Whilst significant progress has been achieved recently in improving business regulations in developing countries, empirical evidence on what works in business environment (BE) reform programmes is limited, and what information is available is often scattered or hard to obtain.
Lessons learned from past reforms show that reform mechanisms are complex, difficult to get right, and highly country-specific. Many reforms happen on paper, but don’t get implemented on the ground.
Objectives
The UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) is therefore looking for better evidence and guidance to improve the quality and sustainability of reforms and to ensure that DFID’s growing assistance to BE reforms is well-targeted.
The Business Environment Reform Facility (BERF) programme provides a central facility for research and advice which will respond to demand from DFID’s Country Offices to help them initiate, scale up and improve business environment programmes. The facility will provide expert advice and analysis of what works and what doesn’t in particular circumstances, and will help develop innovative new approaches in involving businesses and consumers in investment climate reform.
Our role
Itad is a member of the KPMG-led consortium delivering the BERF programme and has responsibility for the ‘Cross-DFID lesson learning’ workstream. We are supporting cross-DFID by providing information through four channels:
- Annual Synthesis: Building evidence and disseminating lessons learned and best practices.
- Help Desk: Responding to ad hoc requests for research by producing accessible reports that synthesise the key issues and relevant literature.
- Demand-Led Events: Organising cross-DFID events on specific aspects of BE reform to facilitate information exchange and debate.
- Advice: Providing advice with regard to project management and structures for BE reforms.
Our work is delivered by an experienced Activity Coordinator and will draw on the knowledge and experience of a pool of experts in this field.
Contact Fabiola Lopez-Gomez (fabiola.lopez-gomez@itad.com) if you would like to discuss this project.
Image © May 2014, Lake Tanganyika, Burundi overlooking the DRC mountains, Men fishing on boat. Photo Credit: Vishal Gadhavi
