Features, The Think Tank

OpenCanada is pleased to be partnering with the Globe and Mail and War Child to introduce Canadians to four innovative humanitarians: Samantha Nutt, Vijayendra Rao, George Roter and Scott Gilmore. Over the course of the week, each will propose an innovation to the practice of aid in the op-ed pages of the Globe and Mail, and be interviewed by OpenCanada below. The discussion will culminate with a panel on the topic at the University of Toronto on Thursday evening. We invite you to check back regularly for the latest commentary on the future of humanitarianism.

Dr. Samantha Nutt introduces the series:

2011 saw its fair share of global crises, from the remodelling of North Africa’s political landscape to a harrowing number of cataclysmic disasters – some natural, but most manmade – and was bookended by a global “Occupy” movement that swept across the developed world. All of this upheaval illuminated the crucial role that responsible development and humanitarianism play in creating a more just and equitable world.

2012 has already highlighted a number of challenges for the aid community. On the heels of the second anniversary of the catastrophic earthquake that devastated Haiti’s infrastructure, the country still has over half a million civilians living in tent cities, their young girls defenceless against sexual predators. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a recent attack in South Kivu killed 45 – a mere two months after a national election that promised hope for peace in the war-ravaged country. And in South Sudan, reports of violence and gruesome attacks are practically daily occurrences. So, where are we headed? How can we deliver aid in fragile states? Why does the aid community continue to trade in missed opportunities?

This series will present important dialogues between experts in the fields of aid, economics, and development that will explore the issues facing the humanitarian community, share what the aid sector is doing right (and wrong), and outline what we might do differently.

By Dr. Samantha Nutt, founder of War Child and author of Damned Nations

Scott Gilmore
Dr. Samantha Nutt
George Roter
Vijayendra Rao

Taylor Owen interviews Peace Dividend Trust founder Scott Gilmore about why government aid doesn’t work. For more, read his Globe and Mail op-ed: “Poverty reduction depends on entrepreneurs, not aid.”

Taylor Owen interviews War Child founder Dr. Samantha Nutt about the emergent public-private aid model. For more, read her Globe and Mail op-ed: “Should NGOs take the corporate bait?.”

Taylor Owen interviews Engineers Without Borders co-founder George Roter about why an aid project cannot be treated like a construction project. For more, read his Globe and Mail op-ed: “Less Infrastructure, More Institutions.”

Anouk Dey interviews the World Bank’s Vijayendro Rao about why poor implementation is often the weakest link in aid effectiveness. For more, read his Globe and Mail op-ed: ‘In Foreign Aid, Failure is Essential to Learning.”

Another innovative idea on aid. Ian Smillie on corporate involvement.

Guest

Thanks for putting all this information together.
One quick correction: It’s ColOmbia and not ColUmbia.
Editors

Thanks – it’s fixed!
Jude

How come Canada does not offer any aid to India at all?
Alberto Mendoza-Galina

I think the AID model works perfectly, it is made to serve other purposes than just give free help to countries in need.

The majority of aid coming from the United Nations come in the form of contracts to, for example, US companies to go over these countries in need, and provide their products and services. The actual model for global aid is a disguise to further advance and promote the economy of the countries that provide the aid in the first place.

This to me is another form of imperialism.

The model of entrepreneurism shown here sounds interesting, so I have questions, if these aid comes in the form of financing who are the investors? at what interest rates? what criteria will be used to favour one project over another?

Who decides what the countries need?
Punheim

Canada also gives a good deal of aid to Mozambique, which doesn’t appear on your map for some reason.
http://www.facebook.com/delroydyer Delroy Dyer

Foreign aid does not work. Outside of immediate emergency assistance, we should not be spending money on aid. Instead we should focus on removing the barriers we imposed on trade with those countries. As was pointed out in other comments, aid has been used as a political tool, often to “buy” friends. But that then gives donor countries the idea that they can somehow interfere in the domestic affairs of the recipient countries, which breeds internal animosity of the kind now emerging in the aftermath of the Arab spring.

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