CIPE’s Global and Knowledge Management programs are designed to develop cross-cutting themes and projects that provide new insights, capture lessons learned from CIPE’s work, share information across regional departments and among CIPE partners, and develop new areas of expertise to shape worldwide debates on the interdependence of democracy and market reform. Global and Knowledge Management act as a crucial resource for CIPE partners and staff and help to steer the larger CIPE approach while gathering institutional knowledge. global programs and resources bolster CIPE’s overall activities while expanding international outreach and understanding on reform issues. These programs focus on a variety of areas, including anti-corruption, corporate governance, business association development, access to information, and women and youth. In 2009, CIPE’s Global programs gave careful consideration to the impact of the global financial crisis on countries’ economic and political systems, focusing on reinforcing the importance and success of democracies and the viability of market economies.

Ira Millstein, senior associate dean for corporate governance at the Yale School of Management, gives remarks at CIPE’s 25th anniversary conference, “Democracy that Delivers” celebrating its approach to development.

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CIPE’s Youth Essay Contest engages young reformers around the world.

For progress and reform to take hold, young people must feel engaged and empowered to advance democratic and market-oriented reforms in their countries. In many places, youth are prohibited from expressing their views and opinions and from making constructive contributions. The most common venues for expression are often reserved for already-established and traditional interests. Without access to these venues, youth often resort to other options to express their opinions and influence policy – from strikes to street protests. Through its international youth essay competition, CIPE provides young people with the opportunity to address their countries’ problems in a constructive manner and share their ideas with a global audience.

CIPE’s 2009 youth essay competition attracted ideas from over 650 young people – nearly a 50 percent increase from 2008 – from 106 countries including Belarus, Colombia, Eritrea, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan. Participants submitted essays on one of three themes: entrepreneurship and leadership, educational reform and employment, and citizenship in a democratic society. Participants ranged from ages 18 to 30 with an average age of 23. The largest number of submissions – 30 percent – came from Africa.

To determine winners, CIPE created a three-round judging system featuring committees of leaders from international partner organizations and CIPE senior staff. Special consideration was given to essays from participants outside of North America and Western Europe. After reviewing all the submitted essays, nine winners – a first, second, and third place essay from each of the three categories – were selected and announced. CIPE published winning essays as Economic Reform Feature Service articles distributed to nearly 4,000 recipients; these essays were also posted on the website with a brief biography of the writer. CIPE helped to advance the winners’ ideas in their home countries by distributing press releases to local media outlets.

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The CIPE Development Institute is an online resource on democracy and market-oriented reform for students, teachers, and reformers across the globe.

Open source content is the new frontier in both education and international development. Technological advances are fueling a boom in academic materials available online. Students and professors around the world can now gain access to a truly global wealth of resources. As the amount and quality of materials increase, CIPE has worked to address crucial gaps in the body of freely accessible information. Only a few quality and easily accessible resources approach development from the perspective of building the democratic and market- oriented institutions that are key to providing youth with the opportunities to advance beyond the classroom. The CIPE Development Institute (www.developmentinstitute.org) offers students and faculty – as well as government and business professionals and non-governmental organizations – an accessible website featuring video presentations, lesson plans, and recommended readings from world-renowned experts. Throughout 2009, the institute gained hundreds of new users and continues to grow, attracting new audiences worldwide.

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Knowledge Management leverages the ability of reform leaders to effectively campaign for improved governance. For CIPE, Knowledge Management entails tapping the expertise and experience of partners and staff and comparing program successes and failures to develop concrete strategies. This information amplifies CIPE’s impact, fosters organizational learning, and offers practical guidance. Partners and reformers around the world have used CIPE’s Knowledge Management guides, toolkits, and online forums as central resources for their efforts. From Ghana to Mongolia, think tanks, educators, and business support organizations have used these resources as effective tools in their work, benefitting from their lessons.

In 2009, CIPE released the CIPE Guide to Governance Reform (www.cipe.org/governance_reform), which succinctly captures CIPE’s essential program practices and techniques. This guidebook, available in English, French, and Russian, is a crucial resource for partners and peer organizations on how to design a reform agenda. For example, CIPE partner Samriddhi, The Prosperity Foundation used information from the guide for its handbook on youth entrepreneurship in Nepal.

Continuing to innovate, CIPE launched an online discussion forum for youth entrepreneurship, the Community of Young Entrepreneurs, which currently has 350 subscribers and features contributions from a range of youth leaders and advocates (www.reformsnetwork.org/youth). Together with the Community of Women Entrepreneurs (www.reformsnetwork.org/women), these two forums foster international peer-to-peer exchange of ideas, experiences, and best practices to advance political and economic empowerment.

CIPE also released a REFORM Toolkit on “Reducing Economic Informality by Opening Access to Opportunity,” which makes the case for tearing down barriers to participation in the formal economy, creating opportunities for the poor, and establishing the rule of law. Its policy solutions are illustrated by examples taken directly from CIPE programs. The toolkit has been distributed to partners and translated into Arabic for CIPE’s work in Egypt addressing the challenges of informal street vending.

From left, Hariadi Saptadji, executive director of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Shaban Khalid, vice president of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Ahmed Ugas, secretary general of the Somali Chamber of Commerce and Industry, share their experiences at a CIPE Knowledge Management partner workshop following the World Chambers Congress in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

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ChamberL.I.N.k.S. participants speak about their experiences at a CIPE event. From left, Ludmila Romanova of Russia, Bereket Teka of Ethiopia, and Temur Rahkimov of Tajikistan.

The ChamberL.I.N.K.S. (Leaders, Innovators, and Knowledge Sharing) program provides an opportunity for talented young international professionals from chambers of commerce and business associations to gain valuable leadership skills by observing, shadowing, and engaging with staff and members of host chambers in the United States. In 2009, six young professionals from Ethiopia, Jamaica, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan spent time in local chambers of commerce in California, Colorado, Missouri, New Mexico, and Texas – learning about the organizations’ keys to success.

Candidate applications for the program were reviewed and chosen by CIPE senior regional program staff based on merit and regional distribution. The local U.S. host chambers were selected on the strength of their youth leadership programs, and on their ability to complement each participant’s skill set and personal objectives for the program. Participants spent six weeks with their host chambers and finished their trips with a visit to Washington, DC to meet with CIPE staff, U.S. Chamber of Commerce staff, and members of Congress and their staffs.

Royce Britton, export business development officer at the Jamaica Exporters’ Association, learns from his ChamberL.I.N.k.S. experience at a trade expo in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Since returning home, participants have introduced new initiatives – inspired by their work at local chambers in the United States – to improve the operations of their organizations, becoming stronger advocates for business in their communities. A new breakfast reception program at the Kaluga Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Russia now highlights membership services and provides a place for members to interact regularly. Similarly, the Bishkek Business Club in Kyrgyzstan is working to implement a new computer system to improve member relations and simplify office procedures. Participants have also maintained connections with their host chambers and other alumni through Facebook and LinkedIN.

A chamber equipped with a well-trained staff, advocating on behalf of its membership, has a positive impact on other members of the private sector and on the environment for doing business. By building their professional skills and acting as a conduit for new ideas, these young professionals are able to bring home innovative ideas and techniques to help their chambers increase their role as advocates for the private sector.

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CIPE’s online and print resources provide information on democratic institutions and market-oriented principles to reformers around the world.

Access to information is crucial to improving transparency and accountability in the public and private sector alike. Democracy and free markets both rely on decentralized decision-making structures that demand a free flow of information. CIPE strives constantly to reach out to partners, reformers, and colleague organizations, encouraging an open information exchange about democratic and market-oriented principles both within and between countries. This openness increases understanding of the links between political and economic freedom and facilitates knowledge sharing. Since 1995, CIPE has maintained www.cipe.org to share crucial information, including success stories, theoretical pieces, and regional resources.

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