Description:

The goal of the project is to foster new linkages among NGDOs and leading development think tanks in NMS and EU-15 as well as among their respective developing country partner networks in order to a) promote greater understanding of development challenges (especially the diverse contexts in which development policies are formulated and implemented), b) facilitate greater public support in NMSs for national and regional development assistance and poverty reduction efforts and c) contribute to more strategic and evidence-informed policy dialogue and engagement on international development issues in EU policy fora, which will in turn impact the quality of life of poor people in developing countries.

The project to be implemented in consortium with ODI - Overseas Development Institute, London, UK. European partners of the project are: Hungarian Association of NGOs for Development and Humanitarian Aid (HAND) (Budapest, Hungary) and Czech Forum for International Cooperation (FoRS) (Prague, Czech Republic).

The knowledge network will use a variety of tools and techniques to achieve the goals stated above, which combined will contribute to meaningful and lasting improvements in development policy awareness. They will include: a) a series of 8 roundtable interactive meetings carried out in four new EU Member States and two developing countries. These roundtables will cover both substantive issues on economic development and their social impacts, as well as process issues such as knowledge management and learning, network development and communications methodologies for evidence-based policy influencing; b) capacity building and mentoring activities carried out through face-to-face interactions during the roundtables as well as innovative electronic/web-based forums in order to strengthen the efficacy of members' day-to-day work, and c) a communications strategy, including a dedicated web presence and engagement with traditional and web-based media, educators and the general public.

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