Dialogue in Pursuit of Development - Are you looking for one of ...

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wish to end this introductory chapter by emphasising that the question of
ownership always has to be kept in mind in every step of the dialogue. A
dialogue without this perspective is no dialogue. Adherence to the recommendations
above could be an important step in this direction. It is not
only a question of ‘who listens’ but also ‘who cares’ i.e. that the dialogue
should lead to practical and sustainable results!
* * *
About the contributions
Since the authors were given a free hand to address the subject of dialogue,
there were no immediate criteria for organising their contributions. We have
chosen to present them in a straightforward alphabetical order under two
headings: Policy Dialogue and Projects and Programme Dialogue. However,
to allow the reader to benefit from a broader perspective of the problems
surrounding dialogue in pursuit of development the four contributions by
Edgren, Lopes, Ouattara and Wohlgemuth, which all have a slightly broader
approach to these questions, have been chosen to form an introductory
block following this introductory chapter.
Introductory block
Gösta Edgren shares his rich experience from dialoguing as a high Swedish
government representative and gives a general review of the subject. He
introduces the concept of asymmetric information and discusses the dynamics
of this asymmetry. The article also presents a set of concrete
measures on how to create more room for dialogue.
Carlos Lopes, from his position as a top UNDP official, puts dialogue in
the perspective of development theory advocated by Amartya Sen. From
this starting point, Lopes then critically reviews the role of dialogue in the
Emerging New Development Agenda manifested in the PRSP processes.
He points to the ‘Catch 22’ scenario when ownership is threatened by excessive
conditionality and discusses how to achieve a ‘win-win’ dialogue.
Alassane Ouattara, based on all his experience as a long-serving high
official of the International Monetary Fund and as prime minister of Côte
d’Ivoire, the basic requirements needed for a real dialogue in pursuit of
development to take place.
Lennart Wohlgemuth summarises interviews with four important actors
and policy makers within the field of development co-operation, who give
their views from many years of active participation in and responsibility for
the development dialogue in their respective countries. Hilde Fraford
Johnson has served in two Norwegian cabinets as Minister of International
Co-operation, Pertti Majanen is at present Under-Secretary within the Finnish
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and responsible for development co-operation,