[ The InWEnt Development Information Centre (IZEP) offer ]

Bundled knowledge on development policy

The IZEP is a goldmine for all who seek information on development cooperation. It was founded to contribute to the preparation of development policy decisions and measures by means of material collection and coordination instruments. In 1969 the centre was renamed Central Documentation, and its new name of Development Information Centre was chosen in 2001. Since its founding, the IZEP has expanded its diverse offer by using ever newer technical options (from index and punch cards to an Internet database). The Information Centre is now one of the four divisions of Department 3, Social Development, of InWEnt in Bonn.

By imparting developmentally relevant knowledge, the Development Information Centre contributes both to strengthening the efficiency of development cooperation and heightening its acceptance among the German public. Its most important subject areas include:
– globalisation, poverty reduction, the environment and development;
– development theories, strategies and processes;
– development policy and development cooperation; and
– developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

With more than 70,000 book and several hundred magazines, the IZEP library is the largest on development policy in Germany. Its World Bank Information Kiosk, which offers access to all the Bank’s publications is unique in Germany. The offer is complemented by a Press archive and an information and publication centre with extensive material on development policy and developing countries. The material includes publications of the German Development Ministry (BMZ) and many other German organisations engaged in development cooperation. The documentation on institutions offers information on 2,600 public and private sector and church organisations in German development cooperation. The IZEP also provides information on international organisations with developmental tasks.

Among the most important IZEP publications is Institutions of Development Cooperation, the Who’s Who of German development policy. It gives facts and figures on the leading organisations in the German development community. The publication Experts for Development Cooperation provides information on the opportunities for working in development abroad. The brochure Development-related Postgraduate Studies offers a guide to the relevant offers of German higher education institutions. Brief pointers to information services, magazines, institutions, One World shops, audiovisual media, events services, and traineeships in developing countries are given by publications titled Merkblätter. The Themendienste report on the current level of knowledge in the developmental debate. The latest book to appear in this series is Sustainable Policy – The Rio-Johannesburg Process. In connection with the World Bank’s presentation of this year’s World Development Report, Making Services Work for Poor People, the series will next take up the subject of Financing of Social Sectors and focus on basket financing.

With its Thesaurus for Economic and Social Development, the IZEP publishes an important coordination instrument of developmental documentation. The thesaurus is compiled in close cooperation with information centres in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. For national and international networking, the IZEP engages in the Development Policy Information System and the Information Management Working Group of the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutions.

All IZEP sections accept research inquiries, and an online form for requesting literature research is offered on the Internet. Moreover, special services are offered for government ministries, Parliament and organisations in development cooperation (country maps, further reading service). Not least, a diverse portal on all questions on development policy is offered by the Information Centre’s Website. The online offer includes databases, directories of institutions and lists of links and literature that are continually updated and expanded:
www.inwent.org/izep

Contact: InWEnt Development Information Centre,
Tulpenfeld 5, D-53113 Bonn. Tel. +49 (0)228 2434-5,
Fax: +49 (0)228 2434-766, e-mail: izep@inwent.org