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DM2009 Juror: 'I Would Give Them All a Thumbs Up'

Submitted by Tom Grubisich on Thu, 11/12/2009 - 11:01

Looking at the 11 finalist projects he was assisgned to evaluate, juror Fred Onduri says: "I am so impressed.  I would give them all a thumbs up. I wish they could all be winners."

Onduri, who is chair of the Least Developed Countries Expert Group with the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change as well as head of the Policy and Planning Department of the Ugandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is one of the 40 jurors who took a searching look at the 100 projects that were winnowed from the 1,750 applications proposing early-stage adaptation to climate change.  Their goal was to choose up to 25 winners.

Onduri said the winners would have a better chance of long-term success if they were incorporated in the national priorities of the governments of the countries where the projects would be undertaken.  "Their funding will carry them for about two years," Onduri said.  "That's not enough.  Sustainability is very critical."

He also said that the winning projects' chance of ultimate success would be improved if jurors could offers ways to improve the proposals, especially in closing what he called "the sustainability gap."

Onduri and his colleagues used five criteria in their evaluations:

Check Out These Live Webcasts Today and Thursday

Submitted by Tom Grubisich on Wed, 11/11/2009 - 11:19

Here's what's happening on the DM live webcasts today (Wednesday, Nov. 11) and Thursday (Nov. 12):

Wednesday

  • 11:00 am - 11:15 am: Daniel Mira, Environment Department, Latin America region, World Bank.
  • 11:15 am -11:30 am:  Edward Cameron, Social Development Department, World Bank.
  • 11:30 am - 11:45: John Garrison, EXT, World Bank, focus on civil society, and Helen Marquard, SEED Inititaive.
  • 11:45 am - 12:00 pm: Interview with finalist on Index-based rainfall insurance in Indonesia.
  • 12:00 pm - 12:15 pm: Jim Koch, Santa Clara - Global Social Benefit Incubator.
  • 12:15 pm - 12:30 pm: Ian Noble, World Bank expert on climate adaptation.
  • 12:30 pm - 12:45 pm: Fred Ondun, U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.
  • 12:45 pm - 01:00 pm: Mara Bun, Green Cross.
  • 1:00 pm - 1:15 pm:  Warren Evans, Director, Environment Department, World Bank .
  • 01:15 pm - 1:30 pm: Marianne Fay, Chief Economist, Sustainable Development Network, World Bank (photo at right).

No Empty Chairs, Please...

Submitted by Tom Grubisich on Tue, 11/10/2009 - 19:01

It's very important for all finalists to be at their booths by 10 o'clock Wednesday morning.  That's when the jurors will begin making their rounds and continue until 3 in the afternoon.

The jurors will go round in pairs.  Each finalist will be interviewed twice.

So, set your alarm, grab that coffee, or tea, or whatever, and get yourself to your booth on time.

And knock out those jurors.  They'll want to know all the technical stuff behind your project, but they'll be looking for your passion, too.  Show it!

 

Watch Livestreaming of DM2009 Finalists

Submitted by Tom Grubisich on Tue, 11/10/2009 - 14:38

At 3:30 p.m. this afternoon (Washington time), we'll be interviewing 16 randomly selected finalists.

The interviews will be taking place today (11/10) from 3:45 to 5:30 p.m. Washington time. Be sure to check the live webcast.  If you miss the webcast, the interviews will be on the Development Marketplace YouTube channel, and also be archived on the webcast page.

The specific finalist projects for the webast are:

1.    Mapuche Forest Model Aims to Cut Greenhouse Gases and Avoid Deforestation in Chile.  Booth 15
2.    Empowering Indigenous Communities to Build Resilience Against Climate Change in Peru.  Booth 17
3.    Innovative Strategies for Sustainable Management of Communal Reserve in Peru.  Booth 23
4.    Rice Farmers Look to Fish Farming to Cushion the Impact of Climate Change in the Philippines.  Booth 30
5.    Mobilizing Community Journalists for Participatory Disaster Risk Management, Book 35
6.    Floating Gardens and Granaries Seen as Solution for Flood-Prone Communities in Laos.  Booth 37 (wild card)
7.    Carbon Credits to Help Smallholder Farmers Improve Income and Sustainability in Uganda.  Booth 47
8.    Recuperation of Water Systems on Vulnerable Pre-Hispanic Andean Terraces in Peru.  Booth 51
9.    Index-Based Rainfall Insurance to Help Plant More Productive Harvests in Indonesia.  Booth 55
10.    Strengthening Upstream-Downstream Linkages for Climate Change Adaptation in Nepal.  Both 61
11.    Reducing Risks for Biodiversity Conservation Using Adaptive Fire Management in Bolivia.  Booth 69
12.    Promoting Low-Cost, Flood-Resilient Shelters for Vulnerable Rural Villages in India.  Booth 72
13.    Strengthening Disaster Preparedness of Southern Leyte with SMS Technology.  Booth 79
14.    Rate-and-Shame Project Would Raise Media Pressure on Public Officials in Ukraine.  Booth 89
15.    Earth-Roofed Housing: Cheap, Sustainable Shelter to Face Desertification in Burkina Faso.  Booth 93
16.    Media Access and Education for Climate Change Adaptation and Risk Reduction in Bangladesh.  Booth 95

If you want to find out more about these projects, go to Slideshare or the DM Event Guide.

If you have questions or comments, drop a line here or on Twitter (hashtag #dm2009).  We'll be happy to pass your questions to the finalists.

Graeme Wheeler on the Crucial Role of Development Marketplace

Submitted by Tom Grubisich on Tue, 11/10/2009 - 13:52

Graeme Wheeler, who is spearheading the World Bank's mission to develop and share knowledge and innovation, gave a big boost to Development Marketplace at the opening session of DM2009 this morning (Nov. 10).

Addressing the 100 finalists in the global competition (photo at left), Wheeler, who is the Bank's Managing Director, Operations, linked DM with the Bank's recent Global Innovation Days. Graeme Wheeler, Managing Director, World Bank

"These two events -- Global Innovation Days and Development Marketplace -- will be the two cornerstones of our partnering in knowledge and learning....It's extremely valuable that the thematic focus of this year's Development Markeplace is climate change adaptation.....Climate change is the largest externality challenge of our time.  It is the most difficult public policy problem faced by the current generation of policy makers and policy advisers."

Wheeler also said, "In the World Bank Group, we see knowledge as the key element of our corporate DNA....Loans alone cannot solve the the development challenge.  What makes value is our ability to create, find, and deliver innovative solutions to our clients."

Almost needless to say, innovation is key to DM 2009.

Danish Ambassador to U.S.: Engage Now to Reach Agreement in Copenhagen

Submitted by Friis Arne Petersen on Tue, 11/10/2009 - 07:43

The U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen is only a few weeks away and climate change negotiators are working day and night to identify the common ground for an agreement.

I see three key issues in the negotiations:

1.    Setting of tarFriis Arne Petersen, Danish Ambassador to the U.S.gets by developed countries for greenhouse gas emission reduction.
2.    Commitment by developing countries to actions on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
3.    Financing of adaptation and mitigation in developing countries.

These are very difficult issues, but let me state the obvious: We cannot compromise on our ambitions to limit man made global warming to a maximum of two degrees centigrade, and thus have a good chance to adapt to the consequent impacts.

Science is very clear on this point: If we continue to increase the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, we are bound to pass a number of critical tipping points that may lead to dire consequences. And it is also clear that we can halt or change the trend. It is doable and indeed profitable compared to the cost of inaction, the cost of doing nothing.

My aspiration for Copenhagen is simple: We must conclude a binding agreement that will set the world on the path to limit global warming to a maximum of two degrees.

For DM2009, All the World Is Its Multimedia Stage

Submitted by Tom Grubisich on Wed, 11/04/2009 - 08:05

DM2009 will be go multimedia in a big and global way during the Nov. 10-13 exhibition.  The event will be held -- physically -- in the Main Complex of the World Bank Group in Washington, but you can be completely connected from anywhere in the world.

Some things that will happen, and are already happening:

  • Finalists, sponsors, and visitors will be able to borrow Flip camcorders at the DM2009 kiosk to record what's going on and upload their videos at the kiosk to DM2009's YouTube channel.  (In photo at right, DM2009 communications leader Edie Wilson shows World Bank External Communications Web Managing Editor Angie Gentile how to do it.)
  • DM2009 will livestream video of the event -- here for Windows Media and here for Flash -- and upload interviews with finalists to the DM2009's channel on YouTube.
  • There are various DM2009 accounts at Twitter that can be followed, and the DM2009 blog will carry their Tweets during the event.
  • DM2009 participants and visitors can also share events photos at Flickr and Slideshare, links at Delicious, connections at LinkedIn, and all kinds of info/images at DM2009's Facebook site.
  • This blog will be an online event central where participants and visitors can published their reactions -- in text, images, and video. 

From 1,755 Entries, 100 Finalists From Every Region

Submitted by Tom Grubisich on Tue, 11/03/2009 - 11:25

The 100 finalist proposals for DM2009 were selected from 1,755 international applications through a rigorous two-stage assessment process guided by the principles of fairness, transparency, and consensus. Nearly 200 experts from the World Bank Group and a range of other organizations volunteered their time to serve as assessors, each reviewing 20 to 35 proposals.

Each proposal was evaluated by a minimum of three assessors from a diverse range of backgrounds. Assessors individually read an assigned batch of proposals and then, grouped in teams of three to five, narrowed down the number of proposals through discussion and  consensus. At least one person in each assessment team participated from outside the World Bank Group to ensure a varied perspective.

Proposals were evaluated against the criteria of innovation, results, project design and organizational capacity, sustainability, and growth potential. Special emphasis was placed on innovation, as DM's foremost interest is to find new, creative and innovative approaches to weather-threatened settlements and agriculture, especially in developing countries.

The top 10 finalist countries were: Peru, Philippines, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Kenya, Ecuador, India, Nepal, Cambodia, and Colombia.

Climate Change Debate Heads Toward Resolution

Submitted by Edith Wilson on Mon, 11/02/2009 - 14:59

Pre-Copenhagen meeting in Barcelona earlier this yearThe ninth annual Development Marketplace Global Competition takes place in the midst of international debate and negotiation about how to mitigate the causes and adapt to the impacts of climate change.   The event is an integral part of the efforts on climate change within the World Bank Group and complements the Pilot Program on Climate Resilience, part of the Climate Investment Funds operated by the multilateral development banks.

A comprehensive, enforceable agreement on controlling global warming that doesn’t penalize developing nations is the goal of world leaders at the United Nations Climate Change Conference to be held in Copenhagen on Dec. 7-18, 2009. Leading up to Copenhagen was the two-year Bali Action Plan agreed to in December 2007.