Japan's Official Development Assistance White Paper 2010
(2) Human Resources Development and Development Research
Due to the increasing diversity and complexity of development issues, recruiting and developing personnel with sophisticated knowledge, abundant experience, and communication skills in foreign languages is essential today for effective and efficient implementation of international cooperation. This is also true for research activities conducted in order to appropriately assess the needs of developing nations and trends in the international community.
In 1990, the Foundation for Advanced Studies on International Development (FASID) was established to serve as an organization for promoting the concept of an international development university. FASID provides training and education for persons associated with assistance and also conducts survey and research projects. FASID also dispatches lecturers to various universities to teach development cooperation-related seminars and classes. In 2000, in cooperation with the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), FASID established a joint International Development Studies (IDS) program in the Master’s course of this university.
In 2003, JICA established the International Cooperation Personnel Registration System in order to recruit and make use of motivated personnel with specialized skills. This system provides information on job openings; staff registration; information on various types of training and seminars; and career development consultations for international cooperation-related bodies such as JICA, NGOs, and international organizations. In addition, the Senior Advisor System is used to recruit human resources with high-level expertise and ample practical experience in developing countries, while an Associate Specialist system has also been established in aiming to cultivate youth that possess a certain degree of expertise despite having little experience. In October 2008, the JICA Research Institute was established, where empirical and policy research is promoted based on the internationally-prevailing methodology while keeping in mind the message to the governments of developing countries and the international assistance community.
The Institute of Developing Economies of the Japan External Trade Organization (IDE-JETRO) conducts research on the politics, economies, and societies of developing nations together with mainly researchers, including specialists from Japanese and overseas universities as well as other research institutes. Furthermore, the Institute of Developing Economies Advanced School (IDEAS) of JETRO was established for Japanese and foreigners to provide training aimed at developing highly-skilled development experts, so as to contribute to the economic and social development of developing countries.