FSDO will organize two 2-day regional workshops on strengthening the capacity of developing countries to design risk-informed and data driven development cooperation strategies and policies in support of their COVID-19 response and recovery efforts. The workshops will target national governments of developing countries from Africa and Asia (specifically, Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS)), focusing on those countries that have engaged in the Development Cooperation Forum (DCF) Survey exercise.

The two workshops will employ a peer learning format that brings countries from within the same region together to exchange practical knowledge and experience on strengthening the effectiveness of development cooperation – a core focus of the DCF Survey and FSDO/DESA’s development cooperation workstream. Each workshop will focus on a specific “enabler” of effective development cooperation that has been identified by countries within the region as priorities for strengthening – specifically, national development cooperation policies (NDCPs) in Africa and development cooperation information systems (DCIS) in Asia-Pacific.

The biennial DCF Survey exercise and High-level Meeting of ECOSOC’s Development Cooperation Forum serve as core activities through which developing countries’ capacity gaps and demand for learning and knowledge exchange are communicated. In addition, demand for peer learning and capacity building activities has been repeatedly expressed by government representatives in DCF policy dialogue (e.g., 2021 DCF High-level Meeting of ECOSOC; DCF regional consultations in December 2021).

In the Outcome document of the 2022 Financing for Development (FfD) Forum, Member States highlighted “the critical role of resilient international development cooperation in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and addressing global crises, as highlighted by the 2021 high-level meeting of the Development Cooperation Forum.” Moreover, they committed “to support developing countries in strengthening their capacities at the national and local levels to manage and reduce risks, which entails developing institutional capacities for transitioning to resilient and sustainable development systems.”

Based on the above mandates, FSDO and on exchanges with 2021/2022 DCF Survey participants from the Africa and Asia-Pacific regions, FSDO plans to offer the two workshops, which will result in improved knowledge and understanding to advance risk-informed development cooperation for long term resilience, as well as strengthen data systems for monitoring and evaluation for effective development cooperation.

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