Fostering territorial perspective for development

At a time of global challenges, development operations must switch from a sector-based to a territorial approach. This is what CIRAD and a range of partners believe, and what prompted them to sign a white paper (with the FAO, OECD, UNCDF, NEPAD, GIZ, BMZ, AFD and European Commission). The paper calls for the use of a territorial approach when designing development policy and programmes.

Territorial approaches are increasingly recognized as a powerful tool for improving development operations and their impact, and this white paper offers a shared understanding of what the concept means. It defines such approaches and their main principles and explains how they can support rural and urban change, and the links between those two spaces. Lastly, it looks at the merits of the method and how it can be implemented.

An alliance for a territorial approach to development

To foster territorial perspective for development, the signatories are calling for a broader alliance between development practitioners, researchers, international organizations, donors and governments. The alliance will have four objectives:

• Promote and raise awareness of territorial approaches as a means for the concrete achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations.
• Engage development partners (governments, academia, civil society organizations, regional organizations, private sector) to mainstream territorial approaches in their programmes.
• Mobilize multi-disciplinary research to enhance the knowledge base and strengthen the theoretical and operational framework, as well as tools and methodologies to build a sound theory of change and support the paradigm shift based on proven and successful practices.
• Build the capacities of and empower national and local institutions and actors, notably women and young people, to better participate in the design of their future.

Fostering territorial perspective for development - towards a wider alliance

European Commission, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Agence française de développement (AFD), CIRAD, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and African Union Development Agency (NEPAD)
December 2018

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Four minutes of highlights from the international conference Living Territories 2018