Dear Colleagues: I'd like to add a small contribution to this discussion re: bringing together international funding sources outside the formal ODA mechanisms with local community development efforts.
One of the emerging areas that holds a potential contribution to funding of more local engagements, without taking on the deconstruction of the current donor-NGO dynamics, is that of better leveraging the Migrant and Diaspora communities and the Internet. There are some excellent Internet-enabled models starting to surface whereby the Diaspora's long-term engagement in the remittances is being channeled to local community projects such that direct linkages can be established at a lower cost, without much bureaucracy, but at the same time establishes the needed safeguards and accountability. When one looks at the amount of remittances moving from developed to developing countries, this is considerable; for many countries, more than the official development assistance, and foreign direct investments. And if even a reasonable portion of these funds can be shifted from what is frequently a subsistence-orientation at the family level, to community-development projects, then this can address some of the issues expressed in earlier contributions. Few people care more about countries than the Migrants and Diaspora population, and few want their funds used more wisely than this group. Several examples are starting to pop up that take a focus on reaching the purchasing power of the migrant and Diaspora populations and channeling some of this to local development projects. This is increasingly being done via establishing Internet Portals as trusted sites for these types of activities, though there are naturally other approaches. The opportunities hold significant promise. Darrell Owen ------------ ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: <http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/>
