Development cooperation may be regarded as a relatively
novel addition to the complex edifice of international policy
and relations, one that emerged in the late 1940ies alongside
the post-war world order. It has since been subject to profound
change, criticism and development.
While development cooperation initially formed part of foreign
policy against the backdrop of decolonization and the Cold
War, it has since gained in depth and complexity. Most notably,
the established relation between donors and recipients/beneficiaries
of “aid” has given way to partnership and cooperation
in response to common concerns and the pursuit of shared global
goals.
Bilateral/intergovernmental development assistance has gradually
lost its dominance to multilateral cooperation under the auspices
of international organizations and regimes, and non-governmental
proponents of development have increasingly entered the stage.
With its focus on sustainable development, the 1992 United
Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)
marked a historical watershed in the development of cooperation
policies, strategies and instruments, and provided new momentum
to the conceptualization of development policy.
As post-UNCED processes continue, the world has witnessed
increased mainstreaming of development cooperation efforts
by means of various Multilateral Environmental Agreements
(MEA – e.g. UNCBD, UNCCD, UNFCCC) as well as the so-called
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). On the other hand, enhanced
partnership and civil-society participation create a new and
unprecedented need for transparency and justification in development
cooperation. Policies, strategies and instruments are critically
challenged and increasingly judged by the results they provide.
In 2005, ministers of developed and developing countries came
together in Paris to review the headway made in pursuit of
the Millennium Declaration and the MDGs. Acknowledging the
need for greater accountability and transparency, they adopted
the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness designed to improve
the overall performance of development cooperation by means
of alignment, harmonization, managing for results, and mutual
accountability. Results-based management (RBM) has since been
increasingly streamlined into the strategies and instruments
of development cooperation actors, and the five OECD-DAC Criteria
for Evaluating Development Assistance (relevance, effectiveness,
efficiency, impact, sustainability) provide a comprehensive
yardstick whereby their activities are judged. Monitoring,
evaluation and information and knowledge management are instruments
of choice for promoting aid effectiveness and enhancing the
overall performance of development cooperation.
ECO Consulting Group has gained considerable experience in
providing cross-cutting advice on development policy strategies
and instruments, providing monitoring services and carrying
out evaluations (sector-specific as well as cross-cutting),
and communicating lessons learnt to decision makers and stakeholders
in development processes. Recent experiences include, inter
alia
• Evaluations of EC budget lines (environment and forests)
as well as Country-Strategies pursuant to the EDF
• Advisory support to the German Federal Ministry of
Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) regarding the harmonization
of technical and financial cooperation by means of integrated
programming
• Documentation of lessons learnt from German development
cooperation contributions to combating desertification
• Documentation of lessons learnt from 25 years of Sino-German
technical cooperation in the forest sector.
ECO Consulting Group services include
• Cross-cutting as well as sector-specific monitoring
and evaluations
• Assessment and presentation of lessons learnt
• Capacity development in regard to RBM and M&E
• Moderation of and support to multi-level/multi-stakeholder
consultation processes and fora
• Advisory support, conceptual analyses, and strategy-development.
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Your contact:
Dr. Stefan
Mann
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