Context
There is a drive to raise the profile of German development cooperation at the multilateral level and make an active contribution to addressing issues in the area of development economics. The Word Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are key actors in the field of international development policy. Within these organisations, there is considerable scope for German development cooperation actors to improve the visibility of German policy positions and use the potential to actively shape development policy.
Objective
German development cooperation has an international profile in the field of development economics within the context of the World Bank and IMF.
Approach
The Sector Project on the International Positioning of German Development Cooperation in Development Economics advises the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) on topics of importance to the World Bank Group and IMF as well as on debt relief and cross-cutting issues in relation to regional development banks. Among other things, the project supports BMZ in developing German positions and mainstreaming these in international processes and key multilateral institutions. It provides the following inputs:
• Support for BMZ in the development of scientifically sound positions based on the operational experience gained from German development projects
• Incorporation of feedback from multilateral processes, findings and practical experience into German development cooperation projects in order to better harmonise activities at the bilateral and multilateral levels
• Advisory services on processes and issues which are relevant in the short to medium term – for instance, on World Bank safeguards and procurement reviews
• Advisory services on fundamental issues of a more long-term nature – for example, the World Bank’s role with regard to global public goods and climate change mitigation
Results
The contributions of the sector project are incorporated directly into BMZ’s policy positions and are thus embedded in the strategies and concepts of the World Bank and IMF. This has a long-term impact on the way in which these and similar institutions operate. The sector project therefore generates positive broad-based results. At the multilateral level, it has a developmental impact in partner countries, thus supporting economic, social and ecological development in these countries.