International Development - Audio

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Climate, Disasters, and Other Shocks: Are Countries Ready? Jun 05, 2019

Show notes

Climate, disasters, and other shocks put hard-won progress at risk of crumbling. Anticipating these challenges can help to preserve gains and prevent domino effect collapse. But there are many emerging tools for policymakers and planners to anticipate changes, shocks, and fragility in the developing world.
In Spring 2019, KPMG will publish its annual Change Readiness Index (CRI) as a tool to evaluate a country’s ability to grow and respond to global issues, meet goals, cultivate opportunities, and mitigate challenges. The CRI helps to plan for the shocks described above which can disrupt global development progress, policy, and planning. In the age of information, with competing national priorities and goals, myriad news and analysis sources, and emerging technological tools for evaluating global progress, the CRI is one of the best sources of information that can feed into planning and executing international development strategies.
Please join CSIS for opening remarks from Laura Frigenti, followed by a public panel discussion that will evaluate how public goods like the CRI—in addition to other tools— can help increase preparedness in developing countries with modern analytics.
This event is made possible by generous support from KPMG.

Report Launch: Rethinking Taxes and Development May 31, 2019

Show notes

Please join us for May 31 for the public launch of our report, Rethinking Taxes and Development: Incorporating Political Economy Considerations in DRM Strategies.

This report analyzes the political economy opportunities and constraints of domestic resource mobilization on the road to self-reliance. CSIS, in partnership with DAI, conducted research in Kampala, Uganda and Monrovia, Liberia to assess the current political and economic conditions affecting DRM reform efforts. Uganda and Liberia were selected because both are low-income countries struggling to expand their respective tax bases, increase tax-payer morale, have equitable tax administrations, and implement reforms to mobilize more domestic resources. Many of the constraints in both countries relate to transparency, corruption, underdeveloped systems and low capacity of tax authorities. However, many of the constraints are more political in nature, including a lack of support in parliament, outsized influence of the elite, entrenched bureaucratic interests, resistance from the private sector, unpopular changes to legislation and general distrust of government by civil society.

This report offers a fresh perspective for U.S. policymakers and other development agencies on how they can better partner with developing country governments on the shared goal of increased DRM, focusing on addressing the political economy opportunities and constraints to increasing the impact of development efforts.

This report is made possible by DAI's generous contributions to and cooperation with the Project on Prosperity and Development.

Beyond Technology: The Fourth Industrial Revolution in the Developing World May 21, 2019

Show notes

On May 21, the CSIS Project on Prosperity and Development will be releasing an essay anthology on the fourth industrial revolution. The authors include Romina Bandura, Christina Campbell-Zausner, William Carter, MacKenzie Hammond, Sonia Jorge, Casper Klynge, Aaron Milner, Maiko Nakagaki, Peter Raymond, Nilmini Rubin, Daniel Runde, and Steven Zausner.
There are not going to be driverless Ubers in Lagos anytime soon. Robots are not going to steal millions of jobs from American miners or factory workers. Nor will our genes be spliced with technological enhancements to defeat diseases and to supercharge our neurons. Not yet, at least.
But we are beginning to see symptoms of the globally disruptive phenomenon known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR)*. Rapid periods of past technological industrialization have created tectonic shifts in societies throughout human history. Diverse technologies have grown and scaled to knock off behemoths and traditions to become the next giants themselves.
Some of these technologies that will define next-generation human enterprise, connectivity, and lifestyles already are here, but they haven’t been scaled to everyday utilization. For example, the vertical lift technology for flying cars has been around for years, but the regulatory environment, legal considerations, and other issues currently outweigh the benefit to innovate. Just because society has these technologies does not mean they will roll out. There are growing speed bumps to technology around privacy, competition, and equitable access. Technologies’ dramatic impact on everyday life could take a long time, but just like previous revolutions, if we do not plan for these evolutions now, we won’t benefit from them in the future.
This event is made possible through generous support of the Royal Danish Embassy in Washington D.C.

A Demand-Driven Approach to Development May 15, 2019

Show notes

In many countries, financing development challenges such as humanitarian disasters, communicable diseases, and basic social services have, until recently, relied heavily on foreign aid or official development assistance (ODA). The landscape has been slowly shifting towards a development approach that is more “demand-driven”: steered and owned by developing countries in partnership with donors.
In many developing countries, especially low-income countries, foreign aid still plays a significant role in financing government priorities and will continue to play a crucial role in the years to come. Yet foreign assistance is not adapting to the changing landscape of developing countries, and there is concern whether donors like the United States are able to deliver the level of flexibility and variety that countries are demanding. This shift towards demand driven development and increased country ownership requires rethinking the way aid is delivered, and the relationship between donor and recipient countries. In order to ensure that low-income countries—particularly fragile and conflict-affected states—make progress, the United States and other donors will need to embrace new approaches and instruments to tackle persisting challenges.
This event will launch a new report that discusses the concept and importance of a demand-driven approach to development from a U.S. perspective. The discussion will focus on the programmatic and policy changes that need to take place to fully adopt the principles of a demand driven approach.
This event is made possible through generous support of the Royal Danish Embassy in Washington D.C.

Refugees and Migrants: A Test of Civilization May 03, 2019

Show notes

CSIS and USA for IOM cordially invite you to a book launch of We’re in Danger! Who Will Help Us? Refugees and Migrants: A Test of Civilization with author James Purcell.
While millions of people are displaced around the globe and thousands more contemplate dangerous journeys in search of a better life, We’re in Danger! Who Will Help Us? draws on lessons from the “refugee decade” to inform responses to today’s crises. During the 1980s, major humanitarian emergencies erupted throughout the world. Indochina was the first complex refugee crisis the global humanitarian community faced after World War II. The international community devised new and creative approaches, with victims of crises at the center of policy decision-making, toward humane and durable solutions. Knowledge gained from Indochina and simultaneous crises in other regions proved invaluable in addressing critical challenges in various parts of the world. Mr. Purcell shares his experiences leading the U.S. State Department's Bureau for Refugee Programs (now called Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to call for multilateral approaches—incorporating refugee-decade lessons learned—to solve current and future humanitarian crises.
Please join us for a conversation with James Purcell, author of We’re in Danger! Who Will Help Us? and Chairman of USA for IOM followed by a reception. Mr. Purcell is the Former Director General of the IOM and Former Director of the U.S. State Department’s Bureau for Refugee Programs.
Mr. Purcell will be available for book signing from 3:30 PM – 4:00 PM. The public event will run from 4:00 PM – 5:15 PM and will be followed by a food and beverage reception from 5:15 PM – 6:00 PM.
Books will be available for purchase and signing before the event. Ten percent of all proceeds will benefit USA for IOM and their work to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance for people displaced by natural disasters and conflicts, as well as assistance to survivors and victims of human trafficking.
This event is made possible through general support to CSIS.

Charting a New Course for African Cities May 02, 2019

Show notes

Africa’s future is urban. The continent will become 50 percent urban by 2030 and its urban population will double by 2050, yet policymakers have not revised their programmatic approach. In this recording from their 2019 Global Development Forum session, Judd Devermont (CSIS), Jefferson T. Koijee (Mayor of Monrovia, Liberia), Emilio Ciarlo (Italian Agency for Development Cooperation), Dana Omran (100 Resilient Cities), and Somik Lall (World Bank) share how the continent can configure its urban areas to unlock their potential.

Zimbabwe's Burgeoning Food Crisis May 01, 2019

Show notes

The CSIS Global Food Security Project and the CSIS Africa Program invite you to join a discussion on the economic decline and food insecurity crisis in Zimbabwe. According to the Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee’s 2018 Rural Livelihoods Assessment, nearly 2.4 million people in rural Zimbabwe were projected to be severely food insecure by March 2019. In the wake of Cyclone Idai, Zimbabwe's dire condition seems poised to worsen. If the current trends continue, Zimbabwe could be facing a severe humanitarian crises that rivals some of the worst in the world.
Is Zimbabwe prepared to reform its economy, address its food security challenges, and develop a sustainable strategy to response to natural disasters? How can the international community and the U.S. government support peace and prosperity in the wake of this disaster? Panelists Ashok Chakravarti, Jason Taylor, and Peter Thomas will tackle these questions and shine a light on the escalating situation in Zimbabwe to the Washington policy community.

This event is made possible through the generous support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Pursuing Effective and Conflict-Aware Stabilization Apr 30, 2019

Show notes

Please join the CSIS International Security Program and Project on Prosperity and Development for a discussion on pursuing effective and conflict-aware stabilization in light of the new Stabilization Assistance Review framework, released by the U.S. administration in June 2018.
3:30 PM - 4:00 PM: Keynote

Dr. Denise Natali, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, U.S. Department of State
Moderator: Erol Yayboke, Deputy Director and Senior Fellow, Project on Prosperity and Development, Project on U.S. Leadership in Development, Center for Strategic and International Studies

4:00 PM - 5:00 PM: Panel Discussion

Ambassador Barbara Bodine, Director and Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy, Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, Georgetown University
Frances Brown, Fellow, Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Robert Jenkins, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance, U.S. Agency for International Development
Moderator: Melissa Dalton, Senior Fellow and Deputy Director, International Security Program, and Director, Cooperative Defense Project, Center for Strategic and International Studies

This event is made possible by support from Chemonics International.

Report Launch: Building a Big Tent for Agricultural Transformation in Ethiopia Apr 24, 2019

Show notes

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has been widely hailed for his promises to open political space, usher in economic liberalization, and remake the country’s poor record on human rights. However, to truly transform his country, Dr. Abiy must first transform agriculture, which is the nucleus of the Ethiopian economy and by far the largest employer.

Please join us for the launch of our newest report, Building a Big Tent for Agricultural Transformation in Ethiopia, which examines the past wins, current endeavors, and future challenges of Ethiopia’s Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA).
Following a keynote message from ATA’s CEO, Khalid Bomba, an expert panel will compare and contrast Ethiopia’s experience in agricultural transformation to that of other countries and explore the role that donors like the United States government can play to support such efforts for country-led development.

This event is made possible through the generous support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The Higher Road: Forging a U.S. Strategy for the Global Infrastructure Challenge Apr 23, 2019

Show notes

Download the Report Download the Brief Over the next 15 years, it is projected that more infrastructure will be built globally than currently exists. Please join the CSIS Reconnecting Asia Project and the Project on Prosperity and Development for the rollout of a new report discussing how the United States can strategically shape the global infrastructure buildout.

Opening remarks by:
Matthew P. Goodman
Senior Vice President, Simon Chair in Political Economy and Senior Adviser for Asian Economics, CSIS

Featuring a Panel Discussion with:
Ambassador Charlene Barshefsky
Senior International Partner, WilmerHale
Former U.S. Trade Representative
Stephen J. Hadley
Principal, RiceHadleyGates LLC
Former National Security Advisor
Peter Raymond
Senior Associate, Reconnecting Asia Project and Simon Chair, CSIS
Former Global Advisory Leader, Capital Projects & Infrastructure Practice, PwC
Moderated by:
Daniel F. Runde
Senior Vice President, William A. Schreyer Chair and Director, Project on Prosperity and Development, CSIS This event is made possible by generous support from Bechtel Group, IBM, and the Inter-American Development Bank.

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