SDC and Inequalities

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SDC and Inequalities

Learning Trajectory Global Inequalities
December 2017 / Kim Andreas Kessler, Academic Trainee, Quality Assurance and Poverty Reduction Section, Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)

Income inequality between countries has reduced, while inequality within countries has increased in many cases. The call for inclusive poverty reduction is not new, yet it gained renewed momentum with the UN 2030 Agenda and its emphasis to 'leave no one behind'. Growing political attention to so-called losers of globalisation in developed countries has further pushed inequality towards a prominent theme on national and international development agendas.
In order to address this key development issue, the SDC Quality Assurance and Poverty Reduction Section launched a Learning Trajectory on Global Inequalities. Learning Trajectories aim at improving connections between knowledge, practice and realities on the ground. They consist of small groups of SDC staff that are matched with an academic expert adopting a mentoring role. The overarching aim of this Learning Trajectory on Global Inequalities was to reflect on the various implications SDG 10 (reducing inequality within and among countries) has for SDC's work. This question was addressed at a strategic level (Dispatch on Switzerland's International Cooperation and cooperation strategies) as well as at an operational level (country projects).

The Learning Trajectory consisted of 15 SDC members. Global Cooperation, South Cooperation and Eastern Cooperation were represented by different SDC head office staff. Mozambique and Tanzania were represented through SCO representatives. It was accompanied by Sabin Bieri and Christoph Bader from the Centre for Development and Environment (University of Bern).
For further information, please contact Stephanie Guha.

What has been achieved?
The long-term output of this peer group was to define SDC's role in tackling inequalities. As a first step, a Briefing Paper on Global Inequalities was developed in order to disseminate the state-of-the art of knowledge on inequalities within the SDC. As a second step, an SDC inequalities mapping was conducted in order to take stock of the SDC's current (2017) strategic and practical activities with an inequality focus. Covering a total of 25 Swiss Cooperation Offices, the Mapping Report highlights that:

There is a broadly shared support for the idea of increasing importance of inequalities as a challenge for development cooperation.
There is an idea that conventional approaches do not do justice to inequality related challenges.
There is scope to more systematically analyse 'inequalities' and integrate 'reducing inequalities' as a specific objective within projects/programmes.

Outputs

Briefing Paper on Global Inequalities

SDC Guidance on Leave No One Behind