The European Centre for Development Policy Management is an independent foundation which was established in 1986 to monitor and support development co-operation between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. ECDPM style's itself as a "think and do tank". Its stated main goal is to broker effective partnerships between the European Union and the developing world, especially Africa. It aims to promote inclusive forms of development and cooperates with public and private sector organisations to better manage international relations. It also supports the reform of policies and institutions in both Europe and the developing world. The ECDPM deals with the international policies that govern development co-operation between the ACP countries and the EU member states. The most recent and most significant of these policies is the Cotonou Agreement, signed in June 2000 by 77 ACP countries and the EU. The Cotonou Agreement has been considered a landmark in EU-ACP relations due to its new political dimension and the integration of non-state actors into development co-operation. The vast increase in the number of actors involved in the debate about and the negotiations of ACP-EU development policy constitutes a major challenge. The need to provide information and facilitate interaction between all stakeholders is one of the main objectives of the ECDPM. The ECDPM has its main office in Maastricht, Netherlands which was recently renovated and opened by Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands. ECDPM is governed by a board drawn from both Europe, and also Africa and the Caribbean The Current chairman of the board is P.I Gomez Ambassador of Guyana to the ACP.
Aims and objectives
ECDPM aims to provide development stakeholders with information and resources necessary to better understand EU-ACP development co-operation. To this end ECDPM engages in:
policy-related research and information
capacity-building approaches
hands-on facilitation of dialogue between parties
networking
seminars and conferences.
The long-term strategic objectives of the Centre are:
To enhance the capacity of public and private actors in developing countries
To improve co-operation between development partners in Europe and the ACP regions.
Thematic programmes
ECDPM is a matrix organisation with staff working across programmes. Each programme is however led by a Head of Programme or Programme Manager. As of 2013 there were five programmes in ECDPM:
