A Nordic political curiosity

In a recent speech at International IDEA in Stockholm, Swedish Development Minister Gunilla Carlsson argued for a tougher, more critical approach to development assistance, while ...

As of 2007, Swedish NGOs will have to raise 10 per cent of their Sida grants for information work on development cooperation themselves. This is part of the new government’s belt tightening in the NGO sector.

Danish development NGOs MS and Ibis report that they have during the course of the year managed to fundraise for an amount equivalent to at least 5 per cent of their Danida grants for 2006. The organisations are optimistic that they will also be able to reach the 2007 fundraising target, which rises to 10 per cent next year.

New NGO development cooperation guidelines published by the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs aim to ensure that planned steep increases in NGO funding are used effectively. Preparations are also to begin for the outsourcing of project administration.

The third MOPAN study puts the spotlight on the dilemma of making UN agencies more effective by pooling their resources at country level. The survey shows that ILO receives much better marks from donors in countries where it has its own offices. The UN reform panel proposed that UN agencies operate from a common UN office in developing countries.

The UN Central Emergency Response Fund (Cerf) is likely to near its USD 450 million funding target less than a year after its establishment.

The Norwegian Development Minister Erik Solheim says he is critical of channelling funds trough tax havens and that aid-financed entities should have a normative role ...

Following the recent attention on the tax haven issue in Norway, Development Today contacted Transparency International for a comment on the practice of aid institutions ...

The Norwegian government has appointed a commission to investigate the combined effects of Norwegian policies in poor countries. The commission, which consists of a diverse ...

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has appointed former Swedish Foreign Minister Jan Eliasson a Special Envoy on the Darfur crisis. Annan’s appointment came after consultations ...

The OECD disputes the Danish policy of tying mixed credits to least developed countries (LDCs), and will continue to raise the issue with the Danes. In 2001, OECD donors agreed to put such contracts up for international tender. Danish Development Minister Ulla Tørnæs claims that Denmark has done more to untie its aid than any other OECD country. She tells the OECD to take a look at whether other OECD countries are living up to their promises on aid untying.