 |
About
the Overseas Development Institute's 2005 blog!
You can find ODI's blog at: http://blogs.odi.org.uk/blogs/2005/
This
is the place to find quick comment on all the international
development issues of 2005. The blog doesn't replace all of
ODI's usual products - the academic
papers, briefings,
opinion
pieces and meetings.
It does give us the opportunity to respond to events as they
unfold - and give you the opportunity to comment and engage.
Why now and why us?
Why now because 2005 is an extraordinary year in international
development. We've already had the Report
of the High Level Panel, the Sachs
Report on the MDGs and the Africa
Commission and the G8 . Coming up we have the UN
MDG Summit and the Hong
Kong trade talks. The EU
is writing a new
development policy and about to agree its financial framework
to 2013. The Make
Poverty History Campaign is making waves and many NGOs
are producing policy papers and campaigning documents. All
of us who care about reducing poverty are deeply embroiled
on all of this - not just in general terms, but day to day
and issue by issue. The agenda changes fast as leaders fly
around the world to meet each other and as new issues crop
up. It's hard to stay ahead, harder still to contribute constructively.
That's where ODI comes in. We describe ourselves deliberately
as a think-tank, because we work at the interface of research
and policy. On the one hand, we work hard to help shape the
agenda and contribute to debate. That's why so much of our
output is short, written in non-technical language and designed
to be accessible. On the other hand, our core mandate is research.
That's why we have 60 researchers on our staff, each of them
specialist in the core areas of international development.
Whether the topic is business,
social policy, trade,
natural
resources, or humanitarian
crisis, there are specialists at ODI whose job it is to
know the theory, apply it to the real world and help develop
policy.
The blog will create a new conversation on the internet -
specialist but policy relevant, rooted in long-term research
but responding to short-term issues. We want to create space
for substantive discussion. If you want to respond to anything
we raise in this blog, to pose a development question, to
give feedback on our work, or to collaborate on cutting edge,
policy-relevant research, send us a comment. In the meantime,
spread the word. The ODI 2005 blog has arrived…
Visit the ODI blog and learn how to contribute at :
http://blogs.odi.org.uk/blogs/2005/
|
