The goal of the Kenya Market-led Horticulture Project (KMHP) – also known as HortIMPACT – was to contribute to increased food security, increased incomes and a dynamic and sustainable horticulture sector in Kenya. KMHP was funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN) in Kenya and implemented by a consortium consisting of [...]
Essay Power and Service At the request of the magazine Vice Versa, Fons van der Velden wrote in April 2019 a critical essay about the functioning of Dutch private development organisations that provide funding to development organisations in low- and medium-income countries Read more
The Voice for Change Partnership programme (V4CP) is a global programme that is implemented by 51 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in six countries with the support of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Embassies of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and SNV. Through the V4CP-programme SNV and IFPRI [...]
The AgriCord alliance membership consists of 12 agri-agencies, representing farmers’ organisations from Europe, Canada, West-Africa and Asia. The vision of AgriCord is that strong farmers’ organisations will boost rural incomes and improve income distribution. By setting up local processing facilities, organisations can add value to raw produce, create jobs, stimulate the rural economy and reduce [...]
In the period 2011 – 2015, ActionAid participated actively in the Fair, Green and Global (FGG) Alliance, a Netherlands based coalition with the objective to contribute to poverty reduction and socially just and environmentally sustainable development by enhancing the capacity of civil societies in the South. At the end of this programme (in October 2015) [...]
Fons van der Velden and Pol De Greve have written an essay on the nature and role of the social business model in international development. In the article, the authors argue that by ignoring the relevance of social businesses in advancing socially just and inclusive development, Ms Ploumen, Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development [...]
Karine Godthelp and Fons van der Velden draw lessons from five years of collaboration by the Universal Access to Female Condoms (UAFC) alliance within the MFS-II subsidy framework of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Universal Access to Female Condoms programme is an interesting case whereby the collaboration took place in a unique and insightful manner. The paper [...]
Fons van der Velden and Pol De Greve have published a succinct (19 page) primer in Dutch. In this publication the issue is raised whether a social business development approach to change processes constitutes an alternative for ‘traditional’ forms of development cooperation. Attention is paid to the apparent impasse in today’s development theory and practice. [...]
In 2015, SNV Netherlands Development Organisation launched LEAP+, a leadership development and support programme for leaders of social businesses. This programme has now come to a successful completion. The programme was designed to strengthen the participants’ inherent competencies so that they can operate as social entrepreneurs providing professional support towards alleviating poverty, in their local environment, in a financially [...]
SOS Children’s Villages has been experimenting with Civic Driven Change (CDC) and Social Business (SB) within their community participation activities under the scope of the MFS II grant of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2009. These two novel approaches to pro-poor change processes are rooted in sustainability and community participation. In December 2015, a learning guide was developed [...]