Spotlight: Helping Ethiopia achieve resilient growth and peace
ISS is a first-choice partner in shaping USAID’s next five-year development strategy in Ethiopia.
Published on 02 February 2017 in
Impact
Futures research is often viewed as an academic version of peering into a crystal ball. But the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), together with its long-standing partner, the Frederick S Pardee Center for International Futures (Pardee Center), is showing that long-term forecasts are in demand for practical application by governments and donors in development planning.
The ISS and the Pardee Center were asked to support the US Agency for International Development (USAID) in carving out its five-year Country Development Cooperation Strategies (CDCS) for 2016 to 2021 for Ethiopia and the Southern African region.
‘We sought to leverage ISS' connections and deep knowledge on Ethiopia and East Africa's history, human security challenges and socio-economic context, in combination with the Pardee Center's quantitative rigour and International Futures model. This synergistic mix has been extremely dynamic,’ says Adriana Harvey, Program Officer at USAID in Ethiopia.
The draft report on Ethiopia’s likely development outcomes trends to 2030 was discussed with representatives of the Ethiopian government, USAID, donors, think tanks, researchers and NGOs in Addis Ababa last week. The focus was on alternative future scenarios and how the country could advance human development over the next five years with support from USAID.
ISS is an African voice that makes international futures analysis even more credible
‘ISS brings not only decades of relevant, context-based experience from across the continent, but an African voice that makes the international futures analysis even more credible and resonate more forcefully with the African leaders with whom we are engaged,’ said Leslie Reed, Mission Director for USAID in Ethiopia after attending one of the six briefings by ISS and the Pardee Center.
The Ethiopia report, together with the Pardee Center’s report on Southern Africa, will be finalised by mid-March. The final versions of the reports will be publically available on the websites of the ISS and the Pardee Center. The ISS will also publish two corresponding African Futures Papers.
‘The analysis and dialogue ISS has stimulated are invaluable to USAID's efforts to develop our next five-year development strategy based on evidence, extensive consultations and a long-term perspective to support Ethiopia's vision to achieve sustainable inclusive growth and peace,’ says Harvey.
Based on the success of its partnership with USAID, the ISS has been approached by Irish Aid to conduct similar work in Mozambique, to be concluded by June this year.
For more information, contact:
Jakkie Cilliers, ISS: +27 83 644 6883, [email protected]
