Mr. Ahmed Abtew giving welcoming remark
Organized by a unique collaboration of Policy Studies Institute (PSI) of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and National Graduate Institute of Policy Studies (GRIPS), a workshop that focuses on presenting an interim report on ‘Ethiopia Productivity Report’ held on February 22, 2019 at Capital Hotel and Spa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The workshop was organized with the aim to: present preliminary research findings of relevance to key stakeholders; ground-truth the findings with local expertise and receive inputs on the draft report; and outline policy implications of the studies.
The event commenced with welcoming remarks given by Mr. Ahmed Abtew, Director General of PSI and an opening speech by H.E. Dr. Fitsum Assefa, Commissioner of the Planning and Development Commission of FDRE. H.E. Dr. Fitsum stressed on the importance of research of the sort in informing policy decisions. The commissioner also recognized the contribution of GRIPS and JICA in making the target research project a success.
H.E. Dr. Fitsum Assefa delivering opening speech
In the occasion, H.E. Mr. Daisuke Matsunaga, Ambassador of Japan to Ethiopia, and Prof. Kenichi Ohno, Professor at GRIPS, also reflected on the nature and importance of the collaborative project and highlighted the willingness to keep the strong partnership from their side.
The presentation session covered two papers: ‘Introduction, Concepts and importance of Productivity: Ethiopia’s productivity in International Comparison (Macro level)’ by Dr. Kidanemariam Berhe, Lead Researcher at PSI and ‘Ethiopia’s productivity in International Comparison: Preliminary Survey analysis (mind-set change)’ by Dr. Mulu Gebreeyesus, Senior Research Fellow at PSI. The presentations were followed up with question and answer session where stake holders got the space to freely discuss on key issues treated in the presentations.
Dr. Kidanemariam Berhe presenting the (first) research report
Dr. Mulu Gebreyeesus presenting the (second) research report
This workshop gathered participants drawn from the Ethiopian government ministries, non-governmental organizations, research institutes, universities, private companies and other stakeholders.
Group picture of the workshop participants