1. Commonwealth Secretariat meeting 6-7 July London
Sustaining development in small states
Promoting small states growth and development in
the global economy
Exploring new sources of
partnerships for small states: J L Roberts
JLR

3. Exploring new sources of partnerships for small states
J L Roberts
• Past Eras for Policy and Action on SD
 1970s Raising awareness
 1980s Global Treaties
 1990s Legislation and national commitments
 2000s Strategies, Goals, Grand projects
2010s New Era for what?

4. Exploring new sources of partnerships for small states
J L Roberts
From Crisis to rescue
 G20 Pledges of support
 UN Review of IFI structures and functions
 World Bank rescue packages
• For 2009, the bank supported 767 projects to promote economic growth, fight
…
poverty, and assist private businesses
The ‘Unholy Trinity’ (IMF, WB,WTO)(Richard Peet)
still in business preserving the status quo ante

5. Exploring new sources of partnerships for small states
J L Roberts
Into a new era?
 G einschaf t or community
em
Gesellschaf t or association (concepts in social theory
(from the German sociologists Ferdinand Tonnies and Max Weber)
Taking us forward into a fresh framework for
sustainable development?

6. Exploring new sources of partnerships for small states
J L Roberts
• Community: individuals, family, kinship,
neighbourhood, village – common culture and mores
• Association: commercial company, professional
group, state, federation- corporate objectives, division
of labour, specialisation, business management

7. Exploring new sources of
partnerships for small
states
J L Roberts
Partners Partnerships
Associates
Colleagues
Accomplices
Players in a side
Companions in a dance
or
Strengthening to a hole in a
ship’s deck for a capstan
What is the best narrative for us?

8. Exploring new sources of partnerships for small states
J L Roberts
• Dominant Social Paradigm (DSP)
Technical progress which promotes marginal
productivity to increase for the same levels of factors
of production
This approach to economic development threatens the
outstanding natural assets in Small and island states
when it values such natural wealth at zero.

9. Exploring new sources of partnerships for small states
J L Roberts
New Environmental Paradigm (NEP)
Seeks to redress the environmental impact of
development by
Prevention and mitigation measures
Valuing natural resources explicitly in the system
of social welfare accounts.
.

10. Exploring new sources of partnerships for small states
J L Roberts
People of small States
 Low ecological footprint
High on the Happy Planet
Index
 Smallness means close to
government
Remoteness a protective
shield
But without awareness and
drive, highly vulnerable to
ecosystem collapse.
The lost Dodo: a metaphor for the perils of
inaction.

11. Exploring new sources of partnerships for small states
J L Roberts
‘Man aspires to the stars.
But if he can only get his
sewage and refuse
distributed and utilized in
an orderly fashion, he will
be doing well.’ Roy Bridger On
Progress in The Times
A heap of trash that's
twice the size of Texas,
80% plastic, and weighs
3.5 million tons. Trapped
in a circular course by
winds and currents
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch

12. Exploring new sources of partnerships for small states
J L Roberts
Centres of Excellence
Islands and Small States
Institute at the Foundation
for International Studies,
the Malta University Centre
Gozo, Malta.
 Education & training
 Consultation and expert
networks
 Information Analysis
 Publications
R&D
Professor Briguglio leading an international
meeting

13. Exploring new sources of partnerships for small states
J L Roberts
• European Commission’s new form of enhanced General
budget support called "MDG Contract”
• First version -€225 million to the Government of Zambia for
a 6 year period (2009-2014): to
• Support poverty-focused public programmes
• Accelerate progress towards MDGs.
• Focus health and education

14. Exploring new sources of partnerships for small states
J L Roberts
Clinical Economics
The Jeffrey Sachs
Ruhiira Partnership
Millennium Villages
projects
‘Challenge to pessimists and
sceptics.’ Guardian
–
8Trial villages in sub-
Saharan Africa –
• Objective: Achieve MDGs by 2015 on
US$110 per person per year (30 cents per
day) over five-years

15. Exploring new sources of partnerships for small states
J L Roberts
Sachs’ Millennium Village Project three year results
Income levels rising: malnutrition falling
School enrolment up:
Gender improvements
Maternal mortality reduced
Malaria incidence halved:
Better communications and inter-village trade

16. Exploring new sources of partnerships for small states
J L Roberts
The development narrative sound bite
Spat!
Think globally act locally: UN policy (Att. Rene Dubos)
Think globally act nationally: International aid
through macro-economic budget support programmes
Act locally think globally: Jeffrey Sachs clinical
economics in the millennium village project

17. Exploring new sources of Sachs on development with people in
partnerships for small states villages
J L Roberts
Clinical economics
‘Development economics
needs an overhaul to be more
like modern medicine, a
profession of rigor, insight
and practicality.’
‘The end of poverty must
start in the villages’
‘The poor are ready to
act..individually and
collectively …through
networks of mutual
accountability and networks
of financing’
Community with Associations

18. Exploring new sources of
partnerships for small states
J L Roberts
South-South Clusters
Michael Porter and Paul
Krugman cluster model
Singapore science park with
World Bank, AfDB, IES
 Business clusters
 Sectoral clusters
 Knowledge clusters
 Supply services clusters
UN CSD thematic cluster
linkages in SD

19. Exploring new sources of partnerships for small states
J L Roberts
• Variable geometry for technical support
North-south
South-south
South-north

20. Exploring new sources of partnerships for small states
J L Roberts
CARICOM: partnership through Associations
Over 50 major development Associations
 Climate change
 Disasters
 Coastal and marine
 Land use
 Transport
 Science and technology
 Justice
 R&D
 Management and finance

21. Exploring new sources of partnerships for small states
J L Roberts
Professional model
Evidence base, theory and guidelines of best practice
Syllabus for basic and continuing education
Professional body for training, exams & discipline
Monitoring and evaluation
R&D
The top professional surgeon scrubbed in the
operating theatre: the inverted hierarchy of evidence-
based science.

22. Exploring new sources of partnerships for small states
J L Roberts
Areas for new professional partnerships
Climate change
Disaster management
Freshwater
Land use
Tourism
Biodiversity
Technology transfer
Economics for development & green accounting

23. Exploring new sources of partnerships for small states
J L Roberts
Community: senior partner in development
IFI south oriented architecture
Companions in a dance not accomplices
From DSP to NEP
Small is beautiful and ecologically light footed
Centres of excellence for evidence based SD
Getting the sewage and refuse sorted
New professions for SD to get on with the job
Variable geometry for SD with the South-north links