Three international partnerships to work on global policy issues were identified and launched during the year:

'These boots are made for walking' - Debating the future of ACP-EU partnership
This project will produce a scoping paper, four regional meetings and briefing papers to channel the views of southern partners in to the EADI conference on the future of European Development Cooperation in September 2005. The scoping paper will identify challenges for the ACP-EU partnership, identify options for the future and thereby offer a starting point to regional debates. The second stage of the project will predominantly consist of Meeting series in four regions of the ACP that have been grouped into negotiation partners for the EU: CARICOM/CRNM, ECOWAS, COMESA (or SADC), and the Pacific Island Forum. The meetings will be held by partner institutions in the regions. This meeting series will feed into a number of Briefing Papers, jointly edited/published by the regional partner institution and ODI. These papers will - on the side of regional partners - express the shortcomings and give voice to ideas about the potential of ACP-EU partnership. The audience in mind are political decision-makers in both ACP states and the EU, and civil society organisations. The final stage will involve a joint appraisal of the strengths and weaknesses of the project. What are the benefits of this project for each of the partners? What has been practicable/ successful? Where were the shortcomings?

Aid Architecture
This project proposes an ODI-facilitated debate engaging Southern CSO actors on the desirable future structure, instruments and major processes of international aid. It well fits the 2005 international agenda window, in which the UK will have a high profile as G8 and EU chair and sponsor of the Africa Commission. A literature search, conducted by a major Southern CSO coalition, will collate published views of Southern CSOs, especially think tanks, on aid architecture and contrast them with Northern perspectives, reflected in recent ODI research. Topics to be covered, subject to this partner's views, include the pros and cons of greater donor alignment as seen by recipients; the impact of rising "governmentalisation" of aid through budget support; new approaches to conditionality; grants versus loans; and developing country representation in major national and international aid allocation decisions. A scoping paper reflecting this search will help frame subsequent debate by suggesting major open questions in aid architecture and identifying their implications at the country level. In this phase, key CSO partners will also be identified for further dialogue. The second stage of the project will start to lay the basis for the creation of an international policy network on international aid architecture issues, and will begin with a series of regional workshops on the scoping paper, intended primarily for and hosted by regionally based CSOs, including think tanks, academics and journalists, but will also involve donor and government representatives in part of the format. Regional action papers building on and summarising the workshops will be commissioned from partner CSOs. Regional papers will be jointly published which ODI will synthesise in a Future of Aid Synthesis Report, published jointly with the 3 regional CSOs. It will also produce in its own name 3-4 topic-specific aid architecture briefings, accessible to a wider public, and set up a supporting website with searchable archives. ODI will host an "echo" workshop in London to help familiarise Northern CSOs and donors with the issues and the main Southern protagonists. The final stage will be the launch of an interactive newsletter process to support the fledgling network. See the Forum for the Future of Aid website for more information.

Promoting the use of CSOs' evidence in policies for food security: an action research project in southern Africa.
This project has been developed by the Southern African Regional Poverty Network; the Overseas Development Institute; and the SADC Food and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network and validated and refined in collaboration with southern African CSOs working on food security at a one day workshop held in South Africa in May 2005. The project aims to improve the targeting of regional policies in southern Africa to the food security needs of poor and vulnerable people, through:

• Promoting the contribution of CSOs to the debate within southern Africa on policies affecting food security;
  
• Promoting the voice of southern Africa CSOs in the international debate on policies affecting food security;
  
• Disseminating within southern Africa relevant evidence and policy lessons from CSOs elsewhere in the world.
  

Further information about Achievements:
- Achievements index
- Achievements in Outcome 1: Research
- Achievements in Outcome 2: Capacity Development
- Achievements in Outcome 3: Information

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