Dakar, 12 October 2016 (ECA) - A two-day workshop took place in October in Dakar, Senegal, co-organized by the ECA and the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), aimed at arriving at a common understanding of the definition of structural transformation and developing an analytical framework that will guide the formulation of future Country Profiles and enable the ECA to better measure and assess progress in Africa’s structural transformation.
The concept of structural transformation has, in recent years, been captured in national and regional vision statements – notably, the African Union’s Agenda 2063 – as well as international policy agendas such as the Sustainable Development Goals. However, there is no universally agreed upon definition of the term.
Against this backdrop, it was deemed essential for the ECA to develop a working definition of structural transformation to be used across the organization in order to provide clarity, improve synergies and impact of its work, and enable staff in ECA’s Subregional Offices to better measure and assess progress towards economic and social transformation of Member States in their respective regions.
Accordingly, the workshop had three main objectives, the first of which was to develop a policy-oriented analytical framework of structural transformation, underpinned by a clear and practical concept and definition. The other objectives were to understand the application of this analytical framework in the context of ECA Country Profiles; and identify and agree upon a set of outcomes, outcome indicators, as well as policy frameworks to be used in ECA Country Profiles, all of which would guide the tracking of the structural transformation of African economies over time.
Speaking at the workshop, the Director of policy advisory services at the African Centre for Structural Transformation (ACET), Edward K. Brown, commented on development in African economies by making a clear distinction between growth and transformation in Africa, stating: “Africa is growing rapidly but transforming slowly.”
The workshop was steered by ECA’s Deputy Executive Secretary for Knowledge Delivery, Giovanie Biha and facilitated by Maximiliano Mendez-Para from ODI. Other participants included Dirk Willem te Velde and Neil Balchin of ODI, Professor Jimi Adesina, Social Research Policy Chair at the University of South Africa, and technical experts from ECA’s substantive divisions and Subregional Offices.
Issued by:
Communications Section
Economic Commission for Africa
PO Box 3001
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
Tel: +251 11 551 5826
E-mail: ecainfo@uneca.org