Welcome to the website of The Development GAP. Here you will
find a considerable amount of information about the organization
and its history and a large number of Development GAP documents
that trace key issues and events in our field over the past three
decades. Among these is the full text of our award-winning book,
Aid for Just
Development. Please check with us in the months ahead as
we share information about our efforts and analysis of events and
policy developments related to the global economy and the struggle
for economic justice.
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THE DEVELOPMENT GAP CONTRIBUTES FIELD-BASED PROPOSAL TO CONGRESSIONAL EFFORT TO REFORM FOREIGN AID
After collaborating with the Congressional Progressive Caucus and sharing a proposal for a fundamental reform of development assistance with the House Foreign Affairs Committee, The Development GAP provided testimony on the subject in July to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Based on its three decades of work on foreign aid, both on the ground overseas and with policymakers in Washington, the organization’s president addressed how the U.S. aid program would have to be structured and operate in the field in order to be successful. He emphasized that, rather than the level of funding, the key factors in the effective support for the building of strong, equitable and sustainable national economies are investments in appropriate institutions, the participation and knowledge of affected populations, and a structured separation of development assistance from non-development objectives and interests.
Full report >>>
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European Conference Addresses Financial Crisis and the IFIs
Read the Voksenaasen Statement on a Necessary Response to the Global Financial and Economic Crisis >>>
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THE HARMONIZATION OF WILDLIFE HABITAT AND HUMAN LIVELIHOOD IMPERATIVES: ADDRESSING COMMON ROOT CAUSES THROUGH A PARTICIPATORY, COLLABORATIVE AND SUSTAINABLE APPROACH
Preliminary Findings
Prepared by Steve Hellinger and Doug Hellinger
The Development GAP
2008
The commercial exploitation of the natural resource base has often put those attempting to preserve their local livelihoods and those seeking to protect animal habitat in conflict over the control and use of local resources. The search for an integrated approach, for a conservation/development nexus, that can bridge the gap that frequently exists between conservationists and poor communities will depend on finding common ground in addressing the underlying causes of their problems. Toward that end, it is essential to view humans as an integral part of the ecosystem, and it is equally important to proceed with an understanding of the political economy that has shaped local circumstances that have left the poor with diminished options. When poor communities are viewed in these contexts, the importance of their active participation in finding sustainable solutions to habitat degradation, as well as to their own income needs, becomes apparent, as do the advantages of conservationists engaging them in effective and balanced partnerships.
Full report >>>
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Development GAP Founders Honored for Launching Foundation
Doug Hellinger, Fred O’Regan and Steve Hellinger at the ADF
On 6 May 2008, Development GAP co-founders Fred O’Regan, Steve Hellinger and Doug Hellinger were honored by the African Development Foundation for their efforts resulting in the establishment of the Foundation by the U. S. Congress. “Founders’ Day”, held with Foundation supporters and past and present staff on hand at the ADF’s offices in downtown Washington, DC, celebrated both 25 years of the Foundation’s operations and The Development GAP’s eight-year endeavor to create a new vehicle and approach for the U.S. government’s delivery of foreign aid to Africa.
The ADF’s leadership cited Fred (currently the Development GAP’s Chair), Steve (President) and Doug (Executive Director) for “their crafting of the Foundation’s legislative mandate [that] reflected their vision and belief in the capacity of Africans to shape their own development” and for “their commitment, sustained work and diligent follow up actions [that] ensured that the ADF was established according to the letter and spirit” of the African Development Foundation Act.
Read more >>>
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SAPRI Report Exposé Is Compulsary Reading, Says Review
The following review appeared in the Journal of the Inter-American Foundation,
Grassroots Development, Volume 28, Number 1, 2007.
Structural adjustment—the term has been a panacea for some and a curse for others. Political leaders and development experts have praised it and condemned it, but few have actually measured its impact on all sectors of a country’s economy. The Structural Adjustment Participatory Review International Network (SAPRIN), a coalition of civil society organizations from nine countries on four continents, set out to do just that. The total effort was coordinated by The Development GAP of Washington, D.C., under the leadership of Steve and Doug Hellinger.
The initiative began with the World Bank’s endorsement and participation. “What I am looking for—and inviting your help in—is a different way of doing business in the future,” bank president James Wolfensohn wrote to SAPRIN in 1996 when the group was still incipient. But the cooperative spirit would not hold for the duration of the study. The Bank officially withdrew before it was completed and would not comment on SAPRIN’s final report.
For anyone in the development profession, this book is compulsory reading (more...)
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Past announcements and analysis:
A President Comes to Visit and the Chickens Home to Roost in South America (March 8, 2007)
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