What is new about the BRICS-led New Development Bank?

Originally published on Devex on 9 May 2016

About three weeks ago, the board of directors of one of the world’s newest multilateral institutions, the New Development Bank of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, met on the sidelines of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund spring meetings in Washington, D.C., to approve its first set of loans.

Valued at $811 million, this first tranche of funding will support renewable energy projects across the BRICS countries including two solar energy projects in India and China, and a hydropower dam in Russia. For Brazil, it created a credit line worth $300 million for renewable energy projects such as solar and wind power.

When the idea of a BRICS-led development bank was first announced by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa four years ago in New Delhi, it was met with a range of reactions from wariness to cautious optimism to overt celebration. Almost from day one, it was seen to be a direct challenge to existing development banks, notably the Western-dominated World Bank and IMF. BRICS governments have maintained that their bank serves to complement and not substitute these institutions.

But what exactly is new about the New Development Bank?

Three key features set the NDB apart from existing multilateral development banks: “south-south” cooperation, equity in power-sharing and sustainable development.

Each of the BRICS governments has ownership of one-fifth of the share of the Bank, which translates into an equal say in decision-making. This is unlike the World Bank or the IMF where decision-making power is heavily skewed in favor of a particular set of countries.The creation of a development bank by countries of the “global south” for the global south is both unique and necessary. It has been created to meet the specific development needs of the global south, namely those of infrastructure. Based on their own experiences as recipients of foreign aid from the “global north,” the BRICS governments are keen to ensure that development funding provided by them is free of political conditionalities and is disbursed without delays.

Perhaps the single most important differentiating feature of the NDB is its stated commitment to the principle of sustainable development. This is a departure from a business-as-usual approach.

But apart from stating that sustainable development will be linked to the financing of particular kinds of infrastructure projects, namely “green” or renewable energy projects, the NDB has been less clear about how it will ensure that these projects will be rooted in sustainable practices. Also unclear is whether and how they will be linked to the implementation of the internationally agreed Sustainable Development Goals. While the bank has officially opened for business, addressing these questions will be critical for the next phase of the NDB.

The NDB could incentivize governments to design projects that are respectful toward the environment and local communities. It could offer differential interest rates and repayment terms on loans given to governments, depending on the latter's ability to meet certain criteria such as their consideration of potential socio-environmental impacts of projects, project alignment with international best practice in sustainable development and integration of key components of the Sustainable Development Goals. These criteria could be consolidated into a composite index to measure the actual sustainability of projects, both in terms of processes employed and outcomes achieved.

Linking sustainable development to incentives would encourage governments to think about sustainable practices not as bureaucratic formalities or risks, but as actions ultimately linked to better development outcomes. This would be a major shift in the way environmental and social standards are currently conceived in the international financial architecture.

While these are no doubt important questions for BRICS policymakers and the NDB’s officials to consider, they also open up the space for greater engagement by civil society. Defining the precise sustainability criteria against which projects could be judged for selection is an area where civil society could provide input. Civil society could also play a critical role in providing oversight of the NDB’s lending practices by ensuring that these preagreed criteria are indeed used to inform the bank's decision-making.

The NDB is expected to inject fresh thinking into development practice. It has already laid down the framework for this by placing sustainable development at the core of its mandate. Acknowledging that sustainable development is as much an outcome as it is a process will help to further guide the Shanghai-based bank in its selection and implementation of projects. As the NDB embarks on this journey, it should proactively encourage dialogue with different stakeholders, including civil society actors, who could be valuable partners in this process.

About the authors

Supriya Roychoudhury

Supriya Roychoudhury is a researcher, published author and commentator on "south-south" development cooperation issues, specializing in Indian development cooperation policy. She previously led Oxfam India’s foreign policy program.

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Karin Costa Vazquez

Karin Costa Vazquez is an adviser and researcher specialized in international cooperation for development, strategic planning and operations. She has worked with the World Bank, UNDP, and the Brazilian Ministry of External Relations, and published extensively on BRICS's contribution to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Transparência da cooperação para o desenvolvimento: para que e para quem?

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Hoje recebi um email de um querido amigo brasileiro com o seguinte título: 'Talvez vocês achem interessante.' E era tão interessante que virou blog post.

O email trazia o link para o Aid Transparency Index 2014 da ONG inglesa Publish What You Fund. Trata-se de um ranking de transparência dos países que prestam cooperação internacional para o desenvolvimento. O ranking usa o standard de transparência do International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) e mostra o Brasil em 59 lugar em uma lista de  68 países. 

O Brasil disponibiliza boa parte dos dados que compõem o IATI standard no site da Agência Brasileira de Cooperação. Se essas informações estivessem no formato IATI e fossem publicadas no 'registry' da iniciativa, o Brasil possivelmente ganharia muitas posições no ranking. Me parece que isso não demandaria maiores esforços do Brasil, para além de atualizar e sistematizar informação que já existe e que já é pública. Ok, dá um trabalhinho sim... :-)

Contudo, como país não signatário de Busan, por considerar o IATI uma iniciativa de países do CAD-OCDE e por acreditar que o formato IATI não abarca aspectos críticos para a CSS (como a monetização de horas técnicas, a transferência de conhecimento e tecnologia, e resultados de desenvolvimento) isso ainda não acontece. Há, portanto, razões políticas e técnicas para não reportar dados segundo o standard IATI.

Boa parte dos componentes do standard IATI são aplicáveis à cooperação Sul-Sul. Ainda assim, o IATI reconhece as incongruência técnicas remanescentes e tem tentado criar módulos específicos para que países possam reportar a CSS. O mesmo tem sido feito com a cooperação humanitária e financiamento das mudanças climáticas de maneira experimental e voluntária. 

No aspecto político, o fato de a maioria das organizações que reportam segundo o standard IATI serem governos e ONGs do 'Norte' não ajuda diminuir as resistências de países como o Brasil. Outro aspecto importante é a dificuldade que o IATI sempre teve de ganhar tração nos países 'receptores'. Curiosamente, essa semana reencontrei um amigo do Ministério da Fazenda de Bangladesh que confirmou a permanente dificuldade do IATI em conectar com os sistemas nacionais de gestão da cooperação para o desenvolvimento. 

Apesar de ser uma das prioridades da iniciativa, ainda são poucos os países 'receptores' que de fato usam o standard IATI para monitorar os resultados e impacto da cooperação recebida.

...e seguimos nossa luta diária por um maior e melhor entendimento da cooperação Sul-Sul, maior transparência e diálogo entre as várias iniciativas.

Indian Cabinet approves tripartite agreement to boost ‪IBSA Fund‬

A model for the creation of other Southern-led financial mechanisms to fight poverty, including within the New Development Bank?

Indian Cabinet approves tripartite agreement to boos IBSA Fund
Originally published at the BRICS Post

November 18, 2015, 3:10 pm

The IBSA Fund aids the least developed countries in the world [Xinhua]

The Indian Cabinet has approved the signing of a tripartite agreement among India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA), for the IBSA Fund for the Alleviation of Poverty and Hunger that was created in 2004.

Each of the IBSA’s members annually assigns $ 1 million to the Fund.

The IBSA Fund is a unique vehicle in the context of South-South cooperation.

The IBSA countries contribute $1 million each annually to the Fund, which till January 2015 has accumulated to $28.2 million, with total implemented/approved projects commitment of $26.2 million, and remaining $2.09 million available for programming.

Working through the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and its Office for South-South Cooperation, the fund has made interventions in agriculture, rural electrification, waste management and health in some of the least developed countries in the world, among them Burundi, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Sierra Leone and Palestine.

The IBSA Fund was conferred the South-South Partnership Award at the 2006 UN Day event held in New York in December 2006.

Meanwhile, Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira who is on an official visit to India, will attend the 7th India-Brazil Joint Commission meeting on Thursday in New Delhi.

Vieira will hold talks with his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj and Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley later on Thursday.

IBSA acts in three main areas: political coordination, sectorial cooperation, and the IBSA Fund.

NeST launches analytical framework for South-South cooperation

This post was originally published on the SAIIA website. Authors are responsible for the concepts, ideas, views and opinions disseminated in the blog posts.

In March 2015 a group of 25 prominent academics and development co-operation experts from the Network of Southern Think Tanks (NeST) gathered in Midrand, South Africa to discuss a common analytical framework for South−South co-operation. Representatives from Brazil; China; Colombia; India; Kenya; Malawi; Mexico; Mozambique; Namibia; South Africa; Turkey; Uganda; and Zimbabwe; provided insights and discussed conceptual and methodological dimensions of measuring the quantum, quality and impact of South-South Co-operation within the arena of international development.

This was the first meeting in a series of Technical Working Groups tasked with developing a Southern analytical framework. As part of a wider consultation to provide inputs to NeST’s conceptual work, a multi-stakeholder policy dialogue on the topic ‘Emerging Partners in Africa’s Development’ was organised to discuss the rol and contribution of South−South co-operation to international development and appropriate monitoring and accountability frameworks for such. A subsequent Technical Working Group has since been held, in Johannesburg in early September to further develop the indicators to measure the quality of South-South partnerships and processes.

The working document titled; “Developing a Conceptual Framework for South-South Cooperation”, summaries the insights, consensus and divergences emerging from the various technical workshops of the Network of Southern Think Tanks. The working document covers areas such as: Defining South-South Co-operation; Information Management for South-South Co-operation; Evaluating the Impact of South-South Cooperation; Assessing the Quality of South-South Cooperation; along with updates from the various National and Regional chapters of NeST.

Private sector contribution to development: the Interamerican Development Bank ‘South-South Knowledge Transfer Program’ experience

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The exchange of knowledge and technology among countries of the global South to accelerate development has gained new impetus over the past years. Most South-South cooperation, however, focuses on government-to-government initiatives, thereby overlooking the potential contribution of non-state actors, particularly private sector organizations and networks.

Within the South-South and triangular cooperation framework, chambers of commerce, business associations, private foundations, universities and financial institutions have been developing innovative solutions to development challenges. Many are investing in knowledge and skills development to build productive capacities and integrate the disadvantaged to the market. Others are developing innovative business and financial instruments to foster entrepreneurship. These initiatives are being exchanged by private entities directly or in collaboration with governments through Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).

In Latin America and the Caribbean, the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) has been using the vast repository of knowledge generated by private entities to boost development in the region. Launched in 2009, the South-South Knowledge Transfer Program replicates successful MIF projects by capturing knowledge derived from those initiatives and reusing it in other institutions facing similar development challenges. Between 2009 and 2014, 11 projects in areas like value chain development, youth entrepreneurship, microfinance and business incubation were funded. These projects provided direct benefits to 45 public and private organizations, 150 additional local institutions, 350 technical staff, and more than 3,500 individuals in 17 countries.

In Colombia, the MIF supported the Chamber of Commerce of Cartagena (CCC) develop methodologies, technical assistance initiatives, and training programs to enhance small retailers businesses. The service sector accounts for approximately 50% of Colombia’s gross domestic product and employs 60% of the economically active population. Approximately 700,000 neighborhood shops provide more than one million jobs, and account for 62% of the sector’s businesses. Yet, Colombian retailers face numerous challenges such as limited business education, inadequate facilities, and unfamiliarity with the laws governing businesses. CCC and MIF helped over 300 retailers move from survival strategies to efficient and profitable businesses.

The Chambers of Commerce of Ibagué, Cauca, Guajira, and Quibdó, who had been exposed to CCC methodologies, expressed their interest to learn more from the experience. These chambers had started similar initiatives, but they were mostly ad hoc efforts with little impact on the ground. Working with CCC and the South-South Knowledge Transfer Program was therefore an opportunity to develop more structured and systematic initiatives based on a previously tested experience. In Cauca, the project helped increase sales by 20% and USD20 million were reinvested to expand and/or modernize businesses. In La Guajira, the microenterprise development program was incorporated into the portfolio of the Chamber of Commerce and is being replicated in other sectors.

Through the various initiatives supported so far, the South-South Knowledge Transfer Program has learned that the limited availability of best practices and mechanisms in matching the supply and the demand for knowledge and technology hinder more pro-development initiatives by the private sector. Acquiring, adapting, and applying the knowledge generated by private entities is a medium-term process, and recurrent interaction is necessary in all relationships. Hence, the program has been combining one off activities (i.e. trainings and visits) and support services (i.e. technical assistance, advisory, mentoring, and online communities) over time to advance and strengthen partners’ learning process.

One example was the transfer of the Uruguayan Ingenio’s expertise in supporting startup businesses to other business incubators in El Salvador, Panama and Paraguay. The transfer consisted of a sequence of training and mentoring activities in each participating country designed to match specific partners’ needs. The transfer also included reference materials and networks to enhance personal ties and contact opportunities beyond the project life span. The project originally intended to create a virtual learning community to deepen networking among the four partners, but the lack of a communication and knowledge management strategy as well as funds to maintain the IT system and manage the community after the end of the project limited the results of this particular effort.

The knowledge generated by private-sector entities and networks has the potential to become innovative development experiences that can be replicated and scaled up. South-South and triangular cooperation should build on this knowledge to catalyze change of greater magnitude, including through public-private partnerships. More information on private sector-led experiences and public-private partnerships in development should be collected to enhance knowledge exchange instruments and the adaptation of these experiences to the local context.

Network of Southern Think Tanks (NeST) in Action - How to Measure SSC Impact

This post was originally published on the South-South Opportunity by Multipolar. Authors are responsible for the concepts, ideas, views and opinions disseminated in the blog posts.

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The new year has started with great news for Southern academia working on South-South and triangular cooperation. Building up on previous attempts - notably the extinct Task Team on South-South Cooperation and the subsequent BRICS Academic Fora -, the Network of Southern Think Tanks (NeST) was launched in 2014. It strives to provide a "global platform for Southern Think Tanks to collaboratively generate, systematize, consolidate and share knowledge on South-South Cooperation (SSC) approaches in international development."

Currently key members include RIS (India) - hosting the Secretariat -, CAU (China), IPEA (Brazil), as well as SAIIA and WSG (both South Africa). In particular think tanks, universities, research institutes and NGOs from countries receiving SSC are warmly invited to become "Nest-ed".

One of the key tasks for the NeST will be to assess the quantity, quality and impact of SSC, as a way to respond to the manifold challenges still found in the institutional and operational reality of today's SSC. To this end, the global NeST effort will be enriched by national NeST chapters. Two of these have recently been launched in South Africa and Brazil, with great energy for all involved stakeholders.

In addition, the NeST held a first global Policy Dialogue on Measuring the Impact of SSC in Midrand, South Africa, on March 3 2015, with participation of academia from numerous African and LAC countries (more details here and agenda here). The outcomes will be available soon, so stay tuned to the NeST here at southsouth.info and other partnering platforms.

Cooperação técnica Sul-Sul brasileira em 2015: integração, transparência e os Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável

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Coincidentemente, essa semana dois queridos amigos me perguntaram sobre a evolução do orçamento da Agência Brasileira de Cooperação nos últimos anos e minhas perspectivas para a cooperação técnica brasileira Sul-Sul em 2015.  Os dados a seguir dão algumas pistas:

O orçamento executado pela Agência Brasileira de Cooperação (ABC) em projetos de cooperação técnica com outros países em desenvolvimento registaram recorde histórico em 2010. Desde então, a execução orçamentária da cooperação técnica Sul-Sul ofertada pelo Brasil tem sofrido forte revés. Tendência bastante semelhante é observada por região receptora da cooperação técnica brasileira: exceto na Ásia, Europa Oriental e Oriente Médio, onde o volume de recursos executados teve leve aumento entre 2010 e 2011, todas as demais regiões sofreram redução ininterrupta nos últimos 4 anos. Até  junho de 2013, a execução orçamentária da cooperação técnica Sul-Sul brasileira estava cerca de 34% abaixo do patamar de 2008. 

Ainda que os números não indiquem o orçamento global da ABC nem incluam os dados mais recentes, há fortes sinais de que a queda tenha continuado (e até mesmo se acentuado) em 2014. No último ano, o Ministério das Relações Exteriores (MRE) sofreu um dos maiores cortes orçamentários de toda a esplanada (quase 40%) e são frequentes os relatos sobre encerramento de contratos de funcionários terceirizados da ABC, descontinuidade na implementação de projetos de cooperação técnica Sul-Sul, entre outros.

Os dados disponíveis tampouco mostram a evolução do orçamento executado pela Agência Brasileira de Cooperação (ABC) em projetos de cooperação técnica Sul-Sul vis a vis o total da cooperação brasileira para o desenvolvimento, composta inclusive pela cooperação técnica conduzida diretamente por outros entes do governo federal como parte de suas relações institucionais. É possível indagar se a ABC também teria tido a sua capacidade de coordenação reduzida nos últimos anos, e em que medida essas iniciativas coordenam e integram entre si.

Perspectivas para a cooperação Sul-Sul brasileira em 2015

A definição das abordagens, estratégias de atuação e recursos para a implementação da agenda de desenvolvimento pós 2015 traz oportunidade única para revigorar a cooperação técnica Sul-Sul brasileira. O rumo da cooperação técnica Sul-Sul brasileira, contudo, ainda depende da confirmação do atual Ministro das Relações Exteriores ou da nomeação de futuro titular, das diretrizes para a política externa, e da aprovação do orçamento.

Três pontos merecem destaque em 2015:

  

1. Integração da cooperação técnica Sul-Sul brasileira com outras modalidades de cooperação para o desenvolvimento: A cooperação técnica Sul-Sul brasileira tem na "abordagem estruturante" a base para a identificação, desenho e implementação de seus projetos. Essa abordagem se baseia no conceito de "desenvolvimento de capacidades", entendida como fortalecimento de capital humano,  instituições e sistemas por meio da transferência de experiências e tecnologias com potencial para promover o desenvolvimento autônomo de outros países. Apesar de serem iniciativas de mais longo prazo, que envolvem diferentes atores, e que combinam mais de uma modalidade de cooperação, pouco se sabe sobre os mecanismos de coordenação entre os diferentes entes públicos cooperantes e entre eles e o setor privado. O primeiro artigo do Dossiê CEBRI Brasil-Africa traz um estudo de caso e evidencias iniciais de como essa integração ocorre na prática e pode ser reforçada segundo os princípios que guiam a cooperação Sul-Sul.

2. Sistematização,  regularização,  divulgação e análise dos micro-dados da cooperação técnica Sul-Sul: Os dados globais por tipo de cooperação devem ser publicados com maior regularidade por meio dos relatórios COBRADI. A sistematização e divulgação de dados desagregados por tipo de cooperação deve ser o passo seguinte para maior e melhor análise dos fluxos financeiros, abordagens, instrumentos e resultados alcançados em diferentes países e áreas de desenvolvimento. Uma maior desagregação de dados quantitativos e qualitativos também ajudaria a entender como a cooperação técnica Sul-Sul brasileira teria contribuído para alcançar os Objetivos de Desenvolvimento do Milênio e que lições podem ser extraídas para a definição de indicadores globais dos fluxos e resultados da cooperação Sul-Sul.

3. Cooperação Sul-Sul (CSS) e implementação da Agenda Pós-2015: Primeiro, a relação entre CSS e a agenda pós-2015 passa pela capacidade interna da ABC e seus parceiros em entender os fatores de sucesso das experiências de desenvolvimento nacionais e incorpora-los no desenho e implementação dos projetos de cooperação técnica Sul-Sul, segundo as prioridades de desenvolvimento e contexto local. Isso requer desde um corpo técnico próprio qualificado e instrumentos de gestão do conhecimento, monitoramento e avaliação; até uma política nacional para a cooperação para o desenvolvimento que contemple, entre outros aspectos, mecanismos de coordenação inter-ministerial e alocação de recursos. Essa discussão está intimamente relacionada à maior definição acerca da possível criação da Agência Brasileira de Cooperação, Desenvolvimento e Investimento. Segundo, será  necessário maior proatividade do Brasil nos fóruns globais sobre cooperação para o desenvolvimento e no tratamento da cooperação técnica Sul-Sul em regimes internacionais como comércio, direitos humanos e meio ambiente. Mais projetos de cooperação técnica poderiam ir além do intercâmbio de experiências e se integrarem mais com as agendas multilaterais de desenvolvimento. 

Referências:
ABREU, Fernando (2013). A evolução da Cooperação Técnica Internacional no Brasil. Mural Internacional, V. 4, N. 2, Julho-Dezembro 2013.

ABREU, Fernando (2013). Apresentação de Power Point. Colóquio: O Brasil e a Cooperação Sul-Sul. BRICS Policy Center, em 28 de junho de 2013. Arquivo disponível em:
http://bricspolicycenter.org/homolog/arquivos/e.pdf