JICA and KOICA's Joint Workshop: An Opportunity of Mutual Learning for Delivering Impact in Development Cooperation

JICA and its Korean counterpart Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) have been closely collaborating in various ways such as joint training programs and research projects (one of which led to the publication of a book Catalyzing Development from Brookings Institution Press in 2011). In furthering this partnership, two agencies held an all-day workshop titled “Mutual Learning for Effective Development Cooperation after Busan” in Seoul on February 16, 2012, and over 100 people, including practitioners involved in ODA work, academics and college students turned out to join the event. This workshop, the first of its kind ever, was to provide an occasion for both to examine latest topics on development and learn from each other. KOICA’s Vice President Sungmog Hong, Director of ODA Research Office You-ah Chung and other officials were among those who attended. From Japan, JICA-RI’s Deputy Director Hiroshi Kato, Senior Advisor to Deputy Director Koji Yamada and Research Associate Shunichiro Honda as well as JICA’s Daiki Kunitake (deputy director of Development Partnership Division) participated.

In the first session titled “Bridging Knowledge and Practice Together,” Deputy Director Kato described the history of JICA-RI and its operation as an institution to pursue objective research on the issues regarding international development and Japan’s ODA and to internationally disseminate its outcomes. He further elaborated on how JICA-RI leads collaborative studies among academic researchers and development practioners in hope of creating synergy between research and practice. In a country where think-tanks specializing in development do not exist, JICA-RI plays a role in promoting development studies based on hands-on experience and cultivating experts in this field, Kato stressed.

Next, Research Associate Honda shared his knowledge and experience regarding PBAs in Tanzania. This development cooperation concept, as mentioned above, stands on the principles of coordinated support of different development actors for a recipient-country-centered development strategies and programs. They are now globally considered as one of the major approaches to improve aid effectiveness. Honda explained the cases of JICA’s various engagement in PBAs in Tanzania since the early 2000s – which was one of the earliest active PBAs involvements in Japan’s ODA. By reflecting these cases, he pointed out some of the PBAs’ advantages such as improvement of policy and strategy framework and better coordination in support for tackling difficult systemic reform agendas. For JICA, the aggressive participation in PBAs provided the opportunities to scale-up good practices developed through the collaboration with Tanzania, he mentioned.

In the closing speech, Deputy Director Kato said the workshop had become a fruitful occasion for both to share each other’s experience (especially thanks to the hard work of KOICA research office staff), and expressed his wish to continue the mutual learning opportunities, hopefully for jointly disseminating the knowledge of the two agencies globally in the future.