Southern Perspectives on Reforming the Development Architecture
Key
Staff Involved
Roy Culpeper, Bill Morton and Bente Molenaar
Research
Period
March – September 2005 (Phase 1); Phase 2 to be determined
Output
Phase 1: Overview paper, literature survey and background briefing materials; establishment of project Steering Group, meeting of Steering Group in Dar es Salaam
This project resulted from a competitive tender in which NSI was invited to bid and subsequently won. The central issue is the fact that most proposals for “reform” of the international development architecture are made by Northern governments and experts. Although such proposals are made to facilitate development, the perspectives of developing country governments and experts are seldom if ever heard.
Phase 1 of the project was completed in September 2005. NSI and ESRF established a project Steering Group, consisting of 10 practitioners, advocates and thinkers from the South who have high-level expertise and experience of the international development architecture. The Steering Group met in Dar es Salaam in August 2005 to consider the project concept, and to advise on the modalities for detailed research to identify southern views. NSI and ESRF organized the meeting; and prepared two detailed background papers, as well as a range of other briefing materials. After the meeting NSI and ESRF prepared a report which reported on Phase 1 and the outcomes of the Dar es Salaam meeting, and which presented a Concept Outline for Phase 2.
DFID and the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs are currently considering the Concept Outline and whether they will support Phase 2. If so, this will involve detailed research to identify southern views, probably consisting of country case-studies, regional workshops and an international conference that will bring together principal findings. Overall, this work is designed to result in specific proposals for reform of the development architecture that genuinely reflect low-income country perspectives.
