(2) Enhancement of Human Resources and Intellectual Foundations for Development Cooperation
Ms. YOKOI Mizuho, head of the UNDP North-East Sub-Office, listens to healthcare providers describing the current situation at a reconstructed clinic in the village of Ngwom in Borno State, Nigeria. She worked at the UNDP Ghana Office through the JPO Programme until 2001.
The Government of Japan has set a target of 1,000 Japanese staff working in UN-related agencies by the year 2025. In order to achieve this target, Japan is cooperating with universities and offices of international organizations in Japan while proactively seeking out, training, and supporting human resources with the capacity to be active and to contribute on the world stage Note 17. Furthermore, based on one of the aforementioned recommendations made by the Advisory Board for ODA, “Develop human resources for development cooperation,” MOFA is engaged in PR activities to find human resources with efforts such as providing seminars both within and outside Japan to explain the employment systems of international organizations, as well as holding career information sessions where explanations are given by executives and HR managers from international organizations visiting Japan.
Moreover, the Government of Japan strives to nurture human resources to be active in international organizations, including in the area of development cooperation, by conducting the Junior Professional Officer (JPO) Programme Note 18, which sends young Japanese nationals who aspire to work in international organizations as regular staff for two years in principle to gain necessary knowledge and experience in international organizations and attain a regular staff position after their tenure (see also “Stories from the Field” for the activities of a Japanese staff member dispatched to an international organization through the JPO Programme). MOFA has been dispatching JPOs through this programme since 1974, and a cumulative total of approximately 1,800 people have been sent, 52 of whom were sent in FY2019. In addition, since FY2015, MOFA has been implementing the “Program for Global Human Resource Development for Peacebuilding and Development Note 19,” with the purpose of finding and fostering human resources in the field of peacebuilding and development and developing their careers in a comprehensive manner (see “Human Resources Development for Peacebuilding” for details).
JICA is working to identify and develop human resources and make effective use of existing resources in the field of international cooperation based on the principle of “promoting all-Japan international cooperation activities.” Specifically, JICA operates the PARTNER (Participatory Network for Expert Recruitment) Note 20 website, a comprehensive international cooperation career information site that centrally distributes information not only from ministries, agencies, and JICA, but also from a wide range of international cooperation-implementing actors such as NGOs and international organizations, as well as from companies and universities. Through PARTNER, JICA provides recruitment information related to international cooperation, human resources registration services, information on various trainings and seminars, career counseling, and other services. Moreover, since 1997, JICA has offered internships to graduate students and other individuals who conduct research closely related to development cooperation and are willing to play an active role in this field in the future. In FY2019, 146 interns were accepted at various workplaces, including the worksites of development consultants. Based on the recommendations of the Second Consultative Committee on ODA Reform in 2002, JICA secures human resources with a high degree of professional abilities and abundant work experience in developing countries through the Senior Advisor System, as well as offers the Associate Experts Program and the Capacity Enhancement Training to foster international cooperation professionals.
Furthermore, the JICA Ogata Sadako Research Institute for Peace and Development Note 21 conducts policy-driven research on issues that developing countries face on the ground, working to strengthen Japan’s intellectual presence in the international community. Building on this basic policy, the JICA Ogata Research Institute is currently working toward a new vision: “Co-Creating Practical Knowledge for Peace and Development.” To realize this vision, the Institute is conducting research at the international academic level, analyzing and synthesizing knowledge gained in the field, and providing feedback to JICA projects, thereby contributing to the realization of human security. The Institute is also tackling research on new development issues, such as how to strategically promote SDGs in the midst of significant social changes triggered by COVID-19. In addition, the Institute is promoting the JICA Development Studies Program as one of the program’s responsible organizations, while further strengthening its functions as a center for research exchange and human resources development.
The Government of Japan will work with universities and research institutions and strive to reinforce the intellectual foundations to plan and disseminate development cooperation activities by promoting joint policy research and intellectual networking among researchers from Japan and developing countries, while utilizing Japan’s strengths (see “ODA Topics” for Japan’s revitalization efforts through international cooperation).
- Note 17: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Recruitment Center for International Organizations website (https://www.mofa-irc.go.jp/) (in Japanese only) provides information on vacancies in international organizations and a variety of information on working in international organizations.
- Note 18: JPO Programme: https://www.mofa-irc.go.jp/jpo/seido.html (in Japanese only)
- Note 19: Program for Global Human Resource Development for Peacebuilding and Development: https://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/gaiko/peace_b/j_ikusei_shokai.html (in Japanese only)
- Note 20: International Cooperation Career Information Website “PARTNER”: https://partner.jica.go.jp/ (in Japanese only)
- Note 21: On April 1, 2020, the JICA Research Institute changed its name to the JICA Ogata Sadako Research Institute for Peace and Development in order to carry on and enhance the philosophy of the late OGATA Sadako, who spearheaded the establishment of the JICA Research Institute, and to strengthen its intellectual contributions to world peace and development.