GRET’s position and modes of action place it at the crossroads of numerous stakeholder networks. This can be seen in the diverse alliances and partnerships it has built with the associative milieu in developed and developing countries, development support organisations, universities, public institutions, and enterprises. We maintain relationships of different natures with these players depending on the context, history of the relationship, and opportunities for collaboration. These relationships are guided by a concern for pertinence and impact on the development processes to which we wish to contribute. Pragmatism, fidelity, and reciprocal quality requirements characterise these relationships.
> Strong Presence in Associative Groups in the Field of International Solidarity
> Collaboration with Research and Education Structures in France and Europe
> International Operational Alliances in the North
> Partnerships and Operational Alliances in the South
> Partnerships with Companies in the North
Strong Presence in Associative Groups in the Field of International Solidarity
GRET is a member of Groupe Initiatives which unites five international solidarity associations with technical vocations: GRDR, GRET, IRAM, Ciedel-Rafod, and VSF-CICDA. Groupe Initiatives (GI) brings together professionals who cooperate in the name of their values and beliefs while seeking rigorous methods. GI is itself a member of Coordination SUD which unites the main French international solidarity organisations. GRET is a member of the Board of Directors of Coordination SUD, on behalf of GI. GRET chairs Coordination SUD’s Agriculture and Food Committee. It also participates actively in work on the evolution of official development aid.
We are also an active member of the French International Solidarity Committee (CFSI), an operational platform where French international solidarity organisations, unions, professional organisations and territorial authorities come together to place their professional skills at the service of common projects. GRET is a member of CFSI’s Bureau.
GRET belongs to several specialised international solidarity association groups in Europe (CERISE, Groupe urgence développement, Concord, F3E (the Fonds pour la promotion des études préalables, études transversales, évaluations), etc.) and in developing countries (for example, the Senegal national platform of non-government stakeholders for the monitoring of the Cotonou Agreement, and the platform of European NGOs).
We contribute to discussions on the subjects of development aid, promoting sustainable development, food security, and access to essential services. GRET is a member of the Plate-forme française pour des agricultures durables et solidaires en Europe et dans le Monde (Plate-Forme ADS) and the European Platform for Food Sovereignty; it contributes to CFSI’s “Food” campaign and participates in the FAO’s intergovernmental working group on food rights.
In 2004, GRET contributed to several positions taken on access to water and essential services, delivered to the UN-Habitat Executive Council and the 13th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development, in partnership with UN-Habitat and UNITAR, and the Friends of the Earth and the association 4D.
Collaboration with Research and Education Structures in France and Europe
In France, GRET collaborates with several research and education or development establishments, with whom it joins or whose skills it mobilises when needed for research programmes and international solidarity projects, and for whom it provides training: CIRAD, CNEARC, CNRS, INRA, IRD, the École supérieure de journalisme de Lille (ESJ), the Institut d’Etudes du Développement Economique et Social (IEDES), the Institut d’études politiques de Paris, the Institut français d’urbanisme, LATTS (the Laboratoire Techniques, territoires et sociétés), and several universities (Paris I, Paris VIII, Grenoble, St-Quentin, EHESS, Isara-Lyon, etc.).
GRET also founded, in collaboration with INRA, the University of Versailles Saint-Quentin, and the Bergerie nationale in Rambouillet, the scientific interest group ARCADE whose research focuses on the links between food consumption dynamics and sustainable development.
In Europe, we collaborate in particular with the University of Newcastle, the University of Mainz (IFEAS), the University of Louvain la Neuve, the University of Cracow (Poland) and, in Eastern Europe, with the Centre d’étude rural de Tirana (Albania). GRET is a member of the N-Aerus network that brings together the primary European research teams on urban issues in developing countries.
International Operational Alliances in the North
We also work with numerous international solidarity organisations, including IIED (Great Britain), COTA (Belgium), the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), ACRA and Manitese (Italy), IUED (Switzerland), PACT (USA), NPA (Norway), VECO (Belgium), ISTED (France), etc.
Partnerships and Operational Alliances in the South
GRET maintains a permanent presence in thirteen countries. Our actions are, with few exceptions, conducted in operational partnerships with local organisations and institutions. We have developed diverse partnerships with development practitioners, universities, and research centres.
We also work with public institutions and local governments, contracting authorities for or partners in field actions, such as the Hydraulic and Sanitation Directorate or the Nouakchott Urban Community in Mauritania; the Ministry of Agriculture in Benin; the Ministry of Water Resources and Meteorology, the Ministry of Health, or the Ministries of Rural Development, and of Agriculture in Cambodia; and CAMEP and SNEP (the national drinking water service) in Haiti.
Development Practitioners
Federating organisations, professional or territorial organisations, or NGOs intervening thematically or territorially: AMRET (formerly “EMT”) and CEDAC in Cambodia; CITE, IREDEC and Kiomba in Madagascar; Tenmiya and Naître et Grandir in Mauritania; UCCEC in the Democratic Republic of Congo; IC Sahel in Mali; ENDA-GRAF and Pacte in Senegal; LARES and CEBEDES in Benin; ADAE and FAUEREB in Burkina Faso; the CCOD NGO Group in Congo; Pelum in Southern Africa; Migrations & Development in Morocco; CPT in Upper Xingu, Brazil; PESADEV and Kay Lavi in Haiti.
Consultancy firms such as Agro-PME in Cameroon, SEMIS in Senegal, and SICAREX in Burkina Faso, and Kosan in Cambodia; farmers’ organisations such as Mviwata in Tanzania; and research and development structures that are themselves connected to farmers' organisations (LAET in Brazil).
Universities and Research Centres
We collaborate sustainably with a certain number of universities and research centres, combining joint research programmes and institutional support.
These partners include: the University of Limpopo in South Africa; the Federal University of Para (family farming department) in Brazil; the University Mayor de San Simon in Cochabama, Bolivia; the Royal University of Agriculture (URA) and the Cambodia Agriculture Research and Development Institute (CARDI) in Cambodia; the National University of Esquel (Patagonia) in Argentina; the University of Antananarivo–Labasan in Madagascar; the Institut Sénégalais de Recherche Agricole (ISRA) and the Institut Fondamental d’Afrique Noire of the University of Dakar (IFAN/UCAD) in Senegal; Mandé Bukaru University in Mali; the Human Sciences Facility of Ouagadougou University; and the Vietnam Agricultural Sciences Institute (VASI) and the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN) in Vietnam.
Media Stakeholders
In Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, and DRC, GRET provides the media with support via projects conducted in partnership with local journalists’ unions (UJT in Chad, UNJCI in Côte d’Ivoire, and UNDPC in DRC), self-regulation bodies (OLPED in Côte d’Ivoire), regulation bodies (HAM in DRC, CNCA and CNP in Côte d’Ivoire, and HCC in Chad), professional associations (FOPROMEDIAS in DRC), publishers’ associations (AEPT), and unions (SNPP in DRC, SPC in Chad).
Partnerships with Companies in the North
For the past six years, GRET has been developing operational partnerships with businesses in developed countries in the framework of development projects managed by GRET in the developing countries. We provide our social engineering skills, our network of partners, and our presence in the field; the businesses provide technical know-how and/or financial support. The privatisation of public enterprises in developing countries and SMEs’ desire for more international scope favour such closer ties between development aid professionals and the business world.
GRET participates in the work of the association ORSE (Observatoire sur la responsabilité sociale des entreprises) that brings together businesses, investors, professional organisations and NGOs on issues related to corporate social and environmental responsibility, sustainable development, and ethical investment.
The Ondéo Lyonnaise des eaux Group mobilised—via Aquassistance—engineers for the Alizés project in Senegal, providing a technical solution for river water pumping and filtering in village installations. The Electrabel Group mobilised engineers for energy projects in Cambodia and Madagascar.
Estée Lauder (Aveda), Robertet SA, and other businesses in the perfume and cosmetics sector participate in the Biodesa project in South America which aims to optimise and protect local bio-diversity and resources.
The Sight and Life Foundation (Hoffman Laroche Group) supports a GRET project that aims to test ways to overcome vitamin and mineral deficiencies in Vietnam and Madagascar.
Waterdev (Vivendi Group) supports a water supply installation project in Cambodia.
The Crédit agricole bank supports the “Dialogs” agricultural development project in Vietnam.
Also in Vietnam, IKEA supports a project to develop quality bamboo production for industrial use; the stakes of this project focus on environmental dimensions and questions of traceability and quality certification.
|
