The UK Department for International Development presented Vijay Shrestha, IOD PARC staff member based in Kathmandu, Nepal, with a plaque recognising his work as the Programme Manager for the successful Livelihoods and Forestry Programme on Friday 12^th April. The programme ran from 2001 and built on the success of the UK's earlier engagement in the Nepal forest sector.  This presentation formed part of the celebrations of the 30 years of work done by the Centre for International Development and Training (University of Wolverhampton).

 The plaque recorded the following:

On 12 April 2013, we have gathered to show our appreciation to; 

VIJAYA NARAYAN SHRESTHA 

for his 25 years of work with the UK Department for International Development and his outstanding contributions to improve the lives of the poor and excluded through Forestry Sector Development in Nepal. 

We especially thank Vijaya for his leadership of the highly successful Nepal-UK Community Forestry Programme and Livelihoods and Forestry Programme. You have set the standard for excellence, dedication, and leadership. 

The success of Nepal’s Community Forestry Sector, recognised globally, owes much to you. You have inspired and mentored many, ensuring the next generation of community forestry leaders are ready to take up the challenges ahead.

Your contributions and successes will continue to inspire all of us.

On behalf of the management and staff at DFID Nepal, past and present, we wish you all the best in your future.

Dominic O'Neill

Head of DFID Nepal

Photograph by Craig Fleming 

IOD PARC company director Sheelagh O’Reilly joined a panel of leading practitioners, academics and campaigners at a public debate on the intersection of human rights, activism and international development at the launch of the Sheffield Institute for International Development (SIID) on 24th April at Sheffield City Hall.

The panel included Yasmin Hussein (Amnesty International Programme Director for International Advocacy), Professor Gordon Crawford (University of Leeds), Ben Rawlence (formerly of Human Rights Watch, Africa Division) and was chaired by Professor Uma Kothari of the University of Manchester. The discussion was lively and engaging, with topics ranging from the practicality of universal human rights, whether aid and development funding should be stopped to countries who breached human rights conventions, and the impact of social technologies on the practice of human rights activism and advocacy.

Sheelagh said:

“The launch of SIID provides an excellent opportunity to combine the development of theoretical understanding of the complex area that is global development with a truly grounded framework for implementation.  This is important as the combination of theory and practice can provide formidable evidence to support work to enable all humans to be able to lead dignified lives where basic rights of life, liberty and subsistence form the common ground of activism.   Within an increasingly connected world the issues of land rights, food rights and water availability for human and non-humans need to be addressed actively to ensure that the basic building blocks of a dignified life remain at the forefront of processes to facilitate an equitable and sustainable future for the planet.”  

The launch event had earlier seen Clare Short, former Secretary of State for International Development, take the stage to deliver a powerful speech, setting out her take on the context the new Institute is will be working within. The former Labour MP, who quit Tony Blair’s Government over the Iraq war, was guest of honour and urged the new institute to tackle the challenges of climate change, last stage capitalism and international social justice in a time of great geo-political upheaval across the globe. You can watch a participant filmed video of that speech here.

The Institute, which counts IOD PARC Director Mark Keen as an advisory board member, will be a flagship research centre that will work in collaboration with institutions, Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and partners from across the globe.

Vice Chancellor of the University of Sheffield Sir Keith Burnett said:

“The Institute plays a vital role by providing a broad understanding of international development among researchers and opinion makers, as well as to business leaders and the members of the public. Building on the academic skills that already exist within the University of Sheffield, the Institute for International Development will strengthen those skills further by recruiting internationally prominent guest researchers and establishing international research and education collaborations – an approach which will help us target our efforts in ways that really make a difference.

“The Sheffield Institute for International Development will also help to address a number of pressing international policy issues. The vision of the Institute is to become a leading International Centre of Excellence that attracts researchers from around the world and from a range of disciplines. These new ideas and networks will also benefit our research and teaching and provoke real change in the world.”

 The first article, entitled The Paris Declaration Evaluation Process and Methods, describes the design, methodology and implementation of the Evaluation, when confronted with the challenge of assessing the effects of a policy compact between nations, and linking development results to the implementation of a broad reform agenda. It provides some lessons learned for complex transnational studies.

The second article, entitled Results of the Paris Declaration Evaluation, summarises the results of the Evaluation in terms of the relevance and implementation of the Declaration, its contributions to aid effectiveness and development results, the changing burdens of aid management, the added value of Paris Declaration-style development cooperation, and key implications for future aid effectiveness reforms.  The conclusions and recommendations of the synthesis report are presented.

 The journal can be found at:  http://evaluationcanada.ca/site.cgi?s=4&ss=21&_lang=en&volume=2012//3

The Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness was endorsed in 2005 by over 150 countries and organisations. The Declaration was considered a landmark international agreement and the culmination of several decades of attempts to improve the quality of aid and its impact on development. It laid out a roadmap of 56 practical commitments. In 2008, the principles were reaffirmed and the Accra Agenda for Action added.

The Phase II evaluation of The Paris Declaration was the largest evaluation of international aid ever conducted. It involved more than 50 studies in 21 partner countries and across 18 donor agencies, a journey of more than a year, which led up to the High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan, in November 2011. The evaluation – which was trilingual – was managed by IOD PARC, who provided the Core International Team and project management function; designed the methodology; supported the production of the independent country and donor studies; and produced the final Synthesis report.

The Evaluation has won the American Evaluation Association’s award for the Outstanding Evaluation of 2012.  For more details please see: http://www.eval.org/aea12.awards.press.release.doc