The GMM (global management meeting, previously knows ad tte global RR meeting) took place this week in Tarrytown, North of NYC. I heard that close to 300 people took part in the meeting. Substantive discussions before the meeting were arranged using TeamWorks but were closed to the general UNDP public. At least 7 additional groups…

The mMDGs saga seems to be finally coming to and end. The programmer that the company we recruited appointed for follow-up is indeed very good and responsive. The final beta version is now ready as is the capability of uploading new data into the app without having to touch the source code. I still need…

This is a reply to one of the techies of the KM group who inexplicably went after a few comments I posted on the Development 2.0 space.Go figure! Hi Johannes, I have been fortunate enough to have been in UNDP since it first started using ICTs for our development programmes, back in 1992. The core…

Yet another mission got a no go signal at the last moment. But this time the mission was postponed not canceled. Ashes from Chile’s Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcano created air traffic havoc in the Southern Cone, forcing the cancellation of innumerable flights and stranding thousands of passengers in many airports across the globe. The free traveling…

I was asked to prepare on very short notice a few comments on the above, based on a draft (DGG-Green-HD-draft) that DGG had prepared a few days back. Here they are. Background for Rio +20 (institutional memory) 1. UNDP was heavily involved in part of the follow-up of the Rio Earth Summit in 1992. On…

I finally managed to speak to the EU/Danish consultant who had originally planned the e-governance workshop in St. Kitts. Apparently, the situation was much more complicated than what I originally thought. The workshop was going to be partly financed  by a EU project that is implemented by the Ministry of Finance and Sustainable Development (MFSD),…

There is a TWs group running under this name, apparently managed by the KMG person out posted in Bratislava. The group is somewhat active, thanks in part to this same person’s dynamism. At any rate, I am not entirely sure what Development 2.0 means, but it does remind me of the now old and obsolete…

Cell phones make extensive use of radio frequency electromagnetic fields to function properly. From this point of view, cell phones are pretty much like sophisticated digital radios with computer power, connected to large radio or wireless networks. However, unlike old style radios, cell phones must be used in close contact with our body and specially our…

Over the long memorial day weekend, I managed to hurt my back one again. Spend a couple of days mostly in bed and was unable to go to the office or work on email for long periods of time. I was supposed to be on official mission in St. Kitts and Neves the day the…

Being back in Caracas for the fourth time in the last 5 years has given me the opportunity to gauge the evolution of the Revolución Bolivariana launched at the beginning of the Millennium. I was indeed surprised when the CO told me that they will collect me at the airport, something that has never happened…

Social innovation seems to be emerging as a new development priority where “social entrepreneurs,” both for-profit and non-profit, are being called upon to assist governments in delivering essential services and enhancing access to information. But unlike the now seemingly old “public-private partnerships,” social innovation is also fostering new solutions to deliver the goods (or improve…

Being out of the office sick all week considerably reduced my activity. Emails however did not stop coming so they required a daily (and large) dose of attention. The mMDGs saga continues as the developer is still dragging his feet. We are almost there (although we are about 8 months late!) but the last mile…

PG has prepared a paper on this topic for discussion within BDP’s Policy Group. The paper is here: Inclusive Growth Strategy Paper sj 8 March 2011 (2). Oslo in turn commissioned a it review which is here: GSDRC Helpdesk Research Report_Inclusive growth and governance. I submitted the following comments as part of DGG inputs. 1.…

Belize is working on the above and the CO contacted me for advise. All related documents are here: Belize Docs. These are my inputs. 1. I am impressed by the quality of the research that has been done in  terms of e-readiness and ICT benchmarking. This is really a good professional job and will certainly…

Due to health reasons I had to cancel the missions to Turkey (this week) and Bahrain and Moldova (next week). I was also not able to come to the office at all during the week. So there is not much to report. I got a request from the Belize country office to provide policy support…