Sarah Montgomery, economic justice policy analyst, Cafod, London, UK @SarahMonty1 Involve small and medium-sized businesses: Given that most people are employed in MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) in developing countries, we need a much more comprehensive approach to the role of private sector in development.
The role of the private sector in development is expected to be further enhanced – and scrutinised – over the coming year, as governments debate how the next set of development goals (the sustainable development goals) will be funded from 2015.
Jim Murphy MP, the shadow international development secretary, recognised the role of the private sector in development, but warned: "We have to get it right, both for British taxpayers and those people overseas that we are trying to help.
Equally important, he said, was the need to ensure that the increasing rush to engage the private sector in development did not result in the exclusion of civil society organisations (CSOs).
In May, the commission announced proposals to boost the role of the private sector in development, arguing that investment could help improve sustainable agricultural production and better the lives of women, young people and the poor.
Innovation has become more mainstream, according to Kim Scriven, manager of the Hif, because there is an ever greater need to do more with less, and a growing role for the private sector in development.
On the one hand, many Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development governments are gravitating towards an increased focus on the role of the international private sector in development for three main reasons.
Tomorrow's People has been held up as a model of excellence by Conservative party strategists preparing a key role for the voluntary sector in development of the party's social policy.
India Ink spoke with Mr. Shah on his recent trip to Mumbai about transformations in the development sector, the function of the private sector in development work and the aid agency's new programs and partnerships aimed at reducing preventable child deaths.
