Thursday, October 10, 2013

CNN: Where does aid money really go....

 http://edition.cnn.com/2013/10/09/opinion/where-does-aid-money-really-go/index.html?hpt=iaf_t3  

Where does aid money really go -- and what is it spent on?

By Charles Lwanga Ntale, Special to CNN
October 9, 2013 -- Updated 1239 GMT (2039 HKT)                                           People in Jonglei state, South Sudan, unload aid from the U.N. World Food Program in January 2012.
People in Jonglei state, South Sudan, unload aid from the U.N. World Food Program in January 2012.
  • Impact of international aid is hard to measure, says Charles Lwanga Ntale
  • large amounts of aid money never actually leave rich countries, he adds
  • But extreme poverty cannot be ended without international aid
Editor's note: Charles Lwanga Ntale is director for Africa forDevelopment Initiatives, a not-for profit organization that focuses on the role of information in ending poverty by 2030. Investments to End poverty can be downloaded at www.devinit.org
(CNN) -- What is the value and impact of international aid? In an era of global austerity, this is a question that is frequently posed by policymakers and the citizens they represent.
The truth is, it is actually quite hard to measure. But there are important questions about both the quantity and quality of aid that must be answered.
Charles Lwanga Ntale, director for Africa for Development Initiatives
Charles Lwanga Ntale, director for Africa for Development Initiatives
Contrary to popular perception, aid is not one homogenous entity or a single transfer of money from donor to recipient countries. The term "international aid" actually covers a wide variety of things, including food and commodities, advice and training, and debt relief.
In 2011 -- the last year we have comprehensive data for -- total development aid from rich countries stood at nearly $150 billion, according to the Investments to End Poverty report. Only $59 billion identifiably involves the transfer of actual cash to, for example, recipient governments, NGOs operating on the ground or special project funds.
Aid in kind makes up another $25 billion. Most of this is food aid, which is used to tackle acute hunger -- but even this form of aid is not without controversy. Many donors avoid shipping actual food to developing countries, aware that it destroys local markets and harms local farmers.
Research demonstrates that food aid can be poor value for money, especially when food grown in donor countries is shipped to the developing world. Sorghum shipped from the United States is 200% more expensive than it is in Chad and almost 100% more than in Sudan, according to Development Initiatives calculations. Despite this, the United States and Japan continue to make extensive use of food shipments.
Large amounts of aid money never actually leave rich countries. 
Charles Lwanga Ntale, Development Initiatives
Perhaps even more surprising is the fact that large amounts of aid money never actually leave rich countries.
As much as $22 billion -- or 20% of bilateral aid spending -- is spent on activities in donor countries or put towards the cancellation of debt. This includes funds to cover housing, food and other services for the first 12 months of refugees' stay in the donor country. It also includes public spending on universities to cover the costs for students from developing countries. In 2011, $4.5 billion was spent on refugee costs, $3.5 billion on university costs and around $7.5 billion on debt relief.
As important as these expenditures may be, they do not result in any transfer of resources to developing nations. These schemes may of course be beneficial to recipient countries in the long term -- for example, contributing to capacity development if students return to their countries. But it is undeniable that these schemes are at odds with the common perception of aid as financial support transferred from donor to recipient countries to fight poverty.
These different elements of aid obviously have very different effects on economic development and growth. A dollar of cash will have a very different impact to a dollar's worth of food or a dollar's worth of a consultant's time. It is difficult to understand just how bundling all of these items into one lump sum can allow us to draw meaningful and reliable conclusions about the value of aid.
This lack of clarity was part of the motivation for Investments to End Poverty -- a major new report that analyzes aid in all of its complexity. AtDevelopment Initiatives we reviewed each individual record of foreign aid from OECD donors over the period 2006-2011 -- over a million rows of data. Now, for the first time ever, we can see just how much aid flows between specific countries and, crucially, what that aid consists of.
The results are striking. For example, according to our calculations, Italy and Denmark both gave very similar levels of bilateral aid, just above $2 billion, in 2011. But almost 70% of Italy's aid stayed in the country, spent on refugee costs and debt relief, whereas around 70% of Denmark's aid resulted in a transfer of resources to developing countries.
On the recipient side, some countries that appear to receive considerable funds in fact receive a lot less than advertised. Our research found that of the $7.5 billion in aid reported as given to the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2011, more than $5 billion was not transferred to that country, and consisted instead of debt relief.
All of this matters because we are at a crossroads in international development. In the last few decades, we have seen unprecedented progress in alleviating poverty, as recognised by world leaders meeting at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September. There is a growing consensus that we can end extreme poverty by 2030.
The truth is that we cannot meet this goal without international aid. While FDI and remittances undoubtedly contribute to economic growth in developing countries, aid is the only international resource flow which can be targeted explicitly to improve the lives of the poorest people around the world.
In sub-Saharan Africa alone, 400 million people live in extreme poverty and require interventions that are targeted and complementary to existing support to lift them out of it. Without the support of international aid, most poor people will be left behind.
If we want to maximize the impact and reach of international aid, we need to ensure that every dollar is spent as efficiently as possible. We can only do this with better information and a clear understanding. Then policymakers in both donor and recipient countries can make better and more informed decisions, and civil society can better monitor progress and hold them to account.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Charles Lwanga Ntale.

MWCOG: Climate and Energy 2012 Progress Report

Check with your local government for similar reports.

Climate and Energy 2012 Progress Report

Publication Date: 10/9/2013
Publication Number: 20137468 

2012 Progress Report details the extensive work done by area governments in Metropolitan Washington to advance regional climate and energy goals. The report is issued by COG’s Climate, Energy and Environment Policy Committee (CEEPC), which works to ensure that the region meets the goals established in the 2008 National Capital Region Climate Change Report and Region Forward. 

The Future of Democracy & Development in Africa and the Caribbean


Press Release
Contact: Don Rojas
Phone: 410-844-1031

African and Caribbean Leaders to Speak at IBW Symposium in Washington, DC
Democracy, Development, Reparations on the Agenda

Washington, DC, October 9, 2013 – Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, current Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Hon. Pedro Pires, former President of the Republic of Cape Verde will deliver keynote addresses to an international symposium on The Future of Democracy & Development in Africa and the Caribbean at the Metropolitan AME Church, one of Washington DC’s most historic African-American institutions (1518 M Street, NW). 
Members of the US Congressional Black Caucus, ambassadors from the African and Caribbean diplomatic corps, along with prominent academics, policy experts, journalists and activists will participate in the October 17-18 symposium organized by the Institute of the Black World 21st Century (IBW), a research, policy and advocacy group focused on issues that impact Black countries and Black communities around the world.
PM Gonsalves will speak at the Opening Session on October 17 at 7 pm and as a leading proponent of the growing reparations movement in the Caribbean region, he is expected to draw connections between future socio-economic development and the current demands of CARICOM (the 15-nation Caribbean community of states) for reparations from European countries.  This session is free and open to the public.
CARICOM leaders at their summit meeting in Trinidad & Tobago in July agreed to the formation of a region-wide Reparations Commission to seek compensation from Europe “for native genocide and enslavement of Africans” during 300-plus years of colonization.” Gonsalves will assume the chairmanship of CARICOM in January 2014.
On October 18, President Pires will speak on the historical experience, evolution and development of the Republic of Cape Verde emphasizing its successes in democratic governance and its unique model of including the diaspora in the country’s governing processes.  This session is By Invitation Only.
For his efforts in good governance when he was president from 1995-2006, Pires was named as the third man to receive the “Ibrahim Prize,” a $5 million award given by Sudanese-born telecommunications executive Mo Ibrahim to African leaders who “raise the bar for good governance and leadership.”
During the symposium, the Institute of the Black World 21st Century (IBW) will present its Pan-African Service Award to Prime Minister Gonsalves and its Legacy Award to President Pires.
“We are deeply honored to have Prime Minister Gonsalves and President Pires, two esteemed statesmen from Africa and the Caribbean, speak at our symposium,” said Dr. Ron Daniels, President of the IBW. “Their speeches, along with contributions from our other distinguished panelists, will advance IBW’s international work in promoting a process of shaping a progressive 21st Century vision and practice of non-exploitative, people-oriented, community building and nation building.”
Daniels hopes that the gathering will produce a consensus on a framework and process for on-going and in-depth deliberations on key issues addressed in the symposium, with IBW functioning as the deliberative vehicle. The Institute plans to publish the proceedings as a resource to inform and engage broader audiences in the conclusions and recommendations coming out of the symposium.
“We are delighted to be hosting this important international gathering,” said Rev. Ronald Braxton, senior pastor of the Metropolitan AME Church, which is celebrating its 175th anniversary this year.
“It is fitting that these deliberations be held here given that several of our members are former US diplomats who have served in Africa and the Caribbean, that Presidents Obama and Clinton have worshiped in our sanctuary in the past and that the church hall where the symposium will be held is named in honor of the great 19th Century abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass, who often gave speeches at this church.”

The symposium’s opening session will be streamed live and later archived for on-demand retrieval on IBW’s Web site—http://www.ibw21.org

Training Opportunity: Washington, D.C. Metro Area. Public Safety Chaplains Training Day. November 18, 2013

PUBLIC SAFETY CHAPLAINS TRAINING DAY - 2013

The COG Public Safety Chaplains Subcommittee
in collaboration with the
Joint Force Headquarters Military District of Washington
and the
Fairfax Community Chaplains

PRESENTS

Death Notification – Suicide Awareness and Prevention

… which will be held on Monday, November 18, 2013 here at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG), 777 North Capitol Street, NE, Washington, DC  20002 in the COG 3rd Floor Boardroom, beginning at 8:00 AM with the Meet And Greet and 9:00 AM Opening Prayer.  The training will close at approximately 4:00 PM.  Suicide Awareness and Prevention is a very important topic and the regional Public Safety and Military Chaplaincy participation is sought here at all levels. 

Additional Participation

                COG appreciates the gravity of this important work and the roles of all of our regional partners.  Due to the significance and magnitude of this subject matter, additional regional public safety partners will this year be invited to attend.  That being said, the seating capacity of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Board Room is 120.  Historically, we’ve had almost 100 chaplains at each of the events that we have held over the past seven (7) years.  As such, the public safety and military chaplains have been given priority for registration and you (chaplains) have until October 19th (approximately one week) to register before the registration is made available to all other regional public safety responder partners.  After this window, all other regional public safety first responder partners will be invited to register, which may very well create the desired intent of having the COG Boardroom reach its full capacity.  Again, the topic is important! 

Public safety and military chaplains, get your registrations in soonest!  Suicide has gone up by huge proportions in the last two to three years and has been deemed one the nation’s growing epidemics.  Your knowledge base in this area is urgent indeed. 

SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKERS

            Special Guest Speakers for this event are:

1.      Dr. Robert E. Douglas, National P.O.L.I.C.E. Suicide Foundation, Inc.
Robert Douglas is a leading expert in the area of police suicide according to Dateline, CNN, Time Magazine, and USA Today.  He is also the author of four books:  Death with No Valor, Hope Beyond the Badge, Healing for a Hero’s Heart and soon to be published, The Art of Being You.  Bob served as US Marine, 25 years veteran of two police departments, 24 years as a pastor, and served several law enforcement agencies as a Chaplain.

2.      Commander Paul Anderson, Deputy Chaplain for Joint Plans and Operations, JFHQ, Fort McNair
Chaplain Anderson is an experienced Navy Chaplain and has served in myriad and diverse roles in the Navy and Marine Corps.  All military Chaplains are trained and many have participated in Casualty and Assistance Officer (CACO) calls.  In the course of his career, he has made 17 CACO calls.  Among them were victims of the attack on the USS Cole; victims of the attack on the Pentagon on 9-11 and the first Marine Corps casualty of the Global War on Terror in Afghanistan.  He helped to rewrite the curriculum for training CACO officers and wrote the script for several video vignettes.  Most recently Chaplain Anderson assisted in the Death Notification Process for a casualty of the massacre at the Navy Yard.
Chaplain Anderson began his training in Suicide Awareness and Prevention at the Meninger Clinic in Topeka Kansas.  He was certified by Meninger as a Master Trainer in 1998.  He has stayed current by attending annual training sponsored by the Army and the Navy.  He has augmented his training by adding Critical Incident Stress Management, Combat Operational Stress Control, and Hope Theory to his interventional quiver.”

These experts will provide you with the understanding of the subject, what you need to know, and how you as a chaplain or first responder clergy may offset or mitigate this ever growing suicide epidemic.

GUEST PANELISTS

            We will have a cadre of guest panelists who will be able to speak to this subject matter from different and varied perspectives.  You won’t want to miss this!


Thanks for all that you do to support the Public Safety Chaplaincy and Military Chaplaincy roles as well as the wonderful support you provide to the first responders, police, fire, emergency managers, health agencies and families, locally, regionally and nationally. 

UNDERWRITING

There is still an opportunity for you to participate in the underwriting of this event.  We could use your support.  If you would like to support the underwriting of this important event, you may contact me - Dennis Bailey directly at dbailey@mwcog.org.  

LUNCH

            Lunch will be on your own.  Union Station is close by and there are also several restaurants including Au Bon Pain and Subway immediately across the street.  Coffee and Donuts will be provided in the AM.


CERTIFICATES

            Certificates will be provided to all registrants who have registered at least one week in advance and who complete the training in its entirety.


REGISTRATION

            You may register by clicking HERE or going to the COG Website at www.mwcog.org and going to the Events Calendar.  Remember, Chaplains have approximately one week to register prior to an open registration to all first-responder partners.


This topic is very current and has large and significant implications.  Many of our local and regional public safety and military chaplains, first responders, (including public safety police and firemen, military soldiers, emergency medical technicians, and families and friends of those who commit suicide), find themselves having to deal with this kind of situation for which most often they are not prepared.  The national and regional suicide numbers are staggering. 

Please make every effort to be on hand for this important training.

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

World Bank Blog: Why Influencing Leaders Requires a Willingness to Hug a Porcupine







Why Influencing Leaders Requires a Willingness to Hug a Porcupine


Sina Odugbemi's picture
Let’s be clear about this: to successfully influence leaders, that is, to have your views, your suggestions, your criticisms of their actions and so on, be taken seriously by them, you are not allowed to cheat. Cheat and leaders will ignore you. Worse, they will treat you with contempt. Above all, you will deserve their contempt.
The subject is important because a fundamental part of producing change is the ability to influence leaders…the leaders of the organizations you need help from, and the leaders of government at different levels without whose support very little can get done. I know this suggestion flies in the face of the current romance of the streets, of the current idealization of grass roots mobilization using cool new tools that magically launch revolutions, and produce wondrously effective pro-poor social and political change.
Now, I am a great believer in active citizens but I also know that real change is delivered by effective coalitions, and people in leadership positions are at the very heart of effective coalitions. It is the classic Inside-Outside strategy: leaders in government and leaders in civil society collaborate (sometimes quietly because of the exigencies of power play) to produce change.
In another life, when I was a newspaper pundit and editorial opinion writer, a number of leaders I interacted with taught me a simple truth. They were trying to describe to me which newspaper editorials or writers they took seriously and why. They laid out the tests they applied as follows:
  • Are you informed? Do you know what you are talking about?
  • Are you aware of the complexity of the decision-making context that the leaders in the arena are facing?
  • Do you factor that complexity into what you are proposing, or are you ignoring the complexity in order to fire off cheap shots, or urge upon them asinine courses of action?
They said to me that these tests are the reason leaders take very few activists, pundits and editorial opinions seriously.  But, you know, I firmly believe that similar tests are applied by leaders in different spheres of life…including where you work. Leaders everywhere, I am convinced, take very few people seriously.
The key lesson that I was taught is this: if you are informed, if you take on the complexity of the decision making context leaders are facing and still come to a different, perfectly feasible course of action, you will earn the respect and admiration of the leaders you are trying to influence, even if they don’t say so to you...or change course.
The reason for all this is simple. Leaders wrestle with complexity all the time. They have to embrace porcupines daily…and porcupines have those nasty erectile spines mingled with their body hair. Yet, these sorely pressed leaders often find that most of the people seeking to influence them, or those who simply blast them, are not interested in embracing porcupines.  They cheat. They simplify complex problems and then say: ‘It is simply really, Madame Prime Minister. Why don’t you do this or that?’

And why do people cheat? Because embracing complexity is hard; thinking is hard; and trade-offs are tough customers. It is a lot easier to cheat.
But leaders cannot cheat. They cannot duck complexity. They cannot avoid difficult trade-offs, competing principles, quarrelling allies, vicious enemies and so on.

I want to end with an example from the world of politics. In October 2012, the best-selling author, Michael Lewis, published a remarkable essay in Vanity Fair, the resultant of spending six months quietly shadowing President Barack Obama of the United States. The piece is titled ‘Obama’s Way’ and it contains the following glimpses into the realities of political leaders. Lewis quotes Obama saying:
  1. “Nothing comes to my desk that is perfectly solvable. Otherwise someone else would have solved it. So you wind up dealing with probabilities. Any given decision you make you’ll wind up with a 30 to 40 percent chance that it isn’t going to work. You have to own that and feel comfortable with the way you made that decision. You can’t be paralyzed by the fact that it might not work out.”
  2. “You’ll see that I wear only gray or blue suits. I am trying to pare down decisions. I don’t want to make decisions about what I am eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make. You need to focus your decision-making energy. You need to routinize yourself. You can’t be going through the day distracted by trivia.”
Now, just think about what it would take to impress and influence someone only a small part of whose reality we have just espied.

Photo Credit: Mary Harrsch
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