SID'S BANGLADESH REALITY CHECK HIGHLIGHTED IN ACCRA FORUM - 5 September 2008

The Swedish Government has chosen to present its Bangladesh Reality Check as a new study with cutting edge methodology developed and implemented by GRM, at the '3rd High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness' in Accra this week.

The Bangladesh Reality Check Report 2007 (click to open 3mb PDF) contains results from the first round of field work. Four more will follow during the five-year study. This is the first of its kind and we hope that interest in the Reality Check will spread to other countries, sectors and donors.

In 2005, a summit was held in Paris on the topic of increasing aid effectiveness, resulting in the Paris Declaration which set a number of measurable goals to be met by 2010. Now, representatives of more than 150 governments and donor organisations have met for a mid-term evaluation of the Paris Declaration. A major evaluation of the results in 56 countries has been carried out and will form the basis of the “Accra Agenda for Action”.

NEW UK GOVERNMENT INITIATIVE TO PREVENT MISUSE OF AID FUNDING - 4 September

The UK Government, backed by the World Bank, UNDP and EC, has taken steps toward preventing misuse of aid funding, in a new initiative revealed today. Read the full story (nb. links to external website).

TWO KEY APPOINTMENTS - 21 August 2008

In line with the growth of our International Development business, GRM is pleased to announce two new key appointments. Both appointments are senior development professionals who have many years experience working with DFID, in particular, as well as the World Bank and other major developmental institutions. They will both be based in our London office and will head up two new practice areas in Government Reform and in Growth and Livelihoods. While GRM already has considerable experience in both of these technical areas, the appointment of these respected and experienced professionals will provide a focal point for GRM knowledge management and resources within these respective practice areas.

Jason Olson has joined GRM as Director of our Government Reform Practice. Jason, formerly from Adam Smith International, is a lawyer and specialist in government relations and external affairs, policy and political strategy, with extensive experience in both private sector interactions with the public sector and public sector reform. He also brings additional regional experience throughout the Middle East, Central and South Asia and Africa. His broad experience in lobbying, public finance and budgeting, legislatures, civil society and institutional reform strengthens significantly our capabilities in these areas.

Oliver Mathieson is joining us as Director of our Growth and Livelihoods Practice. Oliver has come over to GRM from Maxwell Stamp PLC in London, where he established and ran their Livelihoods and Rural Development practice. Oliver was principal consultant and director of several of Maxwell Stamp’s flagship contracts, including the DFID Chars Livelihoods Programme in Bangladesh and the World Bank funded National Solidarity Programme in Afghanistan. Prior to that, Oliver set up and ran Rural Partnerships, a rural development consultancy established as a joint venture by Enterplan (now Coffey International) and the Plunkett Foundation. Oliver has also held a number of senior in-country management roles for leading international NGOs specialising in ‘developmental relief’ in protracted crisis. Oliver has an MBA as well as a Masters degree in development anthropology.

These key appointments will focus on serving and strengthening relationships with our major bilateral clients including AusAID, DFID, EC, Sida and USAID, while also developing our sectoral coverage throughout our geographic regions of focus. They will both focus on the EMACA (Europe, Middle East, Africa, Central Asia) region, with additional technical oversight in their relevant disciplines throughout the Asia Pacific region.

We welcome both Jason and Oliver to GRM.

MOBILISING NEW PROJECT IN NIGERIA - 4 August 2008

GRM is mobilising a new project in Nigeria known as SAVI (State Accountability and Voice Initiative). The programme objective is to increase the ability of citizens to claim rights and hold state governments accountable.

SAVI is part of the UK Government (DFID)’s new suite of State-level programmes which also includes:

• SPARC (State Partnership for Accountability Responsiveness and Capability) focusing on support to public service reform;
• ESSPIN (Education Sector Support Programme in Nigeria) focusing on education and;
• PATHS 2 (Partnership for Transforming Health Systems 2) focusing on health.

The SAVI Programme will focus on the following core areas:

• The design and implementation of advocacy projects;
• Support to independent monitoring, research and policy analysis; and
• Strengthening the functions of State Houses of Assembly

Linked to these core components will be two streams of supporting activity around:

• engaging the media; and
• civil society capacity-building.

The common goal of this suite of programmes is to support the more efficient and effective use of Nigeria’s own resources to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. These programmes were designed to work in support and harmony with each other.

SAVI will provide support across all the other three new programmes (SPARC, ESSPIN, PATHS 2) in supporting civil society organisations and media programmes intended to raise accountability over rights and service delivery, and provide support to State Houses of Assembly. Delivery will take place over six years with a budget of almost £30 million.

More information is available on the DFID website. (Please note in the DFID report, SAVI is known by its original name of 'Partnerships for Accountability and Voice in States' (PAVS)).

A GRM stalwart has been recognised for his outstanding achievements, receiving one of Australia’s premier veterinary accolades. Stewart Routledge was instrumental in introducing a new vaccine against a highly-contagious bird disease in Ghana, and was jointly responsible for developing a reliable methodology to reduce cyanide levels in one of Mozambique’s staple foods. More Information...

At first glance the Abu Dhabi desert appears barren and monotonous, but for the second time in a few months, one of our Soil Survey team, this time Kim Bourke, made a find of historic significance. Kim found a very interesting green coloured cylindrical stone with some intricately carved patterns.

The stone is a very old seal and is in perfect condition. Professor Dan Potts from Sydney has confirmed the stone to be c.3100-2900 BC and unquestionably, a Mesopotamian import. The seal is a “Jamdat Nasr-style… classic type with pig-tailed women, ladder-like motif (couch) and spider, where the design is built up almost exclusively from drill holes”.

The Soil Survey is into its 26th month and the field team has finished about 50% of the Phase 2 observations.

GRM'S Communities 1st programme is a funding initiative designed to identify and target small to medium sized community projects in the countries in which GRM works and help people create a better future for themselves and their communities.

To date, the fund has donated in excess of AUD 200,000 to a range of activities and initiatives, including an orphanage in Cambodia, HIV/AIDS hospice in South Africa, Artists Support Program in the Solomon Islands, hobby craft workshops for disabled children in Serbia, and classroom construction costs to a school in East Timor, among a range of other projects. For more information visit Communities 1st.

The UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) has released a publication entitled “Achieving Universal Access – the UK’s Strategy for halting and reversing the spread of HIV in the developing world.” This updated strategy places people at the heart of the response – with a particular focus on women, children and vulnerable groups. It contains a forward by the Secretary of State and an Executive Summary.Achieving University Access [PDF 4.43 MB]

GRM International is currently working with DFID to avert a generalized HIV/AIDS epidemic in Central Asia, through the CARHAP programme More Information...

THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON DEVELOPING COUNTRIES -December 2007

“If rain doesn’t fall, is life worth living?”

The world’s poorest people are the most vulnerable to changes in the climate and extreme weather such as droughts, floods, heat waves and rising sea levels. The World Bank is addressing this vital issue through risk management and pioneering insurance work in many of the World’s Developing countries. Learn more at the website and watch the three 5 minute clips on how climate change is affecting the lives of individuals and communities in Niger, Indonesia and Peru.

Australia Marks Mine Action Day with Funding for Further Landmine Clearance in Afghanistan.
Australia will mark International Mine Action Day on 4 April with an expanded contribution to landmine and unexploded ordnance clearance in Afghanistan.

More Information...

AusAID Development Research Strategy 2008-2010

A new strategy outlines AusAID's approach to practical, social science research intended to increase the effectiveness of Australia's aid program.

AusAID Research Strategy [PDF 746KB]