NEWS

Mutual Accountability in Practice: The Case of Ghana

From 29 November to 1 December 2011, in Busan (Korea) delegates review global progress in improving the impact and effectiveness of aid. One of the key principles of aid effectiveness in line with the Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda of Action is mutual accountability.

The recent independent evaluation of the Paris Declaration revealed the implementation of mutual accountability as an almost universal failure. In this context, the case of Ghana is of interest as it started developing a Performance Assessment Framework of Development Partners (DP-PAF) during 2009/2010. The process was supported by Switzerland, at the time Co-Chair of the Multi-Donor Budget Support (MDBS) Group. It has been the idea to include traditional and non-traditional donors in the process, an ambition which remained unfulfilled to a large extent. Gerster Consulting (Switzerland) and the Centre for Policy Analysis (Ghana) had a joint mandate to facilitate and draft the analysis required.

An initial introductory paper to underpin the early phase is available below. The main DP-PAF Baseline Report 2008/09 documents in detail the elaboration process and its results. The report can be found at the Ministry of Finance’s (MOFEP) website or can be downloaded below. Ghana is one of several developing countries (like Mozambique or Rwanda) measuring the performance of donors in a precise framework. The DP-PAF as a contextualised national tool but harmonised with the international efforts has the particular merit that it can be continued independently from the decisions taken in Busan. In the information/article section of this website there is a comment (in German) on the appetite for success in development cooperation.

Switzerland as an Emerging Economy. How Switzerland became rich

No raw materials, a low level of agricultural production, complex traffic routes, political fragmentation - how come Switzerland was at the cutting edge of industrialisation as early as the 18th and 19th century and a tough competitor for a great power like England? Why is it today among the richest countries world-wide? What relevance does Switzerland's historical development have today? To what extent is it relevant for the future of Africa, Asia and Latin America?

These are the guiding questions of this publication as it presents cornerstones of Swiss economic history in an easily readable and illustrated manner. By no means is this publication a request for other countries to copy Switzerland's path to prosperity. There are no one-size-fits-all approaches, least of all in today's completely changed economic world order. At the same time learning from experience is not forbidden.

In this publication it is not the Swiss but personalities from Africa, Asia and Central America who draw conclusions from the described historical developments. It can be downloaded in German and English.

Challenges for Swiss Civil Society Organisations in Development Cooperation

Non-governmental organisations (NGOs) are facing development effectiveness and efficiency as challenges as well as governments do. In Switzerland, two large NGOs decided to proactively join forces in order to serve the partners in developing and transition countries better.

Helvetas and Intercooperation had already been practicing a strategic partnership for the last two years. On April 9, 2011, the annual assembly of Helvetas approved a formal merger of the two NGOs to create a new organisation under the name “Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation”.

The foundation council of Intercooperation had voted for the joint new set-up already before. The new NGO is the largest Swiss development NGO. Richard Gerster, non-executive member of the board of directors of Helvetas, had been asked to make a framing presentation to the Helvetas membership and sponsors highlighting the global and national challenges for Swiss NGOs. The presentation is available in German only.      

Partners in Development: India and Switzerland

The new book “Partners in Development: India and Switzerland” by Richard Gerster is not an evaluation but an independent review of experience of cooperation programmes supported by Switzerland (Government & NGOs) during the past 50 years.

It aims at answering questions such as „What characterises Swiss development cooperation in India?“, „What has been achieved?“ and „What are the lessons learned?“ The book is based on some 250 interviews with Indian partners, former and current Swiss employees, independent observers in both countries as well as on numerous documents and publications.

In spite of its small size Switzerland managed to become known as an influential niche player in India. Swiss contributions in areas such as animal husbandry or dairy farming, disaster prevention, rural housing, drinking water, microfinance or infrastructure financing have had an impact not only at the local level, but also at the state level – they even influenced national policies for 1,1 billion people. Experiences from development cooperation in India had reciprocal influences on Swiss programmes in other countries.

Overall, both the Government and NGOs have reached much more than could realistically be expected. These successes are those of the Indian partners.

Forewords by Micheline Calmy-Rey, Swiss Minister for Foreign Affairs, and M.S. Swaminathan, M.P. and President M.S.Swaminathan Research Foundation.

This timely publication is highly relevant for the forthcoming decisions by the Swiss Parliament to shape the future contribution of Switzerland to development cooperation. 

Switzerland, part of the global village

How does the quality of life compare in India’s Kerala, California in the US and the Swiss Kanton of Zurich? How is globalisation driving Switzerland's prosperity? How does the trend towards a multicultural society affect Swiss classrooms?

The world influences Switzerland, and vice versa. A brochure just published by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) highlights Switzerland's strengths and weaknesses in the context of North-South relations. 20 attractive graphs illustrate facts and comparisons in the fields of politics, economics, society and cooperation.

The SDC commissioned Richard Gerster to prepare the brochure, which is available in German, French and Italian. The publication can be downloaded on the right.