05.07.2011

Taking stock of the first six months of the new GIZ

More efficiency for sustainability

Bonn/Eschborn, 5 July 2011. Six months after its formation, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH took stock for the first time. ‘The new GIZ is already more than just the amalgamation of three organisations,’ said Chairman of the Management Board Bernd Eisenblätter. ‘Thanks to the know-how of all our staff members we are developing new services that enable us to provide even better support for the German Government.’ In line with GIZ’s new corporate purpose, the organisation’s scope for action and the thematic areas in which it operates are also changing. The central focus of these activities is international cooperation and international education work. New, innovative services are being developed for the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), GIZ’s main commissioning party. ‘GIZ has received a broader mandate from the German Government – for cooperation with the private sector, with civil society and with industrialised and emerging economies. Here I see real potential for GIZ as an export hit,’ said Hans-Jürgen Beerfeltz, State Secretary at BMZ and Chairman of the GIZ Supervisory Board.

Integration is proceeding to plan. Coordination processes, for example, have already been streamlined. Nonetheless, continued Eisenblätter, it is also clear that it has not yet been possible to leverage all synergy effects after just six months. New services are already taking shape, however:

GIZ Bonn will be strengthened with the thematic area of education and leadership. This includes services aimed at preparing people for assignments abroad – experts from the fields of development cooperation, international cooperation and the private sector – and services for young Germans looking to acquire international expertise abroad. Joint learning by management executives from developing countries and industrialised countries will also be promoted.

The issue of global raw material partnerships is likewise high on the agenda. As one example of its new services, the organisation will get the private sector and partner countries to sit down at a table together to consult on the sustainable use of raw materials in a manner that serves the common good, and to make the experience gathered in the Congo, Mongolia and Afghanistan available to others.

In 2010, the business volume (corresponding to total turnover) of the three predecessor organisations, Deutscher Entwicklungsdienst (DED) gGmbH, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH and InWEnt – Capacity Building International, Germany, totalled some 1.9 billion euros (to be precise: 1.852 billion euros). The main commissioning party was the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (68 %: 1.265 million euros). Ten percent was contributed by other federal ministries, including the Federal Foreign Office (71 million euros), the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (34 million euros) and the Federal Ministry of Defence (19.4 million euros). Around 15 % of turnover was with foreign governments (123 million euros) or international organisations such as the EU (75 million euros) and the UN (18 million euros). Finally, eight percent (149 million euros) was attributable to cofinancing, through which international donors participate in ongoing projects that the German Government finances.

A total of 17,296 staff members work for GIZ (as at 31 December 2010), 3,221 of them in Germany, 1,821 abroad and 12,254 national personnel. A further 3,778 people work on behalf of GIZ: 1,111 development workers, 821 weltwärts volunteers and 1,846 integrated, returning and local experts. In addition, more than 52,000 people took part in practical training schemes organised by GIZ in Germany and abroad last year.

The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is a federal enterprise with worldwide operations. It supports the German Government in international cooperation for sustainable development and in international education work. GIZ supports people and societies in shaping their own futures and improving living conditions.