Cmi annualreport2012

2012

ANNUALREPORT

TRANSITION, OPENNESS, CHOICE 2.0

ANNUALREPORT

ANNUAL REPORT 2012 /// CMI 2.0 /// 5

OPENING STATEMENT

Inger Andersen, Chair of the CMI Annual Meeting

Vice President, Middle East and North Africa Region, World Bank 7

TOGETHER, LET'S RISE TO THE CHALLENGES OF TRANSITION

Riadh Bettaieb, Minister of Investment and International Cooperation, Tunisia 8

CMI 2.0: TRANSITION, OPENNESS, CHOICE

Mats Karlsson, Director, CMI 11

CMI 2.0: THREE INTEGRATIONAL THEMES 15

Integrated Economies 19

Sustainable Growth 31

Participatory Governance 39

CMI 2.0: PARTNERSHIPS FOR TRANSITION 47

Strengthening Strategic Partnerships 49

Expanding Outreach 53

Ensuring Financial Sustainability 59

BOXES

1. Examples of Ongoing Work on International Labor Mobility 28

2. 2012 MED Report: Toward Green Growth in Mediterranean Countries 33

3. Trilingual Thesaurus 33

4. The CMI and the Sixth World Water Forum 37

5. Urbanization Knowledge Platform 42

6. The ART-ISI@MED Program 43

ANNEXES

1 Logframes of CMI Programs 63

2 The CMI Budget 99

A. CMI 1.0: Consolidated CMI Budget Summary for FY1012, Allocation and Expenses 100

B. CMI MDTF: Compilation of Allocations to Programs and Activities under CMI 1.0 and 2.0 102

C. Overview of Expenses for CMI 1.0 and Projected Finance for CMI 2.0 (World Bank, MDTF, Partners) 103

3 CMI Events and Content Development Update, December 2011December 2012 105

4 CMI Program Charter 201215 111

5 The CMI Handbook 113

6 A List of CMI Terms 114

7 2012 Oversight Committee Members 117

CONTENTS

6 /// CMI 2.0 /// ANNUAL REPORT 2012


OPENING STATEMENT

Inger Andersen Chair of the CMI Annual Meeting

Vice President, Middle East and North Africa Region, World Bank

The countries of the Middle East and North Africa are going through a historic transition. That transition is driven by many factors, but mainly by their citizens call for greater opportunity and dignity. Therefore, the overarching objective of governments across the region at the moment is to provide good and decent jobs for their people, especially the young. Governments are striving to support an enabling business environment to better support that job growth, while also strengthening social safety nets and investing in transformational long-term solutions. At the core is the need to strengthen governance and welcome the participation of citizens from across the socioeconomic spectrum. Jobs, growth, governance, and greater inclusionall are part of the World Banks strategy of support for the region as it undertakes the challenges of reform. These are great challenges. But there is renewed hope for the future, and the opportunities for shared prosperity and poverty reduction are substantial.

The times also provide an opportunity for greater partnership and cooperation across the Mediterranean. These are particularly critical in view of the ongoing economic and financial turmoil in Europe. In its second phase, referred to as CMI 2.0, the Center for Mediterranean Integration (CMI) will continue to foster greater integration across the Mediterranean region. The CMI will develop knowledge products

that provide evidence-based analysis to policy makers, as it recently did in the areas of green growth, trade and investment, and the transition to economies driven by knowledge and innovation. The CMI will continue to provide a platform for inclusive debate, so that a creative and open exchange of ideas can take place among all concerned stakeholdersin government, the private sector, and civil society. And it will seek out and strengthen partnerships, including those with key regional and national organizations.

This is the third annual report of the CMI. It will be presented at the Centers annual meeting on November 28, 2012. The report reviews the Centers work from its first three-year phase to the beginning of the new one (201215). It also provides details on the three integrational themes that have emerged for the work to be accomplished under CMI 2.0: integrated economies, sustainable growth, and participatory governance.

Given the urgency of the situation in the region, let us continue to work together to facilitate greater engagement and dialogue between the southern and nor thern r ims of the Mediterranean so that al l stakeholders will see the CMI as a place where they can find thoughtful, respectful, and diverse points of view that can help them identify solutions to their most urgent problems and challenges.


TOGETHER, LETS RISE TO THE CHALLENGES OF TRANSITION

Riadh Bettaieb Minister of Investment and International Cooperation, Tunisia

Since January 2011, the Mediterra-nean basin has been the site of pro-found changes that mark the advent of a new era in the regions history. These changes, which began with the awakening of citizens awareness of their right to self-determination, will undoubtedly have lasting conse-quences for the regions peoples and statesand for their relations with the rest of the world.

The new regional realities expressed in the complex process of trans-formation currently unfolding in the southern Mediterranean present a historic opportunity to ponder together the common challenges they pose and to reflect on the steps most likely to transform those challenges into lasting strengths for the region.

For despite the presence of specific and perhaps unique features of the transformational process in each country, the overall movement has more than a few common character-istics. Retrospective analysis of the situation in Arab societies before 2011 reveals warning signs of a broad so-

cial and political crisis. Chief among those warning signs are unsustain-ably high rates of unemployment and poverty, glaring regional disparities, and unequal distribution of the fruits of growth. The same ills that stoked citizens sense of frustration finally led them to proclaim, loudly and clearly, their right to a greater degree of democracy, freedom, and social justice.

I t was in these exceptional and compelling circumstances that the Center for Mediterranean Integra-tion (CMI) began to redefine and update its mission so as to lend the greatest possible support for the process of transformation unfolding in the southern Mediterranean.

In assigning itself the task of serving as a regional think tank and a forum for public policy dialogue, the CMI has succeeded over the past three years in maintaining a constructive dialogue on a variety of themes of common interest to the region. Moreover, it has shown its capacity for intellectual responsiveness by embracing the new paradigm posed

by the Arab revolutions and absorbing that paradigm into its program for the next three years, a program known as CMI 2.0.

Aware of the challenges posed by the current climate of transition, a climate with which the public authorities must ultimately come to grips, the CMI will focus its actions on several new integrational themesgood governance, the knowledge economy, and sustainable growththe goal of which is to nudge public policies in the region toward convergence and to help decision makers design new growth models that strike a balance between the twin imperatives of resil-ience and sustainability.

Driven by a deep concern for pragma-tism and effectiveness, the CMI aims, through its unflinching support for evidence-based practice, to become a regional center of excellence in public policy, the overarching mission of which is to bring diverse actors and stakeholders together around a common vision of the all-important concept of regional integration.


CMI 2.0: TRANSITION, OPENNESS, CHOICEMats Karlsson Director, CMI

The transition taking place in the countries of the region underscores the importance of broad-based job-creating economic growth. The changes taking place not only point to the economic and social dimensions of inclusive development, but also highlight the democratic space that accommodates deliberation, debate and dialogue across the region. It is within this openness that the Center for Mediterranean Integration (CMI) seeks to contribute knowledge and facilitate public policy choice. We want

with our members and partnersto support and complement the efforts and actions of public and independent institutions on the southern rim of the Mediterranean. The value that we can provide rests in being practically useful in the transitions and in the emerging integration of the regionand ultimately supporting the creation of good jobs, participation in democratic life, and a new emphasis on social inclusion and equity. Pathways to change are hardall the more important that hard choices be arrived at with access to world-wide knowledge and experience.

Integration continues to be the defining approach of the CMI. As a collaborative platform for sharing knowledge, the CMI aims to bring about regional convergence and consensus on reform in a context where partnership is one of the most promising responses to the current global crisis. Acting as a network among networks in support of transformational reforms toward greater regional integration, the CMI strives to provide a forum for dialogue and learning, a forum that adds value to the efforts of its members and partners.

For the past three years we have shared a journey. The CMI was created following high-level consultations that began in September 2008. With its key

elements embodied in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by the founding members in June 2009, the Center was formally launched on October 9, 2009, as an innovative, multipartner, collaborative arrangement to promote joint learning for sustainable development in the Mediterranean region. The CMIs founding members are Egypt, France, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia, along with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the World Bank.

We started with the aims of supporting development and the integration of practices across the Mediterranean region. Those aims were pursued by: (i) providing a space for evidence-based policy dialogue; (ii) producing and disseminating knowledge products; and ( i i i ) supporting cross-sectoral, multipartner regional efforts. From an initial set of 14 programs in 5 clusters, the CMI grew to include 18 programs at the end of its first phase on June 30, 2012. Programs were added in response to demand and by taking advantage of opportunities and partnerships as they arose.

Along the way we welcomed new partners at the CMI, such as the Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and strengthened partnerships with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Islamic Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (ISESCO), the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), among others. We expanded our communications and outreach on both rims of the Mediterranean. Our budget for a three-year planning horizoncomprising allocations from the World Bank, the Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF), and partnersgrew significantly between FY10 and FY12,

allowing us to enter CMI 2.0 with significant commitment capacity. Our Villa Valmer based staff also grew to about 30. The CMI coordination unit work on core functions as well as on programs, while dedicated program staff, including some seconded by partner organizations such as Agence Franaise de Dveloppement (AFD), the Caisse des Dpts et Consignations (CDC), the City of Marseille, EIB, and GIZwork exclusively on CMI programs.

We also seized new opportunities. In September 2011, the G-8 finance ministers convened in Marseille and launched the economic pillar of the Deauville Partnership. CMI was asked to develop an analytical report and action plan to enhance trade and foreign direct investment in the region, drawing on the expertise of the World Bank and in partnership with the Islamic Development Bank. The CMI and the EBRD held a series of transition-to-transition events in Tunisia, Morocco, and Jordan to gather the private sectors perspectives on the emerging events in the region. In October 2012, we organized with AFD a discussion on employment and social protection in Cairo with the new Egyptian government and a broad range of expertise.

Our evolution to CMI 2.0 was in fo rmed by an independent assessment tabled at the CMIs third Annual Meeting in November 2011. The future of the Center, its new strategic directions, and how to implement those directions were approved by the CMIs Oversight Committee in the form of a Strategic Orientations Decision Note, on the strength of which the 2011 Annual Meeting resolved to create CMI 2.0. A new memorandum of understanding was concluded by the members.


In response to demand from members for more cross-sectoral work, three integrational themes emerged for CMI 2.0. Moving into the Centers second phase, our mission is encapsulated as follows: We are a multipartnership platform that builds networks and communities of practice focusing on three integrational themes: the development of integrated economies, the promotion of sustainable growth, and support for participatory governance. These themes build on the work done by CMI programs over the last year and resonate with the current economic and social context of the southern Mediterranean countries. You will read more on these themes later in this report.

Our added value is also embodied in the range of outputs that we deliver, which are designed to stimulate a virtuous circle of mutually reinforcing actions.

We begin by developing a variety of technical knowledge products and practices, such as our reports on green growth, higher education, or the knowledge economy; or our tools: the university governance scorecard, handbooks on local development, and enhanced Web sites.

They can become the basis for high-level dialogue in policy forums that help spread knowledge and evidence

among Mediterranean leaders and opinion-shapers, including those from the private sector and civil society. Examples include dialogues around green growth, trade and investment, as well as on the knowledge economy. The CMIs Rencontres Valmer series offers opportunities for such high-level dialogue around the CMIs new work.

Dialogues can lead the development of vibrant communities of practice that bring together people from the northern and the southern rim of the Mediterranean who are working on common themes. The launch, in September 2012, of the Urban Knowledge Platform at the CMI was a promising start to building such a community among city mayors from the Mediterranean.

Going one step further, we support multipartner programs, helping them to focus on strategic convergence and the mobilization of common resources. The work we are doing with Cities Alliance and a number of partners as part of the urban Joint Work Program is a good case in point.

As multipartner programs coalesce, they may lead to upstream project support. CMI can host discussions on technical or policy issues that CMI members may wish to finance. The

Urban Projects Finance Initiative (UPFI) and the EIBSponsored Regional Initiative on Public-Private Partnerships are structured along these lines.

Throughout this process, capacity building remains key. The CMI can help its members share lessons learned, as is being done through technical assistance offered by the GIZs CoMun program and through the CMIs labor mobility program.

Effective outreach and commu-nication add value to programs in every phase of this virtuous cycle. When creating communities of practice, shaping policy choices, and promoting joint learning, dialogue and communications are indispensable. The CMIs enhanced Web site already hosts a variety of e-communities; plans for the near future include making full use of social media and the network of think tanks, especially in the southern countries, for dialogue and consultation about programs and policies.

The CMI is unique in offering southern partners a platform and venue for collaboration across the Mediterranean region. The participation of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia is a distinguishing characteristic of the Center. Regular participation from Algeria, Libya, and


the Palestinian Authority enhances our work. Outreach to governmental and nongovernmental institutions beyond the Mediterranean region generally follows sectoral lines and reflects the programmatic engagements of the CMI member countries.

On the northern side, solid relations continue with French partners as contacts are made with new partners in Europe and beyond. The European Commission is participating in a number of CMI programs. Strong cooperation with GIZ on urban issues has stimulated growing interest in the CMIs work in Germany. Relations with several Barcelona-based institutions and activities have evolved as well, and Italy is engaged with the CMIs urban work program. We will seek to enlarge this circle of northern engagement, particularly with Japan, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Our relationship with the City of Marseille is based on a shared commitment to bring the best from both sides of the Mediterranean to Marseille and vice versa.

Several strategic and senior partnerships have gained new prominence in the past year, involving, among others the Arab Urban Development Institute (AUDI), EBRD, UNDP, ISESCO, Union for the Mediterranean, the International

Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Locally, we also work with the Office de Coopration conomique pour la Mditerrane et lOrient (OCEMO). Agreements have already been signed with UfM and ISESCO, focusing on the theme of the knowledge economy in the Arab world. On behalf of members, the CMI will continue to build its platform of partnerships with key multilateral, intergovernmental, and independent institutions (such as think tanks and NGOs), providing outreach and communication so that the work of CMI members can be better integrated and leveraged as a network among networks.

With the evolution of CMIs programs, management, too, has evolved. The business model of the CMI, based on countries and institutions operating programs from a CMI-built platform, places accountability for most of the Centers collaborative work on members internal processes, with CMI management responsible for coordination. As the Centers programs and funding have grown, CMI management is being enhanced to fulfill more day-to-day administrative and operational duties. A handbook of core CMI processes at both the administrative and operational levels has been compiled.

Finally, we are working to ensure our financial sustainability. Under the CMIs hybrid financial model, the World Bank has covered administrative and program costs, a partner-financed trust fund (MDTF) supports some core functions and CMI programs and activities, and partner institutions fund CMIs programs. With an eye to consolidating mid-term core financing, an effort to replenish the MDTF has begun with the contribution of 2 million euros from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For long-term sustainability, members and partners will need to consider extending their financial commitments as early as possible.

A last word. The CMI s work would not be possible without solid governance arrangements. We are very fortunate to have a deeply committed Oversight Committee appointed by our members. The three annual meetings held to date, have provided invaluable guidance and advice. The fourth annual meeting, to be held on November 28, 2012, will renew our shared commitment to generate pol icy-relevant knowledge and evidence that will enable leaders in government, civil society, academia, and business to seek practical solutions that enhance the prosperity of the region.

CMI 2.0: THREE INTEGRATIONAL THEMES





During the CMIs second phase, which began July 1, 2012, programs are organized into three broad themes that resonate with the key issues of the day in the Mediterranean. These themes, and the programs contained within each, are described in the sections that follow. Logframes that mark the critical milestones of each program are presented in Annex 1.

INTEGRATED ECONOMIES LABOR MARKET ECONOMY

KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY

HIGHER EDUCATION

TRADE AND INVESTMENT

PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP

CMI 2.0: Working on three integrational themes

To advance the integrational themes that are the essence of CMI 2.0, the CMI will strengthen three key components: strategic partnerships, expanded outreach and communi-cation, and prudent measures to ensure the Centers financial sus-tainability. These tools are described in the pages that follow the thematic discussion.

ADDED VALUE We carry out our objective of knowledge sharing through:

Knowledge ProductsHigh-Level Dialogue Multi-Partner Support Upstream Project Support Capacity Building


SUSTAINABLE GROWTH

GREEN GROWTH

WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT

CITIES & CLIMATE CHANGE

SUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT

SUSTAINABLE URBAN TRANSPORT

PARTICIPATORY GOVERNANCE

LOCAL EMPOWERMENT

SOCIAL PROTECTION

YOUTH ENGAGEMENT

GOVERNANCE

GENDER

INTEGRATED ECONOMIES

KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY

HIGHER EDUCATION

TRADE & INVESTMENT

LABOR MARKET MOBILITY

PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS

CMI 2.0 is a multi-partnership

platform that builds networks

and communities of practice



Knowledge has always been central to development, and it remains so today. Thanks to the development of the Internet and a variety of new information and communication tech-nologies (ICT), knowledge is now truly global, accessible, and utterly democratic. Along with this dramatic technological change has come a globalization of economies, with inten-sified competition and the emergence of more-sophisticated value chains in production processes. Across the globe, farsighted leaders are search-ing for new ideas and strategies to deal with a changed reality. With the advent of the Arab Spring, the coun-tries of the region are also revisiting their growth and development strategies. The CMIs program on the knowledge economy aims to address this important agenda for the Arab world.

To cope with the daunting challenges they face, particularly the huge need to create jobs and to develop more produc-tive economies, many Arab countries are now considering a new economic model, that of the knowledge- and innovation-driven economy. Indeed, over the past decade, some Arab countries have taken steps to spur growth and improve their global competitiveness by cultivating knowledge. That is the theme of Transforming Arab Economies: The Knowledge and Innovation Road, a forth-coming report prepared by the CMI, in collaboration with the World Bank, the European Investment Bank (EIB), and the Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cul-tural Organization (ISESCO). It will be available in English, French and Arabic.

Traveling the road to the knowledge economy can ensure a sustainable growth trajectory, one that generates

the jobs the region needs to keep its people, particularly the young, produc-tively employed. But it is not an easy road, nor is it a short-term process. Choosing it means expanding and deepening reforms in key policy areas to develop more entrepreneurial econo-mies, foment more innovative industries, prepare a cadre of better educated and more highly skilled people, and nurture societies that are more open and competitive. Implantation of the new model must be adapted to each countrys specificities and capabilities and inspired by a pragmatic approach that gathers low-hanging fruitrelatively easy opportunities to create new wealth and jobsin order to build trust and con-fidence in the needed reforms. Deeper integration within the Arab world and within the Mediterranean space are important components of the transition to the new model.

Job growth is the overarching economic objective of the region. Raising productivity, carrying out knowledge and innovation-based reforms, and exploiting international and intersectoral linkages through trade, investment, and infrastructure are common elements of current policy planning. The CMIs programs produce pertinent evidence to support the reform and planning processes.

The recent evolution of the world confirms the need to rethink economic models. Moving toward the knowledge and innovation economy is a most promising way forward for ensuring growth and employment in the Arab world.

H.E. Mr. Nizar Baraka, Minister of Economy and Finance, Government of Morocco

Knowledge Economy for Growth and Employment in the Arab World



The draft report is being prepared in close consultation with policy makers from the South, as well as from rep-resentatives of the private sector and civil society in the Arab world. The first consultative regional workshop, which took place at the CMI in November 2011, brought together high-level participants from government, the private sector, and civil society from Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia to share experiences on knowledge economy strategies and related policies on edu-cation, innovation, and ICTs. They were joined by staff from the World Bank, EIB, ISESCO, the Islamic Development Bank, the European Bank for Recon-struction and Development (EBRD), and UNDP. In June 2012, the CMI orga-nized a second workshop with ISESCO in Rabat that assembled experts and government representatives from Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Morocco, and

Tunisia, as well as from the EIB, the EBRD, Institut de la Mediterrane and the Korea Development Institute. Work in progress was presented at a regional workshop on innovation in Algiers in September 2012 and at a conference on the knowledge economy for the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council in Doha in Octo-ber 2012. It was also the focus of a Rencontre Valmer event at the CMI in October 2012 that included high-level participants from the southern rim of the Mediterranean. While developing this analytical deep dive, the staff of the CMIs knowledge-economy program have sought to respond to country demand and are working on ways to operationalize the approach laid out in the report in Morocco and Tunisia. Throughout the process, the CMI has striven to build a community of practice of interested stakeholders

and change agents who can help to advance the knowledge-economy agenda in their countries.

In keeping with the CMIs raison dtre as a knowledge platform for dialogue and discussion, the program is continuing to engage with partnersWorld Bank, ISESCO, EIB, and EBRDto advance the knowl-edge-economy agenda within the Euro-Mediterranean space. It has developed a three-year framework of cooperation with ISESCO on the knowledge economy. Having taken part in the European Commissions Con-ference on Research and Innovation in Barcelona in April 2012, a CMI team has begun discussion with the European Commissions Directorate General for Research and Innovation on ways of collaborating on the research and innovation agenda.

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Innovation, one of the pillars of the knowledge economy, is essential for sustainable growth and jobs cre-ation. This EIB led program focuses on small, innovative projects across the Mediterranean by providing the technical, financial and training mech-anisms required to support innovation throughout its life cycle. To advance on this work, a Steering Committee was hosted by ISESCO in Rabat in January 2012 that included high levels representatives from Mediterranean partner countries (MPCs) as well as experts on innovation. The meeting was an opportunity to exchange ideas and propose new initiatives; it also validated a detailed road map for the program and strengthened the CMIs partnership with ISESCO on the knowledge economy and innovation.

Over the past year, the program has developed a variety of studies to address the challenges of innova-tion in the Mediterranean. A project led by ANIMA in partnership with the European Commissions MIRA project focused on interviews with individuals responsible for busi-ness incubators, technology parks, and technology transfer centers in seven Mediterranean countries. The project has produced a mapping of some 180 actors (agents of change in innovation) and recommendations for further action at the regional level. A second study on the human dimen-sion of qualifications, conducted by the Forum Euromditerranen des Instituts de Sciences conomiques (FEMISE) aims at identifying fac-tors that impede professional skills development, with the final report due in December 2012. A third study on patent portfolios is being done in collaboration with Frances Caisse des Dpts et Consignations (CDC) and will be discussed at workshops in late 2012 and early 2013. Finally, recent work on barriers to innovation has included field interviews in Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia.

To promote knowledge-sharing among decision makers and entre-preneurs involved in supporting

innovation, the CMIs innovation pro-gram organized three workshops in 2012. The first, on Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Southern Medi-terranean, took place in April 2012 in Beirut. Young highly skilled entre-preneurs from six Mediterranean partner countries (Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria , and Tunisia) were joined by the Junior Chamber International (JCI Lebanon), an international NGO for young citi-zens in the Mediterranean. A second workshop, on Technological Innova-tion Training for the Entrepreneurs and Leaders of Technoparks, took place in Algiers in September 2012 in partnership with ISESCO. A third workshop on regional approaches to innovation and entrepreneurship for economic development was held in Jordan in November 2012.

The program has begun the process of forming a Mediterranean network of agents of change in innovation. Users of a dedicated workspace on the CMI Web site have grown steadily (to some 80 members so far). A new set of actions, being prepared on the basis of the results of the above-men-

tioned activities, will be submitted to the Mediterranean partner countries in the beginning of 2013.

Sk i l ls development is key for job creation and for the move to knowledge- and innovation-based economies. FEMISE has been work-ing to identify the key skills and competencies in 30 professional fields that can lead to job creation. In January 2011, a technical workshop was held in Marseille to discuss a draft report on the most promising occupations and to identify train-ing institutions that could develop appropriate programs in MENA countries. In 2011, national studies were completed for Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia. During the first half of 2012, the southern partners com-piled lists of training institutions in these countries that would be inter-ested in collaborating.

A final draft of the report covering Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia will be discussed with institutional partners before the end of 2012. The final presentation of the study and the launch of the program should take place early in 2013.

Innovation Systems


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Trade and investment are impor-tant forms of economic integration, but they also serve as channels through which countries can make an effective transition to the knowledge economy. Meeting in Deau-ville, France, on May 27, 2011, the G8 initiated the Deauville Partnership to support the historical changes under way in the MENA region. That support is based on two pillars: (i) a political pillar to hasten the transition to democracy and (ii) an economic pillar to support home-grown stra-tegies for sustainable and inclusive growth. In addition to the G8, the Deauville Partnership brings together the European Union, five regional partnersKuwait, Qatar, Saudi Ara-bia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emiratesand five so-called partner-ship countries engaged in political and economic transformation: Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, and, since

September 2011, Libya. Several inter-national and regional organizations and financial institutions are also active in the partnership1.

At a meeting in Marseille on Septem-ber 10, 2011, the finance ministers of the Deauville Partnership launched the economic pillar of the partnership. They underlined that regional and global integration was key to the eco-nomic development of the partnership countries and expressed their com-mitment to advance and complement their respective bilateral and multi-lateral initiatives, including removing barriers to trade and investment.

The Deauville Partnership tasked the CMI (backed by the expertise of the World Bank and in partnership with the Islamic Development Bank) to propose, by early 2012, a framework to enhance trade and foreign direct investment.

The CMI convened a meeting in late November 2011 to discuss the issues to be addressed in the report. An advisory committee met in Tunis in March 2012 to offer comments. The Deauville Partnerships Trade and Integration Pillar discussed the draft at a meeting in Jordan in April 2012. It was officially presented on April 20, 2012, at a consultative meeting of the Deauville Partnership finance ministers in Washington, DC which welcomed the study and looked forward to further work espe-cially at country level.

While the draft report benefited from a number of comments, specifically from members of the advisory com-mittee, it did not benefit from review by the Oversight Committee or the Strategic Council. The practices of continuous dialogue in similar circum-stances should be reinforced.

Trade and Investment


1. These are the Arab League, the African Development Bank, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the Arab Monetary Fund, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the European Investment Bank, the Islamic Development Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the OPEC Fund for International Development, the Union for the Mediterranean, and the World Bank Group.

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One impor tant way to facilitate trade is to have well-designed infrastruc-ture and logistics platforms. These essent ia l bu i ld -ing blocks for economic growth and competitive-ness can benef i t f rom the use o f innovat i ve public-private partnership arrangements. The CMI has fostered dia logue and cooperation between governments and interna-tional financial institutions to increase awareness of the need to improve infra-structure, develop trade, and promote integration

University graduates in the Arab world face an uphill battle in finding a job. In most countries of the region, universi-ties are not functioning as well as they could, in the sense that they are not providing the kind of education that enables graduates to be competitive and to contribute to the economic and social growth of their country.

The higher education program at the CMI aims to build the capacity of universities, ministries of higher edu-cation, quality assurance agencies, and research institutions in MENA to help them modernize, improve the quality of their programs, and meet international standards. One goal of the program is to enable the regions universities to participate in the mutual recognition of pro-grams and credits with universities in Europe and other member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The ultimate goal is to improve the quality and relevance of the skills of

i n the Med i te r ranean . LOGISMED, the CMIs infrastructure and logis-tics program, is building a network of experts and trainers who can lead the transformation of the logis-tics sector and help create a Euro-Mediterranean mar-ket of logistics specialists. During 2012, LOGISMED has been presented at several key international meetingsamong them a workshop in Rabat on trade and infrastructure for Maghreb countries, the 2012 Euro-Mediterranean Conference on Research

young graduates and, in so doing, to improve their chances of finding qua-lity jobs. To achieve these goals the current program has three pillars: Benchmarking university

governance Seeking financial sustainability

for higher education Internationalizing higher education

and improving the prospects for skills mobility

Around each of these pillars, the program works to respond to iden-tified issues by collaborating with world experts as well as partners on the grounduniversity presidents and ministries of education, higher education, and financeto produce evidenced-based reports. It has also developed an analytical tool, the University Governance Screening Card (UGSC), that allows individual universities to compare themselves with universities around the world. Not only has the tool proven useful for MENA institutions, it has been

and Innovation in Barcelona, the Confrence Mditer-ranenne de la Logistique (MEDLOG) in Tangiers, and the 6th Mediterranean Economic Week (Semaine Economique de la Mditer-rane) in Marseille.

In June 2012, the 10th M e d i te r r a n e a n L o g i s -tics and Transport Forum took place in Barcelona, with representatives from the Association of Medi-terranean Chambers of Commerce (ASCAME) and high-level participants from Egypt, Morocco, and

adopted in other regions and has the potential for use on a large scale. The UGSC assesses the extent to which universities are following governance practices aligned with their institu-tional goals and international trends and monitors their progress over time.

The CMI higher education program has developed strong partnerships with universities and institutions in the MENA region. One important achieve-ment has been the Arab World Higher Education Ministers Conference, held in Abu Dhabi in December 2011, which endorsed a benchmarking exercise for MENA using the UGSC. The program has sought partnerships with other organizations, as well, among them the OECD, the Agence Franaise de Dveloppement (AFD), and the British Council, and has developed an online community of practitioners from the region. Recent discussions have suggested that ISESCO may be interested in joining the partnership, which would consid-

Tunisia. Particular empha-sis was laid on improving transport and logistics by bridging infrastructure gaps across the Mediterranean countr ies and increas-ing integration within the region. At the forum, the LO G I S M E D p r o g r a m presented its action plan, approved the previous month. The plan evinced great interest among par-ticipants, demonstrating that the initiative responds to real needs and can help strengthen the logistic sup-ply chain in the southern Mediterranean.

Public-Private Partnerships for Infrastructure

Building an International Network to Support Higher Education Reform


erably enlarge its outreach capacity and allow cross-fertilization between universit ies located in dif ferent regions of the world.

With regard to the first pillarbench-marking university governancemore than 90 universities from 6 coun-tries (Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, and Tunisia) have been surveyed using the UGSC. In late 2011 and 2012, the program held seminars and workshops in Algiers, Beirut, Cairo, Casablanca, and Rome. A report entitled Univer-sities through the Looking Glass: Benchmarking University Gover-nance to Enable Higher Education Modernization in MENA was pub-lished in May 2012.

The second pillar pursues financial sustainability to allow institutions to meet growing student demand. Here, the program published, with AFD, a topical report entitled Breaking Even or Breaking Through: Reaching Financial

Sustainability While Providing High Quality Standards in Higher Educa-tion in the Middle East and North Africa. The publication emphasizes the need to increase funding to meet the demands for more and better educa-tion opportunities in the MENA region. The report was presented at an event in Paris in October 2011.

The third pillar on internationalizing higher education aims to improve edu-cational quality as well as intraregional mobility so that graduates with relevant skill sets choose to stay in the region rather than emigrate to faster-growing economies. In September 2011, the program published a report entitled Internationalization of Higher Education in MENA: Policy Issues Associated with Skills Formation and Mobility.

Recognizing the need to approach these challenges through multicountry collaboration, the program has deve-loped partnerships with eminent institutions in Europe and elsewhere in

the world. This approach has the dual advantage of engaging countries in a multi-country dialogue (with the aim of finding solutions that can yield benefits at the country level) while also promoting knowledge sharing, mobility of skilled labor, and regional integration.

The program has built on tools used in Europe and in OECD countries to improve post-basic education out-comes and increase labor mobility. These include the European Qualifica-tions Framework (EQF) and the tools that have emerged from the so-called Bologna process or harmonizing European higher education programs, providing quality control, and empha-sizing outcomes. In the MENA region, the program has sought to build partnerships with ministries of higher education, national and regional agencies of quality assurance, and university presidents by developing a network of practitioners using the CMI platform for knowledge exchange (www.cmimarseille/highereducation.org).

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Emigration is often a response by edu-cated young people in the southern Mediterranean to a lack of job oppor-tunities at home. Other countries of the MENA region receive migrant workers because they face acute skill shortages or an aging workforce. Such demo-graphic and economic imbalances present strong opportunities for a mutu-ally beneficial exchange of people, skills, and ideas.

International labor mobility offers poten-tially large gains for parties on both sides of the migration equation: for migrants and their families, of course, who increase their income and welfare by moving, but also for the country that receives them, by addressing labor

needs and enhancing productivity in key sectors for growth. Even the migrants country of origin often benefits through the receipt of financial remittances and contributions of knowledge and invest-ment capital from successful members of the diaspora.

However, this triple win scenario does not always occur automati-cally. The lack of a base of evidence on what works and what does not in migration policy, poor coordina-tion among national stakeholders who have a role in supporting migra-tion, and little constructive dialogue between labor-sending and -receiving countries to match skills and training needsall of these factors contribute

to suboptimal international migra-tion outcomes (which become easily politicized).

The CMIs program on international labor mobility aims to provide concrete techni-cal advice and to facilitate coordination among governments, employers, and other non-state actors in labor-sending and -receiving countries in the areas of employment, education, and health and social protection for migrants and their families. By doing so, it supports send-ing countries around the Mediterranean in building up their capacities to better manage and take advantage of tempo-rary labor mobility arrangements with receiving countries. The three steps in the programs approach are illustrated bellow.

Improving Labor Mobility for Better Human Development Outcomes in the MENA Region

Helping labor-sending countries build their migration strategies, including efficient institutions to promote international employment.

/// Stakeholder dialogue in Tunisia and Morocco, AprilMay 2012. Improving the functioning of existing bilateral labor agreements. /// Review of Franco-Tunisian agreement, June 2012, dissemination of assessment of agreement, October 2012. Balancing worker protection with business efficiency in international recruitment services. /// Technical discussions in Tunisia, April 2012. Exploring cooperative training and mobility arrangements in the health-care industry. /// Position paper, June 2012, discussed with World Health Organization, July 2012. /// Full proposal due March 2013. Supporting diaspora initiatives for development. /// Workshop in Morocco, May 2012. /// Documentary film, May 2012. /// South-South learning event, September 2012.

EXAMPLES OF ONGOING WORK ON INTERNATIONAL LABOR MOBILITYBOX 1

3 BUILD

MIGRATION SYSTEMS

BUILD CAPACITY

MONITOR AND EVALUATE

1 ASSEMBLE EVIDENCE

AND ANALYSIS

ANALYSE DATA

BENCHMARK INSTITUTIONS

COMPLETE POLICY DIAGNOSTIC

DRAW INTERNATIONAL COMPARISON

2 CONVENE

TECHNICAL DIALOGUE

COORDINATE NATIONAL SKATEHOLDERS

HOLD BILATERAL DISCUSSIONS

SHARE LESSONS AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL

Highlights of the programs current work appear in box 1. The program is develop-ing analytic, diagnostic, and convening mechanisms to strengthen the founda-tions of migration systems in the region, as described in the Deauville Partnership report on Trade and Investment coor-dinated by the CMI. The international labor mobility team has engaged in mul-tistakeholder meetings on migration in

Morocco and Tunisia to better under-stand systems of migration governance. Based on demand from these govern-ments, bilateral labor arrangements in the region and beyond have been analyzed and recommendations prepared for improving access into existing and new markets. In order to better balance inter-mediation activities with social protection for migrants, the team has conducted a

detailed review of the international recruit-ment industry in selected countries of the region, which can now be compared with prevailing international practices. To help governments turn brain drain to brain gain the team has also harvested les-sons to help governments connect with their diaspora. A proposal for cooperation between labor-sending and -receiving countries will be tabled in spring 2013.

How the CMIs International Labor Mobility program works


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SUSTAINABLE GROWTH



SUSTAINABLE GROWTH

The Mediterranean region is unequally endowed with energy resources, universally poor in water resources, and ubiquitously vulnerable to environmental risk. It cannot afford, even in constrained socioeconomic times, to fail to add a strong green dimension to its growth and development strategies.

The fragile ecology of the Mediterranean region supports one of the highest population growth rates on earth. As economies growand as climate changesfurther deg-radation of the regions natural resources base is likely. The impacts will be felt where most of the population lives, in large cities and urban agglomerations, mostly along the coast. By 2030, nearly 80 percent of the peo-ple of the Mediterranean countries will be concentrated along 10 percent of the coastline. Solutions will require sharing knowledge and experience, as well as building

institutional capacity in natural-resource management, urban planning that takes into account climate risks, and sustain-able city transport.

The CMI offers a dedicated knowledge-sharing space in which countries can reflect on the importance of protecting and enhancing their natural resources and developing stra-tegic, climate-proof, and resilient urban plans bolstered by evidence-based analysis. Assessing risks posed by climate change, supporting low-carbon growth, and protect-ing and enhancing natural resources and cultural assets through long-term, inclusive strategic planning are common denominators of the programs under the CMIs sustainable growth theme. As some programs scale up, others deepen, and new ones emerge under the new CMI 2.0 framework, economic and inclusive growth remains a key objective given the pressing demand for jobs and social equity expressed during the Arab Spring.

We live on a land borrowed from future generations. Green growth means sustaining a decent, healthy and productive life for us and for our children. It puts jobs front and center, without compromising our concern for the environment. The 2012 MED Report will help us deal with both of these issues. H.E. Dr. Yousef Abu-Safieh, the Palestinian Minister of Environment

Since 2010, the CMI and its part-ners have grappled with one of the core challenges of the regionma ins t reaming env i ronmenta l cons iderat ions into economic development strategies and insti-tutional frameworks and promoting the transition to green growth in the Mediterranean. The 2012 MED Report: Toward Green Growth in Mediterranean Countries is a result of this work (box 2).

Since the launch, the CMI and its partners have received invitations from several countries to submit proposals for action. Suggested activities range from collaboration on the existing Green Growth knowledge platform launched by the World Bank, OECD, and United Nations Environment Programme; partner-ship with regional institutions such as the Arab Forum for Environment and Development and the African Development Bank; and support for green national accounting initiatives or national green-growth strategies.

As part of advancing this agenda, the CMI has endeavored to develop tools that can facilitate a conversation about issues related to green growth. The trilingual thesaurus (box 3) is one such example.

Another contribution to environmental mainstreaming and the green-growth agenda is the Regional Governance and Knowledge Generation Project, which became effective in March 2012. Supported by a grant from the Global Environment Facility, the three-year project is part of the Sustainable Med Program and is led by Plan Bleu. The three beneficiary countriesLebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia have embraced the green economy as the central prin-ciple of the project. A regional stakeholder dialogue on green growth and the green economy was held in May 2012. A series of other activities related to observation, evaluation, participation, and regulation are under way to fill knowledge gaps at the country and regional levels, share experiences and practices, and support environmental policy change.

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The report focuses on the environmental, social, and eco-nomic performance of natural assets and key sectors in several countries bordering the Mediterranean, revealing the environmental and economic gains or co-benefits to be derived from green growth in some sectors, as well as the trade-offs and hard choices that green growth poses in others. The authors also provide estimates of the gross and net job creation from a shift to green growth policies in the Mediterranean countries over the next ten years.

The report describes a range of policy tools that can help facilitate the move toward green growth and related job creation, focusing on fiscal reforms, market-based instruments, greater environmental responsibility, and eco-labeling and certification.

Recommendations for action at the national level are offered within the context of broad economic reforms and greater

regional cooperation between govern-ments and international institutions to preserve threatened natural assets. The findings will be useful to policy makers, academics, civil society actors, and donors that wish to pro-mote a green growth agenda, encourage green national accounting, and monitor environmental actions.

The 2012 MED Report is the result of a collaborative effort led by the World Bank together with the Agence Franaise de Dveloppement, European Investment Bank, Plan Bleu, and the Forum Euro-Mditerranen des Instituts de Sciences conomiques. No fewer than eight national and regional consul-tations were held between 2010 and 2012 in Marseille, Rabat, and Rome with a range of actors from the region. The flagship report rests on a detailed literature review and case studies provided by countries from both rims of the Mediterranean.

2012 MED REPORT: TOWARD GREEN GROWTH IN MEDITERRANEAN COUNTRIESBOX 2

Language remains a barrier to integration in the Mediter-ranean. In many areas few publications are available in Arabic, the most spoken language in the basin and the national language of the SEMCs. Misunderstandings are common, even at con-ferences or seminars where simultaneous translation is offered, because of overly loose translations.

The CMI was designed to serve as a platform for mutual comprehension and knowledge sharing in the

region. Therefore, upon the World Banks initiative, the CMI now offers on its Web site (www.cmimarseille.org) a trilingual thesaurus (in Eng-lish, French and Arabic) that allows users to find terms and concept (technical, scientific, economic, and administra-tive) defined, translated, and adapted to the Mediterranean context.

The online thesaurus is freely available to the public though specifically designed for regional decision makers, stakeholders, experts, and

academics. It will be continu-ously enriched by the scien-tific community of the region, using a wiki-like methodology.

The preliminary phase of the thesaurus presented biodi-versity terms and concepts, based on the translation of The Mediterranean Region:

Biological Diversity in Space and Time (Oxford University Press, 2010). In the current phase, new chapters related to a range of themes are being considered: environ-mental economics, environ-mental health, information and communication technologies, and water.

TRILINGUAL THESAURUSBOX 3


Engines of growth, the cities of the region also emit greenhouse gases and face significant prob-lems of urban congestion, poor air quality, road safety. Under the umbrella of the low-carbon, green-city concept, several cities in the Mediterranean region are embarking on a policy of no development without a plan to tackle these chal-

lenges. Transport is a key part of that policy.

The objective of the AFD-led program on sustainable urban transport is to docu-ment and share good practices in the design and implementation of policies to address issues posed by urban sprawl, urban con-gestion, and poor air quality. Launched in 2010, the pro-

gram recently released three major assessments. First, a guidebook on sustainable mobility features cases from around the Mediterraneanamong them the renewal of taxi fleet in Cairo, the reno-vation of Tripolis medina, and the light railway project of Casablanca. Second, a report on urban mobility in and around historic city centers suggests recom-

mendations for establishing dedicated pedestrian areas in North African medinas. A third assessment deals with public transport opportunities in three Mediterranean cities the metro in Algiers, the light railway in Rabat, and rapid bus transit in Istanbul. The document looks at the crite-ria to be taken into account when choosing a mode of public transport.

Regional partners in the program, gathered at the CMI in June 2012 to dis-cuss these assessments, suggested holding country-focused events customized to local contexts. A series of national days will thus mark the second phase of the program. The new program will kick off with an event in Tunisia in late 2012 and will discuss the challenge of urban transport in greater Tunis. This meeting will be followed by workshops in 2013 in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Morocco and a regional seminar in 2014 to gather lessons learned.

Sustainable Urban Transport

Following a World Bankled study on adaptation to climate change and disaster-risk management, the CMI has been requested by members and partners to disseminate and scale up the work in coastal cities and to launch the next generation of similar analysis in other countries.

In Tunisia, the Ministry of Equipment, jointly with the CMI, held two work-shops in 2012 to discuss the study with representatives of local coun-cils in greater Tunis and to publicize the urban-vulnerability assessment and methodology tools to national government representatives and sev-eral coastal cities.

Recent discussions with the Greater Amman Municipality and Jordanian government representatives have focused on the need, in Amman and other municipalities, to strengthen local capacity to assess vulnerability to climate change and develop an adaptation plan.

In the Wilaya of Algiers, a risk assess-ment through 2030 is being conducted by the consulting firm Egis EAU. The 14-month study, launched in April 2012, is based on studies on recent disasters, aerial photographs, satellite images, digital terrain models, databases, and geographic information systems (GIS). The study area, consisting mostly of

dense residential and industrial areas, is vulnerable to floods and earthquakes. Based on historical data and scientific projections, the study will assess and forecast the human, cultural and natural costs to Algiers of climate change and natural disasters. As part of the study, a videoconference was held in September 2012 between the city of Jakarta in Indo-nesia and the city of Algiers to share best practices on disaster-risk management and climate change adaptation.

Financed by the CDC and jointly supervised by the World Bank, the program on cities and climate change is based on a risk methodology that can be easily adapted to local contexts.

Cities and Climate Change



Sustainable Urban Development in Mediterranean Cities (SUD-MED)

REHABILITATION OF MEDINAS

The rehabilitation of medinas, the ancient centers of Arab cities, is more than a matter of urban renewal: It is an opportunity to celebrate cultural heritage, to give it new life. The EIB leads the Medinas 2030 initiative, which focuses on the eco-nomic and social regeneration of historic city centers. Medinas 2030 is headed by a scientific committee composed of policy makers from the Mediterranean, urban experts, and representatives of development agencies and European institutions.

A preoperational study launched in March 2012 will identify projects that integrate spatial, economic, and social planning with innovative fund-ing mechanisms. The complexity of rehabilitating medinas raises costs (25 to 30 percent more than tradi-tional upgrading operations), making it necessary to explore public-private partnerships and other options.In 2012, Medinas 2030 organized

two workshops. More than 70 par-ticipants from 20 Mediterranean cities gathered at the CMI in April 2012 to discuss the preoperational study and the results of a pilot study of the Meknes medina. The group identified elements to be addressed in rehabilitation projects. A second workshop to take place in Novem-ber 2012 will examine national institutional frameworks, project implementation capacities, and financial instruments in light of the preliminary results of the preopera-tional study. Some 15 projects may prove viable.

URBAN PROJECTS FINANCE INITIATIVE

The Urban Projects Finance Initiative (UPFI) is sponsored by the Union for the Mediterranean and led jointly by the EIB and the AFD. Its objective is to identify and implement integrated, sustainable, and innovative urban development projects that meet the following criteria:

Socioeconomic efficiency and sustainability

Environmental sustainability and climate-change mitigation

Good governance and participation of civil society

Financial viability.

The body of knowledge and best practices assembled by the project will support applications for technical a s s i s t a n c e g r a n t s t h a t w i l l , in turn , enab le pro ject leaders to accelerate the implemen-tation of urban development projects. A steering committee comprising representatives of AFD, CDC, the Development and Cooperation Department of the European Com-mission (DEVCO), EBRD, EIB, KfW (Kreditanstalt fr Wiederaufbau), and UfM, in addition to the World Bank and the CMI.

The CMIs role will be instrumental in knowledge dissemination and in advancing the process through its the preoperational phases.


Health is a major part of sustainable development. The World Health Organi-zation has demonstratedin work using the environmental-burden-of-disease indicator, among othersthat nearly one-quarter of mortality and morbidity in the southern and eastern Mediterranean countries (SEMC)2 is linked to environ-mental determinants3.

To enable the SEMCs to develop and implement well-aligned and environ-mentally healthy policies, strategies

and instruments, the CMI and its part-ners have drawn up an agenda for 2013 that is predicated on the formation of a regional community of practice. As a first step, a memorandum of under-standing between the CMI and the WHO Regional Centre for Environmen-tal Health (CEHA, based in Amman) was signed in March 2012.

The functions of the new community of practice will be to (i) identify and fill the gaps in knowledge about

health and environment linkages in the region; (ii) inform policy mak-ers and decision makers about key priorit ies and programs, includ-ing the assessment of policies to manage the environmental burden of disease; (i i i ) provide techni-cal assistance on environmental health issues and existing cross-cutting policies; and (iv) foster a reg iona l s t r a teg ic f r amework through a common charter on envi-ronmental health.

Health and Environment

2. Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, the Palestinian Territories, and Syria.3. Managing the linkages for sustainable development: A toolkit for decision-makers, p. 16, WHO 2008 (http://www.who.int/healthinfo/global_burden_disease/GlobalHealthRisks_report_full.pdf); Preventing disease through healthy environment, p. 9, WHO 2006 (http://www.who.int/quantifying_ehimpacts/publications/preventingdisease.pdf).

In a region that has already mobilized most of its avail-able water through large inf rastructure projects and irr igation schemes, the continued expansion of agriculture, cities, tour-ism, and industry, together with climate change, will exacerbate a situation of extreme water scarcity. To address this challenge, an economic approach to water demand manage-ment and forward-looking strategies that take climate change and low-carbon growth options into account are essential.

Thinking Outside the Water Box, jointly managed by the AFD and Plan Bleu, focuses on the introduction of eco-nomic analysis into countries water strategies to encour-age cost-effective means of managing demand for water. The first capacity-build-ing workshop under the program was of fered in December 2011 to senior officials and planners in Jor-dan, the worlds fourth-driest

country. The workshop course was developed with the support of Plan Bleu and the AFDs office of financial, economic, and banking research (CEFEB).

Drawing on a deta i led case study conducted by ArabTech, a local Jorda-nian consulting firm, the course i nc luded both theoretical elements and practical exercises in water demand management and tackled both economic and governance issues. The course was endorsed by the secretariat of the Sixth World Water Forum in early 2012 (box 4). Customized seminars are planned for Morocco and Tunisia in 2013 once case studies for each of these countries are completed. With a study for Croatia also under way, stakeholders and decision makers had an opportu-nity to discuss preliminary results and validate pro-spective scenarios at a national workshop in Octo-ber 2012. A synthesis of the

four national case studies will be presented during a high-level regional seminar on economic aspects of water demand management that will take place in 2013.

A collection of case stu-dies on the reuse of treated wastewater developed by Plan Bleu, AFD, and EIB prov ides the underpin-nings for a new technical and economic handbook for decision makers prepared by Ecofilae, a consulting firm. The handbook examines bottlenecks to wastewater reuse projects in the region. The French version of the document was introduced at the 6th World Water Forum in Marseille in March 2012; an English version is available online.

As part of the CMIs pro-gram on water innovations, two regional technica l consultations held in the first half of 2012 looked at barriers to innovative water projects, particularly those developed by young entre-

preneurs from the region. Gathering inputs from a range of actors from the North and South of the Mediterranean, a series of real-life challenges to the

innovation ecosystem in the water sector were iden-tified. In May, in partnership with ISESCO, the team invited a group of young water entrepreneurs and business executives from the region to a seminar in Beirut to assess the difficul-ties they face in launching and growing their startups. Policy options to facilitate the scaling up of innovative water companies were also discussed. A publication sum-marizing these consultations is available in English.

Under CMI 2.0, the water-related engagements of the Center and its partners will center on issues such as utility efficiency (e.g., bring-ing down levels of unbilled water), so-called unconven-tional water (desalinated using renewable energy), and water demand manage-

Water Resources Management


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ment. A two-day workshop at the CMI on reducing water losses by urban water utilities is scheduled for January 2013. The goal of the workshop is to discuss the findings of in-depth case studies and water uti-lity managers in the region. A summary report based on case studies completed to date will be available on the CMI Web site in English and French.

The CMI and the Institut Mediterranen de lEau coordinated the Mediterranean cross-continental process of prepara-tion for the 6th World Water Forum in Marseille in March 2012. Preparatory meetings included the first Mediter-ranean water forum in Marrakech in December 2011. Several CMI partners made presentations on water demand management and reuse of treated wastewater reuse, and an open con-sultation on the preliminary findings of the MED 2012 report was held.

THE CMI AND THE SIXTH WORLD WATER FORUMBOX 4




At the heart of the radical changes in the region are popular aspirations for greater participation in economic and political governance. Satisfying those aspirations will require flexible and creative approaches for including the peoples voices in every aspect of policy making and implementation.

Experience shows that citizen par-ticipationin consultations about needs, identification of beneficiaries, and monitoring of government perfor-manceimproves the quality of public services and of governance. While many southern Mediterranean coun-tries have long been characterized by weak governance systems, several are now initiating important institutional reforms and building bridges between decision makers and citizens. The cur-rent political transitions offer a unique opportunity to address deep-seated

challenges and to advance the prin-ciples of transparency, accountability, and participation as critical conditions for inclusive economic growth.

Government transparency and informed citizen engagement act together to create a culture of open-ness and accountability that can foster public support for reforms. This collaborative approach to governance provides the basis of CMI programs in this area and is particularly relevant for countries in transition in the south-ern Mediterranean, where there is a need to grow public trust in govern-ment. Reform is a long-term process, based on the credibility and effective-ness of institutions, both formal and informal. Building a strong civil society and better government institutions can take many years. Institutional strengthening and capacity develop-ment thus need to be part of reform efforts from the outset.

CMI programs are built around this two-pronged approach: strengthen-ing institutional capacities, both at the national and the local levels, and developing the capacity of civil society to participate in the decisions and policies that affect their lives. Through multipartner support, capacity building, and the dissemination of knowledge products, CMI programs reinforce one another to create cross-cutting responses to governance challenges.

The strengthening of local institutions is a key component of CMIs intervention, which aims at empowering cities and local governments as creative forces in national development debates. Local governments are under enormous pres-sure from local populations to improve living conditions and create investment incentives, jobs, and structures that will facilitate a democratic organization of society as well as civic participation and engagement.

Harnessing urban growth for better development outcomes depends on participatory governance, which depends, in turn, on bringing knowledge closer to key stakeholders, including policy makers, but also the private sector and civil society, with a special focus on youth. To put the best knowledge within their reach, participatory governance should emphasize sharing best practices, creating virtual communities of practice, and connecting and convening practitioners in the region, linking them virtually using ICTs and social media tools.

Dr. Ahmed Al-Salloum, Director General, Arab Urban Development Institute


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The Strategic Urban Development program responds to the need for a new, cross-sectoral understanding of citi-zens needs throughout the southern Mediterranean. Led by the CDC in partnership with the World Bank, the program aims to improve public policy related to urban development, with a focus on the following three components: regional and urban planning; urban land management; and urban expansion and renewal. As a follow-up to a conference in Barcelona in 2011, MedCities and the CMI are devel-oping a program of activities to enhance the capacities of Mediterranean cities. A methodological handbook on city development strategies (CDS) has been prepared; an information platform is now online; and pilot city projects are under way in Tripoli and Sfax.

The city of Sfax, the CDC, the GIZ, and MedCities have drafted a partnership agreement. The external partners will support the city during the CDS implementation phase, first by setting up a local office to take charge of the process within the city; second, by ensuring that the implementation phase is based on the same participatory and multisectoral process as the CDS; and third by helping to identify priority projects, gauge feasibility, and prepare financing. The local office, now created, has the

task of anchoring the CDS process in all departments of the city, ensuring that the five other municipalities of Greater Sfax are involved, as well as other partners such as civil society and the private sector. Partners activities are closely coordinated. GIZ is working on strengthening municipal staff capacity, while MedCities is creating a unit in Sfax to disseminate the CDS methodology to stakeholders of North African cities through training and workshops.

The CMIs MENApolis tool, which marshals statistical and spatial data to predict urbanization trends through 2030, was presented in Rabat, Morocco in November 2011 and in Tunis in May 2012. At the request of the Tunisian government, the MENApolis experts trained urban planners from Tunisian insti-tutions in the use of the tool, which they used to review the countrys urban management policies. The CMI carried out a review of urban land policy in Tunisia. The team submitted its results in June 2012 to a group of public and private Tunisian experts for their review and comments. The final document is now online and will soon be more broadly disseminated. In parallel, a similar review of land management in Lebanon yielded results in November 2012. The document will improve city financing policies.

The CoMun Network led by the GIZ is a learning network for the sharing of cross-border experience on key municipal and urban development issues between towns and cities in Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. Through CoMun, the GIZ is working in the Maghreb to strengthen munici-pal structures on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Coope-ration and Development. In Morocco, the program is supporting three the-matic learning networks involving 21 member cities in the fields of waste management, medina rehabilitation, and urban mobility. In September 2012, a training workshop on par-ticipatory planning was organized in Rabat for the nine member cities of the medina network in collaboration with the Technical University of Berlin. The workshop featured case studies drawn from the rich experience of the medinas. With the active involvement

of German cities and other national and international partners, CoMun is encouraging its partner cities to pro-pose micro-projects based on the best practices identified by the thematic networks. In Tunisia, municipalities supported by CoMun pinpointed three thematic priorities for networking and intercommunal exchange: solid waste management, urban mobility, and energy efficiency. Based on pre-fea-sibility studies, working groups on the first two themes have decided to focus on the participatory development of communal plansan exercise in democracy involving citizens and civil society organizations in eight cities.

The GIZ is also working in Tunisia to strengthen municipal democracy on behalf of the German Federal For-eign Office and in cooperation with Tunisian partners. Together with the Association of Dutch Cities (VNG),

the GIZ invited the Tunisian consti-tutional commission on subnational authorities to The Hague and Ber-lin in June 2012 to hear the Dutch and the German experience with decentralization processes. In addi-tion, CoMun was asked to comment on the first draft of the new Tunisian constitution on decentralization, and helped the FNVT (National Federa-tion of Tunisian Cities) to organize a debate on the draft from a municipal point of view. Ways to make municipal management more transparent and better understood by citizens were identified. Other ongoing activities include a municipal strategy to pro-mote youth initiatives and measures to improve service delivery and tax payments. The innovative projects supported by CoMun are expected to attract widespread attention in the region and be adapted for application in other contexts.

Strategic Urban Development

CoMun Network



The Arab Spring provides a singular opportunity for the international com-munity to come together to ensure the long-term future of the citizens, cities, and countries of the region, in part by finding new ways to empower local authorities and promote bottom-up solutions to urban growth and deve-lopment challenges. Cities Alliance (CA) and the CMI, together with sev-eral members and partners, agreed in 2012 to create a partnership with cities and governments in the region. The objective of the resulting Joint Work Program (JWP) is to promote coherent and efficient (non duplica-tive) initiatives to strengthen the ability of cities to foster inclusive economic growth. The support offered through the JWP is guided by a long-term view that mobilizes available local and regional experience and expertise.

The JWPs members include: Agence Franaise de Dveloppement (AFD), the French Caisse des Depts (CDC), the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Deutsche Gesellschaft fr Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, MedCities, UN-Habitat, United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), and the World Bank.

The programs activities will revolve around three thematic pillars: Strengthening cities for inclusive

economic growth Creating accountable cities and towns Promoting subsidiarity

To these ends, the JWP provides techni-cal collaboration, knowledge and learning services, and advocacy and communica-

tion. The CA-CMI Joint Secretariat reports to a Steering Committee composed of the members representatives. Within this framework, the Joint Secretariat is working to define a regional strategy for the JWP, as well as a country-by-country approach.

The focus of the first country project (in Tunisia) is promoting subsidiarity. In May 2012, the members of the JWP met with Tunisian local governments, national institutions, and civil society stakehold-ers to hear their needs and to discuss the potential and challenges of decen-tralization, thereby anchoring the JWP in a participatory and demand-driven approach. In parallel, at the Tunisian gov-ernments request, diagnostic studies are being conducted jointly by the World Bank and AFD. The studies will review the status of urbanization, decentraliza-tion, and municipal finance in the country.

The Joint Work Program

The CMI organized a high-level policy workshop on

Sustainable Development and Inclusive Growth for MENA Cities at the Crossroads, on Sep-tember 1718, 2012. The event enabled decision makers in the Arab world to discuss urbanization issues and brainstorm solutions for sustainable urban development while being introduced to the

Urbanization Knowledge Platform (UkP), soon to be customized for the MENA region and accessible via the CMI website.

The new UkPa collaborative effort including different units of the World Bank (Urban Anchor, MNSSD, CMI, WBI), with partners like the Arab Urban Development Institute (AUDI)has been designed as a repository of global

knowledge on urban issues, an information and data portal through which urban policy makers (such as mayors) can probe best practices and international experiences to help them meet the chal-lenges they face in their own context.

The one-way portal will also be expanded to accommodate multilateral exchanges among policy makers on successful

experiences and common obstacles. In the Mediterra-nean, the UkP will build on the core themes that have emerged following the Arab revolutions: (i) empowering local governments financially, administratively, and techni-cally; (ii) strengthening cities for economic growth, job creation, and sustainable provision of services for all; and (iii) creating accountable and inclusive cities and towns.

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Helping Mediterranean cities exploit their potential for economic and social deve-lopment is the objective of the CMIs Cities for a New Generation program. In collaboration with local governments and national institutions, the first phase of the program will yield diagnostics in three cities (in Lebanon, Morocco, and Tunisia) and action plans for urban policy reform and investment in three areas: long-term strategic planning for local and regional development; better management of municipal resources (human, financial, and physical); and improved local gov-ernance for greater social accountability. The first phase may lead to a second phase consisting of assistance (under an instrument to be defined) to imple-ment the action plans. The programs objectives are twofold: (i) to analyze how national urbanization frameworks present opportunities and constraints for the exe-cution of a citys strategy (with emphasis on the need to coordinate local action with national policies at the regional level), and (ii) to build the capacity of cities to plan and carry out their strategies, through better management of munici-pal resources and improved governance.

Cities for a New Generation

Over the past two years, the ART-ISI@MED program, led by the Uni ted Nat ions D e v e l o p m e n t P r o -gramme (UNDP), has implemented its first p r o j e c t s i n L e b a -non (Tr ipol i) and in Morocco (Oujda, Chef-chaouen, Rgion de lOriental). One of the major results was the production of the ART/I S I M E D h a n d b o o k and decision-support tool. Harnessing the

Power and the Poten-tial of Information and Communication Tech-no log ies fo r Loca l Development provides local decision makers in the Mediterranean with easy-to-use guide-lines and forms that show how ICTs can be in tegra ted in to l oc a l deve lopment planning and policies. The handbook too l also of fers a space for those involved or interested in ART-ISI@MED to share their experiences and les-sons learned.

I n May 2012, c i t y authorities from across the MENA region con-

vened in Beirut to hear how ART-ISI@MED is helping local authori-ties adapt and apply successes in areas such as advanced geographic informa-tion systems for street management and soft-ware for the delivery of public documents. In the course of a joint workshop, supported in part by the French Ministr y of Foreign Affairs, local officials were trained in the use o f ART- IS I@MEDs new decision-support tool, which is available in Arabic, English, and French, both online, at http://cmimarseille.org/isimed.php, and in print.

THE ART-ISI@MED PROGRAMBOX 6



This set of CMI programs and activities focused on local capacity building is complemented by initiatives designed to strengthen the capacity of national institutions. The Employment and Social Protection program, developed as a response to a request from the Tuni-sian government, was initiated in June 2011 at a workshop in Tunis on emer-gency social measures for a successful transition in Tunisia. The workshop demonstrated the capacity of the donor community and the CMI to pro-vide a quick response to the pressing needs of the Tunisian authorities to identify actionable solutions to boost employment, especially among youth. It gave the Tunisian government access to international experience and best practices on a broad range of social measures, including labor-intensive projects, quick-impact projects, and experiences in social spending and redistribution across regions. Expert participants in the workshop stayed

on for direct discussions with national decision makers, offering an opportu-nity to identify programs appropriate for Tunisia. The workshop also allowed the government of Tunisia to make bet-ter use of the sizeable funds provided by several donors (World Bank, AFD, African Development Bank, and the EU) under the Tunisian recovery pro-gram, which included components on employment and social protection.

The Employment and Social Protec-tion program is led by AFD and was approved at a special meeting with the CMIs southern partners in November 2011, brings together several donors that are members or partners of the CMI (including the International Labor Organi-zation, EU, and the African Development Bank). It focuses on policies that promote entrepreneurship and self-employment; labor-intensive programs; vocational training; labor-market information and functioning; and specific measures or

incentives such as employment centers, coaching, conditional cash transfers, and social networks. The program has four components: (i) targeted research and data collection; (ii) an e-community of practice to share information and reflec-tions (established in October 2011); (iii) national workshops and (iv) pilot projects to test, implement, or demon-strate policy options.

After the initial Tunis event, a similar workshop was held at Cairo University in October 2012. The sessions com-bined presentations from researchers, experts from Egypt, the Mediterranean region, and from around the world, as well as practitioners and development partners. The workshop was welcomed by all stakeholders and was successful in terms of knowledge sharing, donor coor-dination, and engagement from a broad cross section of Egyptian society. Other workshops will be held in 2013 and pilot projects are under preparation.

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T h e i n fo r m a t i o n m ad e ava i l -able through ef for ts to increase transparency should logically be fol lowed by ci t izen act ion and advocacy based on the information. Expanding youth participation in public decision-making is the first objective of the Institutional Deve-lopment to Strengthen Regional A rab Youth Po l icy and Youth Participation program, led by the World Bank.

The program promotes the deve-lopment of independent, national youth-led platforms in reform-ori-ented countries such as Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt, with the aim of creating an independent regional youth plat form. In collaboration with the European Youth Forum, and through events such as Euro-Arab Youth Leaders Meeting in Rome in May 2012 and a youth symposium held in Tunis in August

2012 under the title Arab Spring: Youth Participation for the Promo-tion of Peace, Human Rights, and Fundamental Freedoms, the pro-gram is undertaking a preliminary mapping of regional and national youth stakeholders, includin

Documents

Cmi annualreport2012