The PDG, as part of the OECD delegation, participated in the ministerial "International Donors' Conference Towards a New Future for Haiti", which was co-hosted in New York on 31 March by the United States and the United Nations, in co-operation with the Government of Haiti, and with the support of Brazil, Canada, the European Union, France and Spain.

The goal of the conference was to mobilise international support for the development needs of Haiti in an effort to lay the foundation for the country’s long-term recovery. At the conference, Haiti presented its vision for the country’s future and how international assistance can support this vision. Over 150 countries, international organisations and other partners had an opportunity to pledge resources, to co-ordinate in support of Haiti’s long-term recovery and to commit to a sustained effort to support Haiti.

The PDG contributed to an "All-of-OECD" statement that was prepared for the conference. The PDG Policy Note on Service Delivery for Haiti was also widely commented during informal meetings held by the Head of the Advisory Unit on the margins of the conference. Specifically, the PDG received encouraging reactions from non-members of the Partnership (e.g. France and Norway).

As a follow up to the conference, various Directorates of the OECD (including the PDG) will send a targeted offer of assistance to the Government of Haiti on areas relevant to the revised Action Plan for National Recovery and Development and based on the Organisation’s comparative advantage. The PDG will specifically share its expertise on service delivery, contracting out and capacity development in fragile states, as well as how to leverage the contributions of the Haitian diasporas to strengthen core government functions.

At the invitation of the Government of Haiti, the PDG represented the OECD at the Technical Conference for Haiti in Santo Domingo on 15-17 March. Participants at the conference discussed priorities in reconstruction efforts, including the delivery of basic social services and funding and reconstruction modalities (the establishment of a Multi-Donor Trust Fund managed by the World Bank and an interim Development Agency co-managed by the Government of Haiti and the international community). The PDG made available its Policy Note and Service Delivery Guidance, and discussed its proposed approach with selected donors during one of the break-out sessions. The approach of the Note, which emphasises the need for a "new deal" for the delivery of services premised on national leadership, capacity and accountability, was well received.

From 18-21 March, the PDG was invited for a series of consultations with the Government of Haiti and to provide technical expertise to the Government through the office of the Chief Economist to H.E. Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive on the provision of services, as well as to assist with the formulation of a request for assistance to the OECD on issues where the organisation has a comparative advantage, such as trade or investment policy.

Representatives of the Haitian Diaspora convened on 23 March at the Headquarters of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington to develop a co-ordinated strategy that addresses key issues in the recovery, reconstruction and development efforts in Haiti. The meeting built on the efforts of the international community, the commitments set forth in the Montreal meeting of 25 January 2010, and the results of the High-Level Technical Meeting of Donor Countries held in Santo Domingo. The strategy and recommendations generated by the Haitian Diaspora in this forum were presented to the Haitian Government, participating governments and agencies (Group of 9) at the Haiti Donors Conference held in New York. The PDG developed a document on Key Considerations for Haitian Diaspora Forum, which was eventually incorporated into the workshop report and presentation to the main conference participants.

On 25 March, as part of the consultations leading to the New York donor conference, the PDG was invited by the Office of the UN Special Envoy to Haiti (OSE) to attend consultations with representatives of Haitian civil society in New York. The workshop was jointly organised by the OSE, Interaction, the European Union and New York University, and allowed key local and international NGOs to discuss and frame their expectations and priorities in the context of immediate relief, humanitarian and development efforts. Service delivery featured prominently as one of the themes discussed, given the large presence of Non-State Providers operating in Haiti. The PDG Draft Policy Note on Service Delivery in Haiti was made available and its proposed new approach based on mutual accountability, capacity building and stewardship for the government were discussed with stakeholders. During these discussions, several participants raised the issue of the Government of Haiti's ability to translate this vision into reality in the near future, given its limited capacities and the proportion of services being delivered outside of government’s oversight or direct channels.

On 30 March, the PDG co-hosted a Workshop on a propopsed Haitian Civic Service Corps with the Social Science Research Council (SSRC) in New York. Participants included Haitian officials from the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Civic Action, as well as other senior Haitian officials, academics and donors, who shared the lessons of similar experiences in their countries. Participants also included representatives from NGOs such as Viva Rio, a Brazilian NGO that has a long history of engagement with Haiti. Viva Rio emphasised its community-based approach through the Protection Brigades in Bel Air (a slum in Port-au-Prince), and also emphasised the importance of Diasporas in contributing to civic service for their country. Various ways to engage the youth in reconstruction efforts by providing them with appropriate training, a sense of professional ethics and a strong community anchoring were highlighted. The Ministry of Youth, Sports and Civic Action, which is currently finalising its approach and policy for the development of a Haitian Civic Service Corps (CSC), may turn to the OECD through the PDG for technical support in fine-tuning its approach to launch pilot projects towards creating the HCC

From 8-12 March 2010, the PDG's lead procurement consultant undertook a mission to Grenada. The purpose of the mission was twofold. First, a seminar was organised on the new draft procurement law and regulations, and on the overarching topic of procurement reform in Grenada. Over 70 stakeholders participated, including public officials, and representatives from the private sector and public companies. Secondly, the mission involved numerous interviews to assess the public procurement system in Grenada, and to prepare a Strategy Paper and Road Map for the implementation of the procurement reform. The Strategy Paper and Road Map were finalised at the end of March, and will serve as the core document for continuing the PDG-led international collaborative effort to support public procurement reform in Grenada.

The recruitment process for experts is well underway for the PDG project to support municipal governance in Guatemala. Out of a list of ten short-listed candidates interviewed by the Government last month, three have been selected with the support of the UNDP country office in Guatemala. A decision on the last position to be filled is expected to take place in early April. In the meantime, the Advisory Unit and the UNDP Office in Guatemala have finalised the cost-sharing agreement that allows the hiring of selected candidates and the launching of the project.

Turkey has officially announced its decision to act as one of the vice-chairs of the PDG for this year. According to PDG governance rules, in addition to the UNDP which serves as permanent Vice-Chair of the Steering Group, two member countries of the PDG serve as vice-chair on a rotating basis. Last year, Australia and Chile assumed these responsibilities. The United States has expressed interest in serving as vice-chair later this year.

As the Partnership for Democratic Governance nears the end of its initial three-year mandate, an evaluation is being undertaken to verify the achievement of objectives and to make recommendations regarding a renewal of the Partnership's mandate. The evaluator, Mr. Philippe BACLE, was in Paris in March to meet with the Advisory Unit, Steering Group members and other stakeholders. Stakeholders outside of Paris are being interviewed following his mission, and the final report will be submitted by the Evaluation Working Group in May, ahead of its formal submission to the Steering Group at its sixth meeting in June.

The Working Group on Mandate Renewal, comprised of representatives from Australia, Canada, Chile, Turkey, UNDP and the United States, held its first teleconference on 25 March, which served to initiate the Group’s reflection on a revised or renewed mandate for the PDG and to lay out the overall process for preparing a proposal to the PDG Steering Group and then to the OECD Council.

The Secretariat is pleased to announce that Mr. Jan RIELÄNDER, a German national, will be joining the PDG team next month. Mr. Rieländer's portfolio will include the monitoring and evaluation of the PDG's field initiatives in Georgia, Guatemala and Liberia. Before joining the PDG, Mr. Rieländer spent several years as an evaluator at the World Bank in Washington, and, most recently, served as monitoring and evaluation officer with UNICEF in the Nairobi Regional Office, covering the Eastern and Southern Africa Region. Mr. Rieländer holds degrees in Economics from Syracuse University and International Relations from the University of Dresden.

The Advisory Unit continues to extend its invitation to all interested parties to join our community of practice by creating a PDG Online account today. PDG Online is a unique, custom-built web platform where users can comment on and participate in an ongoing intellectual debate, learn more about the latest work of the Partnership and more. The website is also being enriched with a new series of discussion papers from a number of development experts on issues ranging from contracting out to the role of non-traditional donors and South-South co-operation. Users are also invited to post comments on this content in order to further the ongoing debate.