Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit


The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH or GIZ in short is a German development agency headquartered in Bonn and Eschborn that provides services in the field of international development cooperation. GIZ mainly implements technical cooperation projects of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, its main commissioning party, although it also works with the private sector and other national and supranational government organizations on a public benefit basis. According to the OECD, 2019 official development assistance from Germany decreased 1.4% to USD 23.8 billion. In its activities GIZ seeks to follow the paradigm of sustainable development, which aims at economic development through social inclusion and environmental protection. GIZ offers consulting and capacity building services in a wide range of areas, including management consulting, rural development, sustainable infrastructure, security and peace-building, social development, governance and democracy, environment and climate change, and economic development and employment.
GIZ was established on January 1, 2011, through the merger of three German international development organizations: the Deutscher Entwicklungsdienst, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit, and Internationale Weiterbildung und Entwicklung. GIZ is one of the world's largest development agencies, with a business volume in excess of €2.4 billion in 2016 as well as 19,506 employees spread over more than 120 countries. Additionally, in cooperation with the German Federal Employment Agency, GIZ operates the Centre for International Migration and Development, an agency specialized on international cooperation activities related to global labor mobility.

Organisation

GIZ's headquarters are located in Bonn and Eschborn. It also has a representation in Berlin and offices at 16 other locations across Germany. Outside Germany, the company has a representation in Brussels and operates 90 offices around the world.
Because GIZ is incorporated under German law as a GmbH, it is governed by a management board that acts on behalf of the company's shareholders and is monitored by a supervisory board. Additionally, GIZ also has a Board of Trustees and a Private Sector Advisory Board. GIZ's management board consists of four managing directors and is chaired by Tanja Gönner, while the Federal Republic of Germany and the Federal Ministry of Finance ) is GIZ's sole shareholder. The organization is structured into eight corporate units and ten departments.
GIZ holds a 49% share in sequa gGmbH, the implementing partner of the German business community, in line with the company's objective to foster private sector development and cooperate closely with business chambers and associations abroad. Moreover, GIZ is a member of the European Network of Implementing Development Agencies, which was co-founded by GTZ in 2000.

Activities

GIZ's considers capacity development to be its core competence. The company's services are grouped into eight so-called "product areas" :
  1. Methods:
  2. # Advisory services: management of complex projects and programs ; development partnerships with the private sector; social impact assessment;
  3. # International competency development: e-learning, e-coaching, and e-collaboration; Leadership Development Workshop; key qualifications for international cooperation; strengthening training in partner countries ; training specialists and managers from partner organisations;
  4. # Networking, dialogue and moderation: network management; alumni networks without borders; twinning ; stakeholder dialogues; competition management; knowledge sharing;
  5. # Management and logistics: grants; fund management; public procurement; knowledge-based services; evaluation; results-based monitoring; Systemic Quality Improvement ;
  6. Rural Development:
  7. # Agricultural policy and food: agricultural policy; rural development; land management; food and nutrition security/right to food;
  8. # Agricultural trade, agricultural economy, standards: standards and food safety; agricultural trade; value chains; fisheries, aquaculture, and coastal zones; local and regional development;
  9. # Agricultural production and resource use: sustainable use of natural resources and production systems in agriculture; agricultural research, innovations, education and extension; water and agriculture; climate change and agriculture; biological diversity;
  10. Sustainable Infrastructure:
  11. # Water: in the field of water, sub-topics include sustainable sanitation and water supply, water policy, water resources management, water and the nexus between water and agriculture;
  12. # Energy: basic energy supply services, renewable energy; energy efficiency; international energy policy;
  13. # Transport and infrastructure: transport policy and infrastructure management; sustainable urban mobility;
  14. Security, Reconstruction and Peace:
  15. # Emergency aid and disaster risk management: disaster risk management; food security in the context of conflicts and disasters; reconstruction for crisis prevention;
  16. # Peace and security: security sector reform; crisis prevention and peacebuilding;
  17. Social development:
  18. # Health: health promotion; improving sexual and reproductive health; strengthening health systems; HIV and health;
  19. # Education: quality education for a better future; training and capacity building for teachers;
  20. # Social protection: social health protection; strategies to implement social justice;
  21. Governance and Democracy:
  22. # Democracy and the rule of law: democracy promotion; good governance, gender; corruption prevention; human rights; law and justice; promoting citizen involvement;
  23. # Decentralization and urban development: decentralisation; urban and municipal development;
  24. # Public finance and administration: Public finance reform; public administration; strengthening good governance in the extractive sector ;
  25. Environment and climate change:
  26. # Climate change: climate change ; integrated ozone and climate protection;
  27. # Natural resource management: forest policy and sustainable forest management; combating desertification ; biological diversity ;
  28. # Urban and industrial environmental management: waste and recycling management; resource efficient economy; sustainable tourism;
  29. # Environmental policy: environmental policy; environmental finance; regional environmental cooperation; green economy;
  30. Economic development and employment:
  31. # Labor market and TVET: labour-market oriented TVET systems; skills development for secure livelihoods; promoting sustainable employment and employment policies ;
  32. # Financial system development: microfinance; rural finance, financing agriculture and SMEs; insurance; financial sector stability and capital market development;
  33. # Private sector: private sector development; supporting value chains; local and regional economic development; shaping migration;
  34. # Economic policy: economic policy advice for sustainable economic development; trade; quality infrastructure and consumer protection; green economy; regional economic integration;
GIZ has been involved in the creation of various networks, associations and portals, and may carry out or support secretariat functions for some of these for a limited period of time. Examples of such networks and associations that have had some GIZ involvement include:
Other global agendas supported by GIZ include South-South cooperation, i.e. bilateral cooperation between developing countries and emerging economies, and triangular cooperation between developing countries as beneficiaries, emerging economies as "new donors" and traditional donors, e.g. Germany, as contributors of expertise.
GIZ works closely with the German government-owned development bank KfW, which is based in Frankfurt. While GIZ implements those projects on behalf of the BMZ that belong to "technical cooperation", i.e. capacity development, the KfW implements those BMZ projects belonging to "financial cooperation".
GIZ is currently represented in the SuRe® Stakeholder Council. SuRe® – The Standard for Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure is a global voluntary standard which integrates key criteria of sustainability and resilience into infrastructure development and upgrade. SuRe® is developed by GIB Foundation and Natixis as part of a multi-stakeholder process and will be compliant with ISEAL guidelines.
Finally, GIZ also hosts the Eschborn Dialogue, a two-day event that offers international experts a forum to exchange knowledge and experiences on a given topic in international cooperation. The Eschborn Dialogue has been organized each year since 1988.

Clients

GIZ mainly operates on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. At the national level, GIZ, however, is also commissioned by other government departments, e.g. the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry for the Environment, or the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, as well as by German states and municipalities. At the international level, GIZ cooperates with the European Union, UN agencies, other international institutions such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and foreign governments. The cooperation with private enterprises is an emerging field, promoted under the name of sustainable development. The GIZ is set up with International Services and the Public Private Partnership in this area.