DCED 37th Annual Meeting

The 2015 Annual Meeting was hosted by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Copenhagen.

LocationCopenhagen, Denmark

DateWednesday 17 to Thursday 18 June 2015

Wednesday 17 June: Exploration of the theme ‘megatrends in private sector development’

Private Sector Development (PSD) in developing countries will change enormously in the next few years due to new global developments and trends. The first day of the DCED’s Annual Meeting was therefore dedicated to a technical discussion on Mega-trends in private sector development to explore some of the changes most likely to impact the work of DCED members in promoting economic opportunities for the poor. Selected presentations and complementary reading can be found below.

  • Keynote address: Jan Mischke, McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), outlined four key ‘disruptive trends’ which McKinsey believe will shape the global economy going forward.
  • New players and partners: Should donors collaborate more with emerging powers to promote PSD? Emerging powers approach development with different models. This session explored those models and the learning opportunities they offer for ‘traditional’ donors. It also explored practical lessons in trilateral cooperation.
  • Tom de Bruyn, KU Leuven, provided an overview of development cooperation by emerging powers, including their cooperation sectors, aid modalities and project examples of collaborations with ‘traditional’ donors. Tom has published various papers on the topic, for example on the cooperation approaches of Brasil, India, China and South Africa.
  • Lidia Cabral, Institute of Development Studies, gave an overview of the Brazilian approach to international cooperation, with a focus on agriculture. She also reviewed obstacles and opportunities for greater collaboration between the Brazilian Cooperation Agency and European donors.
  • Sophie Mottram, Landell Mills, presented on experiences in managing the AgriTT programme, a trilateral development programme between the UK, China and a number of African countries. It links China’s expertise in agricultural technology with the UK’s experience in implementing development projects.

Further reading:

Further reading:

Thursday, 18 June: Annual Meeting Business Day

The formal business day (18 June) included review of  progress during the last year and agreement on the work plan and budget for FY 2015-2016. Member agencies also presented on priorities and trends in their organisation.