Public/private partnerships in international development: Student Initiative Forum at King's College London with closing keynote address by Jeffrey Sachs

On 3^rd December 2011 a group of fifteen to twenty postgraduate students from my department (Social and Policy Sciences at Bath) attended a forum at King’s College London on “Dependent Development; Towards a Cross-Sector Approach” organised by the charitable company The Student Initiative. I was particularly interested in attending the day of lectures and seminars due to the focus on business involvement in development, which related well to the masters I am studying for in Business and Community, and my experience in fair trade in India and Senegal.

The morning began with a keynote address on cross-sector partnerships in development by Sir Richard Jolly (former Assistant Secretary-General of the UN who has undertaken various positions in UNICEF and UNDP) and his wife Dr. Alison Jolly (primatologist). The group of around 200 participants then divided into different rooms for more focused discussions. I attended a seminar on impact investment with Shane Heywood, a former Acumen Fund fellow, who explained what Acumen Fund do and how their investments help social enterprises in developing countries flourish and grow.

During lunch, representatives from a small number of NGOs were available for networking. I was interested in particular to talk to Peter Ryan, CEO of Microloan Foundation, which provides loans to groups of women and offers training for them to implement their business ideas. I noticed in their 2009-10 impact report that knitting and sewing had been one of the most successful activities in Malawi; something to look into.

Following a slightly contentious keynote address by Michael John Hastings, Lord Hastings of Scarisbrick, KPMG’s Global Head of Citizenship and Diversity (the debate that followed highlighted the contrast between a corporate approach to development and the sort of paradigm found in international development departments in universities), we again divided into smaller seminar groups. I attended a talk by Professor Harry Barkema from LSE on ‘How to start social business ventures’ which was limited in time yet informative. Harry then formed part of a panel on the way forward for social enterprise in development in a plenary session, which brought out some interesting debate on whether businesses with strong ethical values can ever survive in the long term.

At the end of the day, Professor Jeffresy Sachs* gave a closing keynote address on the way forward for development in general, and on the role for business, via video conference from what looked like his home. A few participants were able to ask questions. He referred to the current North Atlantic financial crisis as a moral crisis, rather than an economic one, stating that there is enough to go round, it is just not being managed well. On the future for development beyond the 2015 MDGs, he said the current MDGs on meeting basic needs must remain crucial goals; sustainability must be a key focus; and that inclusive politics and inclusive economics are needed, in particular since rich countries are losing their middle classes. On aid, he called for an end to aid dependence through graduation of aid, and a reform to the aid process in view of issues of corruption and unsustainable aid (e.g. food aid rather than help for farmers).

Due to the masters I am undertaking this year, I was particularly interested to note down his comments about the role of corporations in global development. He said corporations are the best diplomats, hold the best technology, are internationally organised better than other sectors, and are more effective. They are good at large-scale development initiatives such as the eradication of disease. But, he was strongly opposed to the way corporations are ‘wrecking the world when they try to control politics’ through lobbying, funding political campaigns, and through political propaganda. He concluded ‘in America, we have a corporatocracy, not a democracy’ and that we should continue with public/private partnerships, but ‘get companies out of politics’.

*Jeffrey D. Sachs is the Director of The Earth Institute, Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University. He is also Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. From 2002 to 2006, he was Director of the UN Millennium Project and Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the Millennium Development Goals (source: http://www.earth.columbia.edu/articles/view/1804)