Gerster Consulting

This 78-page report shares the results of an evaluation of the European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM), an independent foundation legally constituted in the Netherlands that has been working since 1986 to foster development cooperation between the North and South. Specifically, ECDPM facilitates policy dialogue, creates understanding of processes and institutions, and builds capacity to help build an effective relationship between the European Union and Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific (ACP), particularly related to development cooperation. ECDPM describes its approach as such: "we bring together knowledge and expertise, animate and moderate multi-perspective dialogue and networking, facilitate policy processes, reinforce and leverage capacities, and communicate and share the learning and information arising from all of this." ECDPM's work is delivered through 3 thematic programmes:

1. Development Policy and EU External Action - the aim is to contribute to debates on the new policy-mix approach that the European Union seeks to promote in its external action, in particular with the ACP and Africa.
2. ACP-EU Trade and Economic Cooperation - the aim is to contributes to the development of an ACP-EU trade regime that promotes sustainable development and the integration of the ACP countries into the world economy.
3. Governance - the aim is to contribute to the search for home-grown governance strategies at local, national, regional and continental levels in Africa, and to strengthen the EU capacity to programme, implement, monitor and evaluate governance support. A major focal area is to promote effective linkages and synergies between policy debates and initiatives on governance in the ACP (primarily Africa) and in Europe more widely.

ECDPM asked an international team of independent consultants to assess its performance of the last 5 years in view of the upcoming cycle (2006-2010). The following excerpts from the Executive Summary summarise their findings:

"...The strategic choices made by the Centre in terms of overall focus were extremely pertinent to the evolving policy context during the evaluation period. ECDPM's
focus, and its following the evolution of the EU-ACP policy context across all of its programmes, ensured a relevance and utility unmatched by other organisations in this sphere. There were very few areas within the EU-ACP policy nexus for which ECDPM did not produce a relevant publication, organise a timely meeting or provide pertinent formal or informal advice to those closely involved.

ECDPM's unique independent brokerage role is what enabled it to engage to this degree. While not interpreted as neutrality, this role does engender broad trust in the Centre from both the EU and the ACP side....[I]t is desirable that the Centre continue to work in this manner, producing useful materials and undertaking focused events on even the more delicate themes.

ECDPM has chosen to take a process approach in its work....[B]y engaging in processes, ECDPM has gained a systemic understanding of how to positively impact change. It has then
worked to achieve and facilitate this through existing networks. ECDPM's network around policy processes remains most developed in the North. Indeed, significant work is needed to enhance the Centre's presence in the South and to genuinely engage primarily with
African stakeholders over the longer term....Meaningful strategic partnerships, and clarity on criteria for them, are required if ECDPM is to enhance its relevance and impact in the future...

The Centre is a complex organisation to understand, and it could certainly improve the way it communicates, particularly on what it is and what it does. This is vital for transparency and also to facilitate engagement of potential stakeholders....There is also a clear need to ensure that the extremely rich knowledge that the Centre generates gets to the right people, in the right format. Here again, particularly in relation to the South, there is room for improvement...

The Centre's primary added value centres around its process orientation and independent broker approach; its unique focus on EU-ACP cooperation; and its positioning in the research-policy-practice triad. Stakeholders also clearly appreciate its network of contacts, flexibility and often rapid response.

It is difficult to draw direct lines of causality regarding the Centre's impact. Yet cumulatively ECDPM does make an important and valuable contribution in the
areas in which it engages. The Centre could do more to map and understand its potential impact. It could also be more strategic in terms of the level and depth of its relationships, strategic partnerships and the types of networks most likely to yield maximum impact..."