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Begin New Search Political Geography Global Focus Publishing Institution Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University

11. Fostering Sustainably Resilient Communities: What Works and What is Required?

Author:
Maxime Honigmann
Publication Date:
10-2016
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
Global-local power dynamics are often framed with the phrase: “all geopolitics is local.” This adage references the convergence of global forces at the local level, presenting small communities with complex ranges of globalization-produced challenges. As more and more of these forces intersect and interact, local politics has gradually become more complex, with previously reliable patterns of demographics, environment, and economics fundamentally disrupted. From the elimination of traditional sources of livelihood to the introduction of revolutionary information technologies, local leaders everywhere have had to “sink or swim” – by either depending passively on the status quo, or taking an active, adaptive approach to confronting present and future challenges. The latter approach, while certainly requiring more investment from all actors involved, holds the key to a community’s empowerment, legitimacy, and ultimately, survival. It must be noted that communities do not always act benevolently, and their boundaries are not always clear – as Robert argues, “community is fundamentally contested ground” and exclusionary practices can be readily observed (Chaskin 2008, 73). Nevertheless, as a localized form of social organization, community governance systems are best-placed to uphold and adapt the principles of resilience to sustainably maintain the wellbeing of their populations. Resilience measures will remain at a significant disadvantage if they do not take into account input from the local communities they are addressed to. Community members know their area’s needs, offer unique streams of innovation, possess legitimacy in the discursive process, and can build and leverage beneficial social support systems intrinsic to their community. The end benefits are clear: countless studies have found flexible, nuanced, and locally-adapted resilience strategies to be most effective (cite sources here).
Topic:
Development, Power Politics, Geopolitics, and Resilience
Political Geography:
Global Focus

12. Mine the (Development) Gap? A Case Study

Author:
Lauren Konken and Geneva List
Publication Date:
01-2016
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
How can strategic partnerships shape the lives and economic opportunities of communities surrounding large-scale mining operations? The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Anglo American PLC, and TechnoServe have pioneered a pilot partnership to implement a regional development plan that leverages the resources and skills of each contributing partner. The project, Beyond Extraction: Economic Opportunities in Communities Hosting Mining Operations, develops a flexible multifaceted program based on three pillars – local procurement, workforce development, and local government capacity building. From this systemic approach, onthe-ground operations will be tailored to the needs of local municipalities surrounding select Anglo American mining operations in each participating country. Each initiative builds on nearly a decade of program conceptualization and implementation through a pre-existing partnership between Anglo American and TechnoServe, combining lessons learned and resources from four enterprise development programs that have been executed collaboratively since 2006. Overall this new strategic partnership serves to elevate and expand Anglo American’s core business practices with the goal of developing local mining communities in ways that ensure sustainability and productivity beyond the lifespan of their mining operations in the region. In this case study we discuss the development of this strategic partnership as well as the challenges it has faced prior to its approval by the IDB in the summer of 2016. Within the context of global mining operations and the subnational regions in which it plans to operate, we analyze how the program goes beyond corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a public private partnership for development (PPPD). As the IDB develops an agenda for work within the extractives sector, this pilot builds on major corporate-bank partnerships surrounding large scale mining operations with a regional focus. The project serves as a precedent and key learning exercise from a multinational perspective for all partners involved as to the challenges and opportunities of strategic partnerships in the extractive sector.
Topic:
Development, Natural Resources, Mining, and Banking
Political Geography:
South America, North America, and Global Focus

13. Creating Value Through the Chain: SABMiller & the Tenderos

Author:
Shashank Aeri and Trevor N. May
Publication Date:
01-2016
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
Launched in 2013, the “4e Camino al Progreso” program is an Inter-American Development Bank/Multilateral Investment Fund-sponsored social investment project led by SABMiller and implemented by the executing agency FUNDES in six Latin American countries. Capitalizing on the opportunities inherent in the brewer’s value chain, the initiative provides business and leadership consulting to small retailers, known as tenderos, in impoverished neighbourhoods. The project aims to improve the profitability and sustainability of the stores, or tiendas, allowing their proprietors to achieve a better quality of life and contribute more time and resources to improving their communities. Empowering these retailers to become better business operators ultimately strengthens SABMiller and other companies’ distribution network, creating benefits for the local and regional economy. The case presents a promising model for similar corporate-social partnerships and contains innovative examples of how the private sector can contribute to substantive development initiatives. Given the partnership’s variegated players and contacts, the case highlights stakeholder relations strategies and challenges. The project’s design also demonstrates scalability and sustainability potential, although the ultimate success of these ambitions will depend on strategic decision-making and managing SABMiller’s evolution as it merges with Anheuser Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer. 1 While its ultimate results remain to be seen, this project raises three main lessons given its progress to date: first, sometimes even the most obvious solutions, such as using technology, do not come with an equally straightforward technique for adoption and implementation; second, reconceptualising the bottom of the pyramid as an engine of growth in the value chain, rather than simply a group of undervalued consumers; and third, understanding how productivity and efficiency contribute to sustainability, which may be undermined if this relationship is not recognized.
Topic:
Development, Business, Investment, and Private Sector
Political Geography:
Global Focus

14. Promoting the Rule of Law Abroad: Towards a Multi-Dimensional Approach

Author:
Manuel Balán
Publication Date:
01-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
Few if any issues are as crucial in ensuring sustainable development as the promotion and consolidation of the Rule of Law (henceforth RoL). In fact, RoL has become a major ingredient in analyses of what is missing in countries struggling for political and economic development. Yet, this objective remains elusive, as there is limited knowledge of what policies work in promoting the Rule of Law. With this in mind, this paper analyzes CIDA’s approach to RoL promotion, tracking how different programs promoted by CIDA addressed RoL concerns. Overall, and despite the term having been left out of CIDA’s priorities for some time, the organization shows interest and investment in RoL related projects. Yet, CIDA’s approach has lacked a clear and explicit direction, and has emphasized projects dealing with capacity building.
Topic:
Corruption, Development, Governance, Rule of Law, and Political Science
Political Geography:
Global Focus

15. A Tripartite Analysis of Sustainable Development: Environmental, Social, and Political Forms of Sustainability

Author:
Erik Martinez Kuhonta, Amy R. Poteete, and David Rothwell
Publication Date:
01-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
This policy paper examines the question of sustainable development from three distinct angles: environmental, social, and political. Its ambit is broad in order to provide a wide-angle lens on the question of sustainability. The three forms of sustainability are linked through three common themes. These include: the importance of equality, the necessity of institutionalization, and the relationship between states and markets. All three forms of sustainability stress equality as a crucial outcome, pinpoint the need for institutionalization as a structure through which policies can become more effective, and address the relationship between states and markets in engaging with sustainable development.
Topic:
Environment, Politics, Sustainable Development Goals, and Equality
Political Geography:
Global Focus

16. Targeting the ‘Invisible’: Improving Entrepreneurship Opportunities for Informal Sector Women

Author:
Tonia Warnecke
Publication Date:
01-2013
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
In the wake of global economic downturn, policymakers in many developing countries are turning their gaze upon two things: private sector-led strategies for economic growth and women’s potential to contribute to this growth. As a consequence, female entrepreneurship has been an area of particular interest to policymakers, businesses, and non-governmental organizations, and many female-targeted policies and programs have been implemented, ranging from microfinance and subsidized loans to training and incubator programs. However, the focus on entrepreneurship as a development strategy conceptualizes entrepreneurship in a particular way—as opportunity entrepreneurship. Opportunity entrepreneurs can identify available opportunities and exploit them; they are often highly educated, have prior managerial experience, and have solid job alternatives with good salaries. They also have access to external capital and formal business networks, and operate in the formal sector of the economy. Opportunity entrepreneurs are more likely to have high-growth and high-tech businesses, but a large portion of entrepreneurship in the developing world— street vending, for example—does not fit into this category. Necessity entrepreneurs are driven to entrepreneurship for lack of other job options; they generally operate in the informal sector and lack legal protection, and their businesses do not facilitate upward mobility. The proliferation of necessity entrepreneurship in the developing world is associated with global trends of increasing informal and flexible employment over the last few decades, and it exacerbates gender inequality. Women are more likely than men to be engaged in vulnerable, informal employment across the globe, and even within the informal sector, the highest-paid jobs are primarily held by men, while the lowest-paid jobs are primarily held by women. In nearly all countries, women are more likely to be necessity entrepreneursthan men. However, most existing entrepreneurial programs target the formal sector and neglect the informal sector, disproportionately harming women. Many government-sponsored or private sector-led programs supporting female entrepreneurship focus on highly educated, middle- or upper-income women with prior entrepreneurial experience—a small minority of women. It can be challenging to design programs that effectively meet the needs of informal workers; although international organizations and non-governmental organizations are more likely to reach out to informal sector and rural women, these programs often focus on sustenance rather than business growth. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to designing female entrepreneurship programs for the informal sector. However, improving and tailoring such programs can establish a ladder between necessity and opportunity entrepreneurship, reduce gender inequalities, improve informal sector living conditions, and increase economic dynamism and informal-formal sector linkages in developing countries around the world.
Topic:
Development, Women, Entrepreneurship, and Economic growth
Political Geography:
Global Focus

17. Organic Agriculture as an Opportunity for Sustainable Agricultural Development

Author:
Verena Seufert
Publication Date:
01-2012
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Institute for the Study of International Development, McGill University
Abstract:
We need drastic changes in the global food system in order to achieve a more sustainable agriculture that feeds people adequately, contributes to rural development and provides livelihoods to farmers without destroying the natural resource basis. Organic agriculture has been proposed as an important means for achieving these goals. Organic agriculture currently covers only a small area in developing countries but its extent is continuously growing as demand for organic products is increasing. Should organic agriculture thus become a priority in development policy and be put on the agenda of international assistance as a means of achieving sustainable agricultural development? Can organic agriculture contribute to sustainable food security in developing countries? In order to answer these questions this policy brief tries to assess the economic, social and environmental sustainability of organic agriculture and to identify its problems and benefits in developing countries. Organic agriculture shows several benefits, as it reduces many of the environmental impacts of conventional agriculture, it can increase productivity in small farmers’ fields, it reduces reliance on costly external inputs, and guarantees price premiums for organic products. Organic farmers also benefit from organizing in farmer cooperatives and the building of social networks, which provide them with better access to training, credit and health services. Organic agriculture generally reduces the vulnerability of farmers as the higher organic prices act as buffer against the low prices and price volatility of conventional markets, as organic systems are often more resilient against extreme weather events, and as the often diverse organic crop-livestock systems provide a diverse set of outputs. On the other hand, organic farmers in developing countries need to access international markets, they require often costly certification and have increased demand for labour. Overall, organic agriculture thus provides promises for sustainable agricultural development, but its shortcomings need to also be considered. This policy brief therefore concludes with a set of specific recommendations on what policy options could best address the current problems of organic agriculture and ensure the success of an organic agriculture development strategy.
Topic:
Agriculture, Development, Food, and Sustainability
Political Geography:
Global Focus