still needs to define
more precisely just what it seeks to achieve. Having an arena to debate on how to
make development co-operation more effective is a good thing, but members also
need to identify the results they expect to achieve. Aside from enjoying a nice
meal with friends, a dinner should have a concrete outcome in terms of
nourishment and nutrition.
Opportunities to provide more substance to the Global Partnership are on the horizon. Indeed, with the definition of the post-2015 goals, the Global Partnership could play a major role in focusing debate on selected targets.
Another opportunity could come from the various voluntary initiatives
that are emerging around the Global Partnership - the “sides”.
In addition to the plenaries, the Mexico meeting also hosted
a “knowledge and innovation marketplace” with 26 stands and 36 focus sessions. Designed
by the Mexican Co-operation Agency (AMEXCID), the set-up was excellent and the
marketplace became a lively area for networking and exchange. The sessions were
brief but intense, with a good balance between political (ministers) and
technical (experts) participation. The themes
were varied, helping to provide
input to discussions in the plenaries.
Figure 1: Totopos
with Guacamole, an excellent Mexican side dish (photo courtesy of Andrea
Hurtado)
Unlike the experience with other meetings, the discussions
in the focus sessions were reflected in the final communiqué of the event. It
reviews 38 voluntary initiatives promoted by members of the Global Partnership,
many of which were presented in the marketplace. These initiatives are concrete
examples of what could be done to put in practice the commitments made at Busan
in 2011. At least 14 of these voluntary initiatives are directly oriented to
strengthening governance and could be grouped in three big blocks:
- initiatives focused on improving domestic resource mobilisation, including Tax Inspectors without Borders, the Commitment to increase aid to tax matters and the Coalition for sustainably resourced public service delivery
- initiatives aimed at strengthening the public sector, like the Country dialogues for using and strengthening local systems, the Learning alliances of public sector reform or the iChallenge initiative
- initiatives promoting participation and accountability, like the CSO enabling environment framework and guidelines, the Open Government announcement or The big idea: Youth-led, data-driven accountability and governance
As you can see, any food critic would have given a very positive review! With a solid main course, and the freedom to choose among a wide variety of appealing side dishes, the First High Level Meeting of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation offers a versatile menu for success.
Bon appétit!
Eduardo
Gonzalez
Governance Advisor
OECD-DCD
The views expressed in our blogs remain those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of the OECD or its members
The views expressed in our blogs remain those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of the OECD or its members
