Article 23 of Law 125/2014 introduces an important novelty: the Italian development cooperation system. The many and highly diverse public and private actors who are engaged in cooperation activities are called to work together and to promote coherent actions, with greater impact and efficiency. This means bringing together governmental bodies, universities, subjects involved in decentralised cooperation, the whole world of no-profit organisations – from NGOs to private foundations, from associations of migrants to ethical finance and fair trade actors – while also involving businesses and profit-making stakeholders, all of which are essential players in the new cooperation model.
The concepts of “system” and ” coherence” among cooperation policies and initiatives are key aspects of Law 125. This means enabling information exchange and facilitating active networking at local levels among actors operating in various countries, thanks to the men and women of AICS present in the field. It also means creating appropriate incentives for initiatives promoted by consortia or through partnerships between different players, including profit and no-profit actors. And it means recognizing the specific role of the Agency as a “broker” of agreements and partnerships at multiple levels. This represents a major change of paradigm in terms of reinforcing the “coherence” of cooperation actions, and of endowing them with greater compliance with international principles of effectiveness.
This comprehensive perspective requires to involve all available resources and potential donors in the challenge of investing for development, stimulating a leverage effect between public and private resources and thus achieving an increase in the economic volume of aid, which is necessary to make progress towards the ambitious Sustainable Development Goals.
