Zunia.org

ELLA GUIDE: Strengthening Capacities for Climate Change Adaptation in Mountain Ecosystems: The Latin American Response

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:27:55 -0400

Mountains provide a broad range of environmental services including water, energy, soils and biodiversity, and are of vital importance for local populations as well as ecosystems and human populations at lower altitudes. Climate change impacts in mountain ecosystems are therefore affecting large geographic areas and millions of people worldwide. In Latin Americas mountain ranges in Central America and the Andes, strategies to build capacities for climate change adaptation have generally been participative in nature and have aimed at improving natural resource conservation, providing access to new technologies and capturing traditional knowledge and practices. A strong focus has also been on maintaining water resources and agrobiodiversity. This Guide presents a range of experiences, publications and organisations from the region, concluding with lessons that could prove useful to other mountain regions of the world.

Oliver Wyman - How "new form lending" will reshape banks' small business strategies

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:25:11 -0400

you will have to write to Oliver Wyman to get a copy of this very interesting paper by Peter Carroll and Ben Hoffman, but it's worth it. While the focus is on the USA, the paper is a great and concise description of how banks should be looking to transactions records to build the strongest SME businesses, in this era when more and more SMEs do more and more of their business on credit cards. It cites pioneers like Capital Access Network, Amerimerchant and OnDeck Capital, who have been discussed in our Forum. Their key point, which I believe soon will apply equally to emerging markets (particularly for larger banks), is that this is becoming the standard way of driving SME business. The article makes the important point that this approach allows banks to offer different types of credit products for SMEs, in particular standby lines, that SMEs often say they want, but rarely can get with the flexibility and responsiveness needed. They estimate the market for this as approximately 8 million lines for $80-120 billion, with a potential after tax profit of $1.5-2.5 billion. It also notes how this approach not only reduces marketing and underwriting costs, but also loan administration.

the article also points out that third party providers can provide platforms for running such programs for banks (as we well know, as several of them have partcipated in our discussions on emerging markets!)...and it points out that many of these (as is the case for our commenters) also have their own finance companies, opening up possibilities for dividing up markets and leaving the riskier prospects to the platform partners.

overall, a very useful overview of this approach, and just 7 pages! worth a read...write to OW for more...

maybe they will comment further?

matt

Building an Ecosystem for Social Entrepreneurship in Rural Livelihoods

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:50:49 -0400

Bihar has more than 100 million inhabitants and is Indias second poorest state. Ninety percent of the population lives in rural areas and the state has lagged behind in reducing poverty.Jeevika, a rural livelihoods program has been working with community institutions since 2007 and has built an institutional platform by mobilizing 1 million women into self-help groups (SHGs) and higher-level federations. Eventually, the project plans to mobilize 15 million households and reach most poor households in the state over the next 5 years.

Traditionally, both government and the private sector have struggled to reach remote and poverty stricken parts of India, especially eastern states such as Bihar. Even social entrepreneurs and civil society organizations struggle to apply their innovations because of poor reach and lack of absorption,. However, Jeevika, a program jointly supported by Government of Bihar and the World Bank, has built a community-based institutional platform that can reach millions of poor households in Bihar. It is now offering a unique opportunity to social innovators to capitalize on the platform as well as access to financial capital providing enterprises with a chance for a leap.

Soap Opera for Social Change

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:47:54 -0400

Can soap operas educate TV audiences on personal finance issues? Researchers at the World Bank did the test: They integrated messages on personal finance into 2 episodes of South Africa's famous "Scandal!" soap opera. The results was stunning: debt mediat

Obama Administration Releases Historic Open Data Rules to Enhance Government Efficiency and Fuel Economic Growth

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:43:06 -0400

The Obama Administration today took groundbreaking new steps to make information generated and stored by the Federal Government more open and accessible to innovators and the public, to fuel entrepreneurship and economic growth while increasing government transparency and efficiency.

Todays actions - including an Executive Order signed by the President and an Open Data Policy released by the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Science and Technology Policy - declare that information is a valuable national asset whose value is multiplied when it is made easily accessible to the public. The Executive Order requires that, going forward, data generated by the government be made available in open, machine-readable formats, while appropriately safeguarding privacy, confidentiality, and security.

The move will make troves of previously inaccessible or unmanageable data easily available to entrepreneurs, researchers, and others who can use those files to generate new products and services, build businesses, and create jobs.

In Jakarta, Open Environmental Data Meets Freedom of Information Law

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:38:48 -0400

FOI provides citizens with rights to access. Open data, for the most part, has simply afforded a privilege. Our colleagues in Jakarta have rightly pointed out their discomfort with this and are giving the open data community - which, as a broad tent, has always included those interested in not just transparency, but non-profit, commercial uses, scientific uses - a push to demand more.

There is a central the difference between a FOI and open data. FOI is a document centric process. It requires one to audit documents (for privacy and secrecy) that have already been produced. It is, by definition, backwards looking and non-scalable. Open data, in contrast, is a system centric process. With a guarantee to data you are not asking for a specific document or data at a specific moment in time, you are asking for access to all products of a system including those in the present and future, and possibly even those from the past.

The entire accountability infrastructure within governments will need to think of transparency and accountability with a whole new paradigm, one of systems not just documents. And this reskilling and new perspective will affect not just the people who have to implement these new rules, but also the solicitors, civil society organizations and access to information commissioners who oversee the government.

The Shakespeare review: what's the future of UK open data?

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:33:19 -0400

The UK is the world leader on open government data, according to YouGov CEO and Open Data Strategy Board chair Stephan Shakespeare, but needs to avoid being the "boffins ... we generate the excitement but don't mint the money". The finding is one of the core messages of The Shakespeare Review, a government-commissioned report on what should happen next with opening up government data for the benefit of government, business and (of course) citizens.

Open data has the potential to deliver a 2bn boost to the UK economy in the short-term, the research concludes, with a further 6-7bn further down the line. But to do it, the UK will need a clear, cohesive strategy on what to do next no more ad-hoc, "out-the-window", chuck out the data approach.

So: what's Shakespeare recommending, and what does it mean?

Open Government Data: Helping Parents to find the Best School for their Kids

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:30:54 -0400

Open Government Data is an effective solution which can ease the problem of a lack of accessible information about existing schools in a particular country or location. By adopting the Open Government Data policy in the educational field, governments release data about grades, funding, student and teacher numbers, data generated throughout time by schools, colleges, universities and other educational settings.

The School Portal, developed under the Moldova Open Data Initiative, uses data made public by the Ministry of Education of Moldova to offer comprehensive information about 1529 educational institutions in the Republic of Moldova. Users of the portal can access information about schools yearly budgets, budget implementation, expenditures, school rating, students grades, schools infrastructure and communications. The School Portal has a tool which allows visitors to compare schools based on different criteria infrastructure, students performance or annual budgets. The additional value of the portal is the fact that it serves as a platform for private sector entities which sell school supplies to advertise their products.

The Uncertain Relationship Between Open Data and Accountability: A Response to Yu and Robinsons The New Ambiguity of Open Government

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:28:10 -0400

David Robinson and Harlan Yu are among the foremost scholars in the field of open government data research. With their 2009 article, Government Data and the Invisible Hand,1 Robinson, Yu, and their colleagues were among the first in the academic community to offer a well-articulated rationale for the release of governmental data in open formats.

In 2012, Robinson and Yu returned with a new contribution to the field - The New Ambiguity of Open Government - providing an analytical framework that evinces the ambiguities underlying the term open government data.2 The distinction suggested is a conceptual milestone in the field of open government and data and a welcome addition to a developing body of literature on the subject.

To build on the authors contribution, I put forward two arguments. First, I contend that the authors ignore the enabling conditions under which transparency may lead to accountability.I suggest that for adaptable data to engender accountability, it must fulfill at least two conditions: the publicity and political agency conditions. In discussing the agency condition, I also expand on Robinson and Yus argument by emphasizing the importance of participatory mechanisms to foster better services and policies. In this sense, I argue that the authors overlook the role of civic participation as an essential element in unlocking the potential for open data to produce better government decisions and policies.

Finally, I use the analytical backdrop of developed and developing countries in which national governments have recently promoted open data initiatives to conduct an empirical analysis of their publicity and political agency conditions. By doing so, I broaden the analytical scope adopted by Robinson and Yu - which tends to focus on the United States - while highlighting the challenges associated with open data as a path to accountability.

Making the DC Code Open

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:23:12 -0400

Join us at the OpenGov Hub for a special Brown-Bag Lunch (BBL) session with General Council V. David Zvenyach on how Washington DC's Legal Code became available to all earlier this month, and what this means for government data overall.

And remember: it's a BBL so be sure to bring your own lunch! Refreshments will be provided by the OpenGov Hub.

About the OpenGov Hub: The OpenGov Hub is the day-to-day home to a range of people and organizations working on the open government agenda while also serving as a community gathering point for open government learning and networking activities in the Washington area.

The Power of Social Networks to Drive Mobile Money Adoption

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:17:03 -0400

This study identifies and explores the key drivers of mobile money (MM) adoption by comparing data from three African countries. It uses innovative analytics and data mining techniques. It processes findings from a data set of 7 billion transactions performed by more than 10 million mobile phone users over 7 months.

The study reveals two key variables that indicate a higher propensity to adopt MM. The first variable is the social network and social interactions of the mobile user. Individuals with five MM connections are over 3.5 times more likely to adopt MM than individuals with only one MM connection. The second key variable is the users telecom usage profile. Adopters tend to call twice as much as non adopters, send twice as many SMS, rely more on electronic recharges than scratch cards for airtime credit, and use more data than non adopters.

Transparency Camp & Chinese aid

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:14:31 -0400

Last week l was in Washington D.C. to attend the Sunlight Foundations excellent Transparency Camp and present our plans for the 2013 Index. My week kicked off with an event at CGD to launch a new dataset of Chinese aid projects (not that the Chinese call it aid) which has set off a flurry of blogs about the pros and cons of using media sources to collect aid data. Of course my response to all this is predictable - if all providers of development flows published their information in an open, common format as they committed to by the end of 2015, then AidData wouldnt have to resort to undertaking laborious initiatives such as this.

China is unlikely to start publishing to IATI any time soon, so AidData should be commended on having a go at building a dataset, with all the difficulties and drawbacks that involves. At the very least, its fired up the discussion about the importance of credible datasets, the globalisation of aid and the need for donor harmonisation. A comment from one of the panellists at the event, Professor Yan Wang, on the difficulty of allocating costs to south-south cooperation, reminded me of a similar comment we received last year from Brazil in response to our 2012 Index, along the lines of you cant quantify technical cooperation to which I say doctors/teachers/engineers salary + their flight + their subsistence + the materials you provide for them to practice = cost.

Deutsche Bank and IFC accused of bankrolling Vietnam firms' land grabs

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:11:46 -0400

Two Vietnamese firms bankrolled by Deutsche Bank and the International Finance Corporation the World Bank's private lending arm are leading a wave of land grabs in Cambodia and Laos, causing widespread evictions, illegal logging and food insecurity, according to a report. The study, concluding a year-long investigation by the watchdog Global Witness, names two of Vietnam's biggest companies, the privately owned Huang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) and state-owned Vietnam Rubber Group (VRG), as the businesses behind the land grabs.

The report alleges the IFC invested $14.95m in a Vietnamese fund that holds 5% equity in HAGL, while Deutsche Bank owns some $4.5m-worth of HAGL shares. Deutsche Bank is also said to have 1.2m shares in a subsidiary company of VRG amounting to more than $3m. Current figures show that Cambodia has leased nearly three-quarters of its arable land 2.6m hectares in economic land concessions (ELCs), 80% of which were turned into rubber plantations, and 14% of which went to Vietnam.

US Navy ship to sail the Pacific on a humanitarian mission

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:07:50 -0400

The US Pacific Fleet said May 9 that it will send an amphibious dock landing ship to six Pacific island nations over the next several months to provide humanitarian assistance and help people better prepare for disasters. The USS Pearl Harbor will leave Hawaii on May 24. It will stop first in Samoa and then visit Tonga, the Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Kiribati, and the Solomon Islands.

The US Navy has been sending vessels on similar humanitarian missions since 2006, when it sent the hospital ship USNS Mercy to the Philippines, Indonesia, and other Asian countries. Humanitarian missions can have great public relations value for the United States and other participants. This became particularly clear after the US sent ships and planes to deliver food, tents, and medical care for victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.

Approval ratings for the U.S. in predominantly Muslim Indonesia climbed to 38 percent in 2005 from 15 percent two years earlier because of the help, according to a poll by the Pew Global Attitudes Project. The Navy began sending vessels on annual "Pacific Partnership" tours shortly afterward.

All Our Ideas: Breakthrough in Citizen Feedback Solutions

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:04:55 -0400

A new version of All Our Ideas - a freely available citizen feedback tool that enables data collection by combining the best features of quantitative and qualitative methods has just been launched. With a new responsive design, built with the support of the World Bank Institute as part of the World Banks Open Development Technology Alliance (ODTA), All Our Ideas enables data collection through a number of devices: desktop, laptops, tablets and mobile.

Easily deployable, the tool has already been used in different environments and for different purposes, from collecting feedbackfrom slum dwellers in Rio de Janeiro to the collaborative development of New York Citys long-term sustainability plan. All Our Ideas is also the tool behind The Governor Asks initiative, winner of the internal Citizen Feedback contest for World Bank staff.

Saudi Arabia blocks climate change from UN poverty goals

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:02:28 -0400

Saudi Arabia is leading calls for climate change to be omitted from the UNs 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). At an SDG meeting in New York recently attended by over 70 nations the Saudis, together with fellow oil producers Venezuela and the UAE called for discussions of climate change to be separated from those on energy. Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and other big oil exporters have already gained reputations as serial blockers at the these talks, which are at a delicate stage. Discussions outside of this forum can make some nations uneasy as evidenced by Chinas objections to climate being discussed at the UN Security Council.

Obervers believe Ban Ki-moon will pull together the development focused post-2015 panel and the more environment led SDG group. The SE4All targets, to double energy access, renewables penetration and energy efficiency, could form part of the SDGs.He has already expressed frustration with the slow progress of the UNs climate talks and could view the goals as another means to build momentum.

RCTs Awesome, but Then What?

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:00:21 -0400

Randomized evaluations became the chic international development approach a few years back, as they re-energized the aid effectiveness debate with the promise to unbury the causal links of program interventions and development. According to Brigham, Findley, Matthias, Petrey and Nielson, By assigning interventions to treatment and control groups, researchers can learn the causal effects of the projects and, by replication, accumulate knowledge of effective development practice in which we can place high confidence. Randomized evaluations tell us what worksand what doesnt. To twist Dani Rodriks terms slightly, We shall experiment, but how shall we learn from the outcomes of those experiments?

In a recent paper, Brigham, Findley, Matthias, Petrey and Nielson begin to tackle this critical question. The five authors contacted 1,419 micro-finance institutions (MFI), with an offer to partner on evaluations of their programs. With the offer, a randomized set of MFIs received positive information on the effectiveness of MFIs; a second set received negative information on the effectiveness of MFIs; while a third group received no additional information. Those that received the negative treatment are significantly and substantially less likely to respond to their offer, about 10% respond to the positive message, 5% respond to the negative message. The analysis thus concludes that there is significant confirmation bias among microfinance institutions. As attractive as randomization is, what good does it do if no one listens to the results they didnt want to hear?

Open Government: A Time for Self-Assessment

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:56:52 -0400

Since the first day of the Obama Administration, the Federal government has worked to make government more efficient, effective, and responsive to citizens needs. The Administration has harnessed new technology to engage the public, worked to disclose information more quickly, and given citizens a greater voice in decision-making.

In September 2011, the Administrations work was launched on the world stage when President Obama and other world leaders endorsed the principles of the global Open Government Partnership (OGP). As part of our commitment to OGP, the United States launched the National Action Plan, a set of twenty-six concrete commitments that help increase public integrity, promote public participation, manage public resources more effectively, and improve public services. Praised by civil society organizations and the public, the Plan stands as a great example of what we can do as a country when government, civil society, and the public collaborate together. As the President has said, Put simply, our countries are stronger when we engage citizens beyond the halls of government.

How Vietnamese Companies and International Financiers are driving a Land Grabbing Crisis in Cambodia and Laos

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:54:26 -0400

This report shows how vast amounts of land have been acquired for rubber plantations in Cambodia and Laos by two of Vietnams biggest largest companies, Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) and the Vietnam Rubber Group (VRG). The rubber barons are financed by international investors including Deutsche Bank and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) the private lending arm of the World Bank.

It lays bare the culture of secrecy and impunity that has allowed these two rubber giants to gain rights to more than 200,000 hectares of concession land through secretive deals with the Lao and Cambodian governments. They have close links with the regions corrupt political elites and operate with complete impunity, devastating local livelihoods and the environment in the process. Rubber Barons is the first expos of the role of international financiers in these land grabs. Deutsche Bank has multi-million dollar holdings in both companies, while the IFC invests in HAGL.

Recap: A Big Day for Open Data

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:43:06 -0400

Indeed, in a major step to provide innovative companies like Stormpulse with increased access to government data, the President signed a groundbreaking Executive Order and published a new open data policy requiring that going forward, data generated by the government be made available in open, machine-readable formats, while appropriately safeguarding privacy, confidentiality, and security.

President Obama said: And today Im announcing that were making even more government data available, and were making it easier for people to find and to use. And thats going to help launch more start-ups. Its going to help launch more businessesIts going to help more entrepreneurs come up with products and services that we havent even imagined yet. This kind of innovation and ingenuity has the potential to transform the way we do almost everything.

Why Open Data Matters: G-8 and African Nations Increase Open Data for Food Security

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:39:04 -0400

Jimmy Wambua, a social justice worker and young entrepreneur in Nairobi, Kenya, saw a problem. In a country where smallholder farmers grow the food that feeds the Kenyan people, crop yields were not reaching their full potential and growers were not getting a fair price. Decisions about what crops to plant and when were made on speculation and instinct, and farmers sold their crops based on prices offered by middlemen and traders. A solution seemed evident: increase access and sharing of information that already exists and is public, but is not in-use by the farmers. Jimmy joined the M-Farm organization that set up a text-message based mobile phone application for farmers to gain a better price by accessing market price for their crops- rather than relying on the word of the buyer- and provide a platform for farmers to sell their goods online. USAID contributed to the work of M-Farm- not through a grant or loan or other financial capital- but with information capital. With the release of an open data set from the Famine Early Warning System (FEWSNet) M-Farm now has access to ten years of historic data about market prices of crops, which show trends in crop price fluctuation, and enables better decision making on which crops to plant to yield the highest income.

M-Farms story was just one of dozens that took the stage April 29 & 30 at the G-8 International Open Agriculture Data Conference and showcased innovative organizations that use open data to support global food security. Dr. Howard-Yana Shapiro of Mars Global shared progress on mapping the genomes of over 100 crops that are vital to food security, but are overlooked because they are not commercially viable. Palantir Technologies and Grameen Foundation displayed their open data app that they developed at USAIDs Hack for Hunger,which uses community knowledge worker-collected data and Palantir analytics to build a crop-specific food security early warning system for farmers in Uganda.

Citizen Feedback Drives Performance Improvements in Kenyas Water and Sanitation Services

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:36:55 -0400

With support from the World Bank and the Water and Sanitation Program, the government of Kenya is working to address water shortages. The Kenya Water and Sanitation Services Improvement Project (WASSIP) is targeting major infrastructure investment, as well as strengthening governance reforms. As part of its project appraisal document (PAD) it committed to partner with the Water and Sanitation Program in strengthening social accountability. The strategy adopted by the Water and Sanitation Program is to assist the Water Services Regulatory Board (WASREB) to put in place community Water Action Groups, introducing citizen scorecards, and using information and communication technologies (ICT) to create a feedback platform that enhances the accountability of local utilities.

iHub Researchs Uchaguzi Monitoring & Evaluation Brief

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:34:18 -0400

During Kenyas 2013 General Election, Uchaguzi Kenya 2013, a joint initiative between SODNET, Ushahidi, CRECO, and Hivos (with support from CIDA), was used to help increase transparency and accountability through active citizen participation in the electoral cycle. Uchaguzi was coordinated through an ICT platform, which enabled Kenyans to keep an eye on the vote and provided avenues through which they could report, with any technology available to them, any incidences significant to the election.

Concurrent with the Uchaguzi deployment, iHub Research assessed how well Uchaguzi achieved its mission. The research will identify the strengths and weaknesses in the deployment and aims to create a toolkit of lessons learned that can be used by future ICT Election Watch deployments.

This brief is the first of 2 reports and is a first look at the Uchaguzi KE 2013 process. In June 2013, iHub Research will be publishing an in-depth report detailing the successes and challenges of the platform, especially around the key areas of technology, partnerships, publicity and outreach, and personnel.

Electronic governance, premise for implementation of electronic democracy

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:32:34 -0400

Living in a rapidly changing society, where information travels with great speed and its upgrade is essential, we decided to approach certain aspects of e-democracy, as a dynamic way of citizen participation, using new Information and Communications Technologies. The theme chosen for this research, Electronic governance, premise for implementation of electronic democracy, is a part of Electronic Administration field and identifies the meanings of implementing e-government and e-democracy, the necessity and effects of putting them into practice and the conditions to be fulfilled for the development of electronic services and fostering citizen participation in their use.

E-governance as well as e-democracy has a clear contribution in making social progress, thanks to capitalize the most important irreversible resource, the time for achievement of the main administrative operations. The overall objective of the research aims to establish the relationship between governance and electronic democracy. From this perspective, this paper will contain: analyzing the importance of both e-governance and e-democracy, risks and benefits for each one, clarifying the need and implications underlying the implementation of electronic systems and explain the conditions to be met by citizens in order to benefit from these services. To achieve the objectives set, will be dominant the analyzing method of the social phenomena in their evolution. They will also combine harmoniously with practical examples in various member states of the European Union.

Equal access participatory monitoring and evaluation toolkit

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:30:39 -0400

This toolkit aims to help communication for development (C4D) organisations to demonstrate the impacts and outcomes of their initiatives, listen to their listeners, continuously learn, and feed this learning back into the organisation and its practices. It is a key outcome of the Assessing Communication for Social Change (AC4SC) project, which was a successful collaboration between Equal Access Nepal, Equal Access International, Queensland University of Technology and the University of Adelaide, Australia.

The toolkit is guided by the principles of the Communication for Social Change approach to C4D and participatory monitoring and evaluation (PM&E). It is based on recent ideas about effective evaluation and evaluation capacity development and learnings from the AC4SC project. This toolkit aims to help C4D organisations to become learning organisations that regularly critically reflect on their work.

Either the whole toolkit, or individual modules can be used. The toolkit encourages you to include as many people and stakeholders in your monitoring and evaluation work as possible. Its methods are largely qualitative, because through qualitative approaches you often learn something new and unexpected and gather rich insights into the subtle processes involved in social change. However, it encourages you to use a range of methods, including those that provide useful quantitative data.

Strengthening the Demand and Supply for Better Village Governance

Fri, 17 May 2013 06:12:50 -0400

IRRAD's project nomination on "Strengthening the Demand and Supply for Better Village Governance" has been shortlisted as top 100 innovations out of close to 1000 nominations for Rockefeller Foundation Next Century Innovators Awards 2013.

Follow linkhttp://centennial.rockefellerfoundation.org/innovators/profile/sustainable-solutions-for-improving-rural-governanceto view the innovation and see how it is forging new pathways, changing the way services are delivered, and improving conditions in the rural areas to transform models, rights and acts into instruments of citizen empowerment and community development.

Too complicated for the field? Measuring quality of care in humanitarian aid settings

Fri, 17 May 2013 06:00:09 -0400

By Roland Kersten, Gtz Bosse, Frank Drner, Andrej Slavuckij, Gustavo Fernandez, Michael Marx

While quality of care is a major concern in the western world, not many studies investigate this topic in lowincome countries. Even less is known about the quality of care in humanitarian aid settings, where additional challenges from natural or manmade disasters contribute to additional challenges. This study tried to address this gap by introducing a new approach to systematically measure quality of care in a project of Medecins Sans Frontie`res (MSF) in Agok area, between South Sudan and Sudan. Our objective was to obtain a valid snapshot of quality of care for a MSF project in three weeks that has the potential to serve as a baseline for quality improvement strategies. The evaluation followed a cross-sectional study design to assess structural, process and outcome quality according to Donabedians criteria of quality of care. A bundle of wellestablished methods for collection of quantitative and qualitative data was used to assess the project by following a triangulated mixed-methods approach. Mean structural quality scored 73% of expected performance level and mean process quality 59%. The overall mortality rate for the hospital was 3.6%. On average, less complicated cases got a better level of care than patients who were seriously ill. Significant motivational issues were discovered in staff interviews potentially affecting quality of care. The tool appeared to be quick, feasible and effective in judging quality of care in the selected project. To tap the whole potential of the approach a re-evaluation should be carried out to assess the effectiveness of implemented improvement strategies in Agok. To confirm the usefulness of the approach, more studies are needed covering the variety of different humanitarian aid settings.

Alleviating Poverty: Mobile Communications, Microfinance and Small Business Development Around the World

Fri, 17 May 2013 04:12:24 -0400

The Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings releases this paper in conjunction with the May 16 forum at Brookings, Mobile Technologys Role in Combating Global Poverty and Enabling Entrepreneurship. Both are part of the wider Mobile Economy Project which examines how the rapid expansion of mobile technology around the world is transforming economic opportunity for millions.

OECD China Home Page

Fri, 17 May 2013 04:09:02 -0400

OECD Statistical Profile of China: More than 100 indicators covering a wide range of areas. Click on the red i beside each indicator to obtain the unit of measure, a definition of the indicator and a list of references.

Economic Survey of China 2013: Despite a glum global economic context, China is set to continue to catch up fast, propelled by ongoing urbanisation. Environmental pressures are on the rise, however, and greening growth has become a top policy priority.

Fostering greener and more inclusive growth in China: Chinas new leadership has signalled that it is time to step up the pace of reform, building on the remarkable economic and social achievements to date while recognising the pressing need for deep structural changes. Indeed, far-reaching reforms are necessary for continuing to raise living standards and well-being.

How Papua New Guinea uses tax to fund development

Fri, 17 May 2013 04:04:46 -0400

The government of Papua New Guinea has ambitious plans to expand its tax base to fund development activities. Central to these plans is work being carried out by Adam Smith International for Papua New Guinea's Internal Revenue Commission to implement the Standard Integrated Government Tax Administration System (Sigtas), a system that enables governments to automate the administration of taxes and licences.

Human capacity building is the first step to a successful implementation of the Sigtas technology system. So far the project has trained and certified 87 IRC staff on core Sigtas functions.

The project has also sought to ensure sustainable capacity building by training Internal Revenue Commission staff to provide this training themselves. Seven business and seven IT professionals were selected for the super users' group, responsible for providing Sigtas training as well as conducting user acceptance testing. The super users' group attended a competency based training of trainers programme provided by Papua New Guinea's Institute of Public Administration. Kaia Fabila, manager of transaction processing at the Internal Revenue Commission, said: "The training of trainers programme has helped me to design and prepare my sessions in such a way that my participants really understand how to use Sigtas."

The Institute of Public Administration evaluates the super users group on their training skills and successful candidates receive a qualification in training and assessment, recognised under Papua New Guinea's national qualification framework. As the project progresses, the most capable trainers will also receive further Institute of Public Administration training to lead the project's capacity building efforts from the front.

In addition to formal training, the super users group receives continued support and training from Adam Smith International project staff and have benefitted from working with Sigtas developers in Montreal, Canada. Business and IT professionals within the super users' group are paired together to prepare and deliver training sessions. "I've been able to learn about tax processes that I didn't know before by working with other super users", said Fabila.

The government of PNG aims to increase revenue by over 60% by 2017. The Internal Revenue Commission also aims to "be the best performing public sector agency in Papua New Guinea and the leading tax administration in the Pacific" and sets itself external benchmarks such as the Pacific Islands tax administration base line assessment framework which measures Papua New Guinea's operational capacity against a model tax administration. These ambitious plans require a revenue accounting system that delivers efficient and transparent tax management processes and a staff able and willing to administer it.

By establishing a core team to drive training forward and providing these staff with professional development opportunities, the project has fostered ownership of the project and laid the foundations for a workforce able to ensure effective service delivery. The project's capacity building efforts are also aligned with the Internal Revenue Commission's aims to develop nationally recognised training packages and establish its own tax learning and development academy.

The commissioner general of the IRC, Betty Palaso, said at the February launch of the five-year corporate plan for the organisation in Port Moresby: "The revenue commission will step-up with the launch of the corporate plan. This is a new path for the statutory authority." With these bold words comes an understanding that the big issues will have to be tackled head on. Improving taxpayer compliance, simplifying tax policies and procedures and broadening the country's tax base are just some of the issues the commission aims to pursue as part of its current plans. To help ensure sustainable development for the Internal Revenue Commission and those it seeks to serve, capacity building will be essential to the continued success of the tax computerisation project.

Content on this page is produced and controlled by Adam Smith International

Making African Voices Heard

Fri, 17 May 2013 03:49:09 -0400

If you rely on the Western-dominated global media for your picture of Africa, you will receive a very distorted view. We all have our own experiences of stereotypical images, sweeping generalisations and the famine and war agenda that characterise so much of the reporting of Africa to the world.

However, the last decade has seen a revolution in the news media. Newspapers, TV networks and news agencies, once impregnable, now face competition from bloggers, SMS traffic, tweeters and citizen journalists. Local is the new global. This all provides a golden opportunity for Africa to tell its own story to the world. We can bypass the bias of news editors in New York or London, break the stranglehold of the aid industry in shaping how Africa is reported, and counteract lazy daytrip journalism.

New Media New Image?is a practical workshop for journalists, bloggers and anyone with a story to tell about Africa. Taking place on May 29th in Windhoek, Namibia, this workshop will explore how the new media and technology can help to redress the balance in reporting and creating narratives of the new Africa.

The workshop will feature successful bloggers and social media experts who will share their stories and advice on how to create and market engaging content. We will explore how to target audiences at all levels, from hyper-local to global, and we will examine the latest technologies and platforms that can help you to drive traffic and get noticed.

Taking place as part of eLearning Africa, the largest gathering of eLearning and ICT supported education and training professionals in Africa, the workshop will be chaired by Adam Salkeld who has worked in the international news media in the UK and Africa. Adam will confess to the seven deadly sins of the foreign journalist, giving an insiders view of the problems in the international reporting of Africa.

Our panel will comprises of some real success stories in African new media:

Michelle Atagana is managing editor of the highly successful tech insight blog Memeburn in South Africa. A champion of African start-ups, Michelle will share her expertise in getting them noticed.
Mac-Jordan Degadjor is a Ghanaian blogger and social entrepreneur. A self confessed travel geek, he acts as an international speaker and evangelist on technology, freedom of speech, African ingenuity and a range of related topics. He is the regional editor of the Bertelsmann Foundations Future Challenges.
Beate Wedekind lives in Berlin and Addis Ababa and is the founder and CEO of The New Africa, a new media platform that brings together young African professionals, entrepreneurs and start-ups, and helps to put them on the international agenda. She is passionate about breaking down misconceptions about Africa and sharing success stories.

The workshop will present plenty of opportunities for discussion with the panel. There is no charge, but places in this workshop are limited. To apply to participate in this workshop, please contact press-service@icwe.net with your name, organisation and contact details. If approved, you will receive written confirmation from our press team. For more information about the workshop, please see http://www.elearning-africa.com/workshops/2013/workshop_a6.php. For more information about eLearning Africa 2013, which takes place from 29th 31st May in Windhoek, Namibia, please see http://www.elearning-africa.com.

Notes for editors

eLearning Africa, 8th International Conference on ICT for Development, Education and Training
May 29 - 31, 2013
Safari Conference Centre, Windhoek, Namibia
Organisers: ICWE GmbH (www.icwe.net), Government of the Republic of Namibia
eLearning Africa 2013 is supported by Platinum Sponsor DELL Wyse, and Gold Sponsors Microsoft and NComputing. Conference sponsors are: JP SA Couto, Gilat Satellite Networks, Teachers Media International (TMI), SES Broadband Service, ditions burnie and NVD SA

Contact
ICWE GmbH, Ms Rebecca Stromeyer
info@elearning-africa.com, www.eLearning-africa.com, Tel.: +49 (0)30 310 18 18-0

Press Contacts
ICWE GmbH, Claire Thrower
press-service@icwe.net, Tel.: +49 (0)30 310 18 18-0, Fax: +49 (0)30 324 98 33

Social media
Facebook: eLearning Africa Group
Twitter: @eLAconference #eLA13
LinkedIn: eLearning Africa

Press releases
www.elearning-africa.com/press_release.php

News Portal
www.ela-newsportal.com

Photographs
www.elearning-africa.com/media_library_galleries.php

Innovation or Sustainability: the Choice for African Education

Fri, 17 May 2013 03:45:52 -0400

Four controversial experts will take part in "a bare-knuckle fight" about priorities for African education at this year's eLearning Africa Debate.

Outspoken Scottish entrepreneur and blogger Donald Clark and Namibian teacher and eLearning expert Maggy Beukes-Amiss will square up to "mobile technology crusader" Adele Botha and Angelo Gitonga of the ICT for Education Unit of Kenya's Ministry for Education at the annual war of words. They'll be arguing about whether too much attention has been paid to innovation in education and not enough to sustainability.

"It's a big issue and there'll be a bare-knuckle fight," says Harold Elletson, who will chair the debate alongside Honourable Silvia Makgone, Deputy Minister of Education, Namibia. According to Dr Elletson, "Some people think that the focus on innovation and technology has just persuaded governments and consumers to invest in equipment that soon becomes redundant. They say that the priority should be to support projects that are sustainable. Other people argue that innovation is vital to Africa's competitiveness and future economic growth. They say that it should be at the heart of the education system."

The eLearning Africa Debate has become the highlight of the eLearning Africa conference, an annual gathering of experts and decision-makers from all over Africa and beyond. Traditionally one of the liveliest and best attended events at the conference, this year's debate is likely to stir up real controversy.

"It's an issue which affects everyone and on which everyone has an opinion," says Dr Elletson. "The debate is an opportunity for conference participants to say what they think about one of the most important issues for the future of education in Africa."

The motion for debate, which will be put to a vote, is "This house believes that sustainability is more important than innovation for education in Africa". The debate will be held at the Safari Conference Centre in Windhoek, Namibia. All conference participants are welcome to attend and to take part in what promises to be a tense and exciting climax to a fascinating conference.

Information on the debate can be found at http://www.elearning-africa.com/programme_debate.php, and the full conference programme can be found at http://www.elearning-africa.com/programme_table.php%20.

Notes for editors

eLearning Africa, 8th International Conference on ICT for Development, Education and Training
May 29 - 31, 2013
Safari Conference Centre, Windhoek, Namibia
Organisers: ICWE GmbH (www.icwe.net), Government of the Republic of Namibia

Contact

ICWE GmbH, Ms Rebecca Stromeyer
info@elearning-africa.com,www.eLearning-africa.com, Tel.: +49 (0)30 310 18 18-0

Press contacts

ICWE GmbH Claire Thrower
press-service@icwe.net,

Tel.: +49 (0)30 310 18 18-0,

Fax: +49 (0)30 324 98 33

Social media

Facebook:eLearning Africa Group

Twitter:@eLAconference#eLA13

LinkedIn:eLearning Africa

Press releases
www.elearning-africa.com/press_release.php

News Portal
www.ela-newsportal.com

Photographs
www.elearning-africa.com/media_library_galleries.php

Planters Development Bank & SME solutions: an example of a successful SME client

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:24:17 -0400

For this SME based in the Philippines - which received help from Planters Development Bank -the 3 following points are key to any SME success:

Financial support as the business expands

Products and services that are friendly especially for start-ups and innovative business ideas

Help SMEs in Risk Management, Corporate Governance and Regulatory Compliance

This presentation was given during a conference jointly organized by The Arab Monetary Fund and IFC on Building a High Performance Small Medium Enterprise Business in the Arab World on 7-8 May 2013 in Dubai, UAE.

Unlocking the SME Industrys Powerful Potential by Saad N. Mouasher, Senior Deputy CEO at Jordan Ahli Bank

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:20:41 -0400

Jordan Ahli Bank has several non-financial services to offer its SME clients: SME academy, SME toolkit, SME portal, social outreach, digital SME magazine, business support service (accounting, RH, mobile and tablet banking, customer relationship management).

Planters Development Bank & SME Solutions by Steven A. Tambunting, Director

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:17:44 -0400

Plantersbank has 40 years of experience in development banking and marketing financial services to SMEs in the Philippines. We stayed competitive because of our ability to understand and be flexible to the SMEs needs. This meant that we had to offer, both informally and formally, advisory services that were both financial and non-financial. Moving forward, we have recognized that our maverick, entrepreneurial spirit has led us to have to innovate to stay competitive. We believe offering IT services is the evolution of a community-based banking culture. We are after all intermediaries. Financial will go hand in hand with scaling-up thru IT, and the spirit of development banking as a tool for alleviating poverty will be realized with our Developmental IT program.

Non-Financial Services to SMEs by Banks - International Finance Corporation

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:13:55 -0400

This presentation defines what the non-financial services for SMEs are, explains what the bank are doing in this space and why they offer those services.

MSMEs: Bank opportunity to accelerate adoption of mobile financial services by Manaa Mobile

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:10:56 -0400

Maana Mobile is a mobile phone service that provides financial instruments appropriate for the unbanked population in South Africa using mobile phones. This mobile platform improves on everyday practices while building a track record that can lead to new trusted relationships and opportunities. It can be used by small businesses who give credit and offer lay byes to customers.

Kenya Commercial Bank and SME banking alternative channels, by Milkah Chebii from KCB

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:07:55 -0400

This presentation gives some details regarding KCB retail SME value proposition, the alternative channels available (such as Mobile banking, Agent Banking and Internet Banking) as well as the expected challenges and the risk and compliance management.

Biz2Credit, Helping small businesses grow

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:04:17 -0400

Biz2Credit is a cost effective online platform that provides the right kind and amount of credit but also some workflow tools and information in real-time. The online platform identifies five big touch points (books, productivity software, payroll system, payment platform, and marketing tool) and pulls out data from those. Biz2Credit is more than an online only platform; every SMEs owner is assigned a loan specialist that guides and helps him package his deal.

UNICEF podcast: Amina Mohammed says gender equality and girls education critical in post-2015 goals

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:01:42 -0400

Gender equality and education will be critical in planning the development agenda that succeeds the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), according to the Secretary-Generals Special Adviser on Post-2015 Development Planning Amina Mohammed.

With the international community assessing the gains made by the MDGs and forging a path for the future after the 2015 deadline, Ms. Mohammed has been appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to help create an inclusive and sustainable development plan.

To listen to the podcast, please visit: http://www.educationandtransition.org/resources/podcast-75-un-special-adviser-says-gender-equality-and-girls-education-critical-in-post-2015-goals-2/

Integrating Alternative Channels into SME Banking Value Proposition by Teresita B. Tan President, BPI Globe BanKO

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:01:38 -0400

BPI Globe BanKO is the Philippiness first mobile phone-based, microfinance-focused savings bank primarily serving the unbanked & under-banked D&E economic class ($2/day earner).

Islamic SME business model, by Israa Capital

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:58:25 -0400

Israa Capital presents its Islamic SME business model.This presentation was given during a conference jointly organized by The Arab Monetary Fund and IFC on Building a High Performance Small Medium Enterprise Business in the Arab World on 7-8 May 2013 in Dubai, UAE.

Ready for Growth: Solutions to Increase Access to Finance for Women-Owned Businesses in the Middle East and North Africa

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:55:28 -0400

This Survey from Vital Voices finds that women business owners in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have a strong appetite for expansion and are poised to contribute to economic growth, but require greater access to capital to grow their businesses.

Banking on Women: IFC Investment and Advisory Services Offering for Women-Owned SMEs

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:51:34 -0400

IFC analysis demonstrates the business case for banks targeting the Womens market. Banking on Women offers access to finance and advisory services for women entrepreneurs and helps strengthening financial Infrastructures.

WE Initiative by BLC Bank Lebanon

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:33:37 -0400

We Initiative is the first and only program dedicated to the economic empowerment of women in the MENA Region. Is has two main objectives: becoming the Bank of Reference and
the Employer Of Choice for Women through financial and non-financial products and services.

Providing Non-Financial Services to SMEs by Turgut BOZ Group Head of TEB SME Banking

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:30:16 -0400

Turgut BOZ explains TEB SME Banking offers specific services to its Turkish SMEs such as an SME academy, an SME TV, dedicated SME consultants, an SME club and an SME support line.

Customer management and experience, Roland Berger perspectives on client-centric banking

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:26:52 -0400

This presentation outlines the following key messages:

Conventional focus of customer management on business banking needs only (and credit !) does not suffice to make SME relationships profitable
To make Customer Management matter in a bank's operational, everyday reality, it needs to spell out the "customer experience", i.e. how client needs and preferences will actually be addressed
For an effective design of "experiences", the bank needs to understand what clients really value beyond their economic and industry sector profile
Customer Management guides the bank to action by identifying the critical enablers and that need to be in place to deliver these "experiences" consistently, and any need for improvement

Optimizing SME Banking Profitability Through Customer Management by Andrew McCartney, Global Product Specialist, SME Banking at IFC

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:19:51 -0400

This presentation outlines the following key messages:

SME Banking can be very profitable, but performance varies considerably across the industry
A key performance differentiator revolves around excellence in customer management
Excellence requires strength in managing the SME client through the key stages of the customer lifecycle
Implementing customer management effectively can be challenging, requiring infrastructure investment in four main areas
IFC has developed a set of tools to support banks realize the latent customer management opportunity

Mastering the SME banking risk management frontier by Mandeep Vohra, Head of SME Banking Risk Africa, Middle East and Pakistan at Standard Chartered Bank

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:15:48 -0400

Mandeep Vohra from Standard Chartered Bank outlines the various risk management approaches for banking SMEs and the need to have a distinct team of SME Risk specialist.