Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs launches consultation on Inclusive Development

In a debate in Dutch Parliament in October 2014, Minister Lilianne Ploumen for International Trade and Development Cooperation committed to send a letter to Parliament in Spring 2015 on the inclusiveness of Dutch projects and programmes. The letter will address inter alia ‘’the problem that the most marginalised and disadvantaged groups are not reached sufficiently”. The letter will set out how inclusiveness is embedded  in Dutch programmes and identify ways to strengthen efforts within the framework of current policy for trade and international cooperation.

In preparing this letter, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Netherlands launches a consultation, organised by The Broker, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the five Knowledge Platforms for Global Development. This consultation is launched online on the website of INCLUDE in the first week of March and will run for one month.

The Ministry invites you to share your views on the topic by writing a short expert opinion of roughly 600 words that deals with one or more of the following questions:

1. What policies and interventions have proved to contribute most successfully to the translation of growth into benefits for the poor? Is there a best policy mix?
2. Are specific and additional economic, political and/or social measures required to reach the most excluded and disadvantaged groups?
3. Policies and outcomes for inclusive development are the primary responsibility of national governments. How and in which specific areas can donors contribute to inclusive development? What role can civil society play?
4. How can the private sector in developing countries take the interests of the poor and marginalized more into account? Which are best practices? How can we further promote this in our cooperation with and support for the private sector?
5. Which additional policy measures and approaches are required to address (horizontal) inequalities in fragile and conflict-affected areas, and to include marginalized groups in interventions that promote stability, security and justice?

The consultation will run online in March on this website. So please send your contribution as soon as possible. Your contribution can be sent to: consultation@thebrokeronline.eu.

Here you can find a discussion note from the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs with more detailed contextual information on the topic.