In the German Government and Federal States Programme (Bund-Länder-Programm, BLP) the German government and the German federal states cooperate in international development cooperation (DC). Since 2015, the programme has successfully implemented more than 70 projects worldwide in the following priority areas and cross-cutting topics.
Priority Areas & Cross-cutting Topics
Click here for more information about BLP-Projects the thematic area of environmental protection, climate protection and sustainable energy supply.
Click here for more information on BLP projects that support sustainable economic development, for example through qualification measures or technology transfers.
Click here for more information on BLP projects that promote stable democratic structures e.g. through exchange of experiences and development of measures.
Pandemic prevention and effective structures for dealing with pandemics are new challenges that are addressed in some BLP projects. Click here for more information.
Gender discrimination and inequality is a problem worldwide. The BLP promotes gender expertise and sensitivity in partner countries and advisory structures, as well as the equal participation of women and men in actions.
The programme of the German government and the federal states supports, accompanies and implements cooperation projects in three priority areas. These three thematic areas are "Governance", "Environment, Climate, Energy" and "Sustainable Economic Development". Due to the global spread of the coronavirus, projects are also being implemented in the additional and temporary thematic area of "pandemic resilience". In addition to these core themes, the cross-cutting issues of digitisation and gender equality are addressed.
You can find out more about the individual themes by clicking on the respective icons.
The progression of digitalization is changing the world, influencing for example communication and interaction, social and political participation and economic markets. This cross-cutting theme is addressed in the BLP, for example through the application of digital tools in the implementation of projects as well as through advice on the use of digital instruments.
Objectives
The BLP promotes and coordinates stronger strategic-thematic cooperation between the German government and the federal states in international development cooperation. The expertise that the federal states, as an important administrative instance, possess in shaping and implementing policy in many areas is used for German development cooperation. The experiences and competencies of private, scientific and civil society institutions and administrations from the federal states are integrated into the programme's projects and thus effectively complement the federal government's international cooperation.
Implementation
The BLP initiates projects that are carried out jointly by the German government and the German federal states. Considering the respective strengths of the federal states, the project implements numerous measures in which the international cooperation of the federal states complements technical cooperation programmes in the partner countries. The actors are advised and accompanied in the initiation and implementation of the cooperation projects.
The transfer of knowledge in the projects is not a one-way street, but a win-win situation. The joint projects also create new opportunities for companies and science.
Networking & Innovation
The BLP promotes networking and the exchange of knowledge between the actors from the federal states. In addition, the BLP brings together teams from different federal states and partner countries for an open innovation process on future challenges.
The BLP offers participants specific training on important topics in German DC, such as the gender approach of the German government.
Partner & Financing
On behalf of and financed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the BLP is implemented by the Northern Regional Office of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).The federal states co-finance the individual measures of the programme and provide e.g. staff, rooms, scholarships or training places.
Within the framework of the project, authorities of the federal states cooperate with ministries of the participating partner countries. Actors from academia, civil society and/or the private sector are also involved.
