April 2007
Vol. 25, No. 4
InterAction
Look \ue001or the May issue o\ue001 Monday Developments,
highlighting Forum 2007, InterAction\u2019s annual
con\ue001erence.
Correction \ue001or the March issue. On page 16, the
\ue000rst bullet point does not belong in the \u201cHow is it
Di\ue001\ue001erent?\u201d text box.
In this issue o\ue001 Monday Developments, we have allowed ourselves the luxury o\ue001 a deliberately ambitious goal: to invite practitioners \ue001rom within and outside our community to share with us their take on happenings that are consistent and \ue001requent enough to be considered trends. These are actions, events and accomplishments that, in their views, could steer our current approaches and practices o\ue001 international development and humanitarian assistance in anticipated or unexpected directions.
The practice o\ue001 \u201ctrend spotting\u201d is better known to the business sector, perhaps because it helps minimize risk and uncertainty while maximizing opportunities \ue001or growth and pro\ue000t. Like pro\ue000t in the business sector, the enormity o\ue001 the challenges \ue001acing our community in seeking lasting solutions to global poverty and saving lives is equally compelling. As InterAction aims to demonstrate and enhance NGO accountability and impact in development and humanitarian action in its new strategic plan, scanning the horizon in an e\ue001\ue001ort to anticipate and respond to change seems a timely exercise to promote in our community.
In these pages we bring you some o\ue001 the new and/or potential trends\u2014some more established than others. Kent Glazer captures the entr\u00e9e o\ue001 new players in development \ue000nancing along with new approaches to addressing poverty. Theresa A. McCa\ue001\ue001rey \ue001urther explores one o\ue001 the new \ue001unding trends identi\ue000ed in Glazer\u2019s article, diaspora giving. David Alpher observes that the increasing linkages between poverty and confict have made confict resolution a crosscutting issue o\ue001 importance equal to that o\ue001 gender and the environment. Patrick Meier captures the shi\ue001t \ue001rom centralized responses to contemporary disasters, based on the conventional division o\ue001 labor between \u201cwarners\u201d and \u201cresponders,\u201d to an increasingly people-centered disaster management that recognizes and leverages local capacities.
The elephant in the room in the international aid \ue000eld remains the e\ue001\ue001ectiveness o\ue001 programs. An astute piece \ue001rom World Vision\u2019s CEO, Richard E. Stearns, shares insights on the increasing scrutiny o\ue001 NGOs\u2019 work by a growing number o\ue001 external rating agencies. We also introduce you to Kevin Lowther, who takes a retrospective look at his 44 years o\ue001 career experience in international development and speaks to increasing concerns around responsibility and ownership o\ue001 development work. Other pieces o\ue001 interest include perspectives on the issue o\ue001 aid e\ue001\ue001ectiveness in the Paris Declaration \ue001ramework and an in\ue001ormative Q&A session with Secretary o\ue001 State Condoleezza Rice.
As you read through these and other articles, I trust you\u2019ll put to good use your own sense o\ue001 \u201ctrend spotting\u201d to not only recognize, but to leverage the trend or trends that might steer your organization closer to its own mission. I also invite you to share with us any insights these articles might generate \ue001or you.
Nasserie Carew, Director
Josh Kearns, Advertising & Sales
Julie Montgomery, Publications
Robyn Shepherd, Media
InterAction
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Monday Developments is
published 12 times a year by the
Communications Department o\ue002
InterAction, the largest alliance o\ue002
U.S.-based international development
and humanitarian nongovernmental
organizations. With more than
160 members operating in every
developing country, we work to
overcome poverty, exclusion and
su\ue000ering by advancing social justice
and basic dignity \ue002or all.
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The practice o\ue001 \u201ctrend spotting\u201d is better known to the
business sector, perhaps because it helps minimi\ue003e
risk and uncertainty while maximi\ue003ing opportunities
\ue001or growth and pro\ue000t.
