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This briefing note looks at how the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Wildlife Asia programme has operationalised the concepts of adaptive rigour and adaptive management as part of its approach to collaborating, learning and adapting. As described by the Global Learning for Adaptive Management (GLAM) initiative, adaptive rigour is about ensuring that the data, information, methods, processes and systems that underpin adaptive management are robust, systematic and...

This briefing note focuses on the remote collection and use of data for adaptive management during the Covid-19 pandemic, setting out key considerations to help practitioners think through a transition from more ‘traditional’ monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) to MEL for adaptive management (MEL4AM) that reflects the unique data collection challenges presented by Covid-19. The brief provides an overview of some key considerations in remote data collection, when this is required, and...

Considerations for planning a post project evaluation during the project, at the end, or after it has closed.

Democratic innovations are proliferating in politics, governance, policy, and public administration. These new processes of public participation are reimagining the relationship between citizens and institutions. This Handbook advances understanding of democratic innovations, in theory and practice, by critically reviewing their importance throughout the world. The overarching themes are a focus on citizens and their relationship to these innovations, and the resulting effects on political...

Embracing adaptive programming approaches but sticking with rigid, traditional systems-based operations? It's time to take a long hard look at all the boring stuff, says Nicola Nixon.

Key messages • This working paper introduces a set of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) tools and approaches, discussing their potential usefulness in supporting adaptive management in development and humanitarian programmes. It emphasises adaptive programmes characterised by complex aspects, such as: (1) they are innovative; (2) they have uncertain pathways for change; or (3) they operate in uncertain or unstable environments. • The majority of these tools have been used in international...

A management treatise on 'simplre rules' for companies facing unpredictable situations could provide useful guidance to aid organizations

In a complex, globalised and rapidly changing world, power dynamics are multidimensional, constantly evolving, and full of complexity. The ‘powercube’ (Gaventa, 2006) is an approach to power analysis which can be used to examine the multiple forms, levels and spaces of power, and their interactions. Building on earlier work on power, and elaborated and popularised in collaboration with other colleagues through the web site powercube.net and numerous other resources, the powercube has been...

This book uncovers how power operates around the world, and how it can be resisted or transformed through empowered collective action and social leadership. The stakes have never been higher. Recent years have seen a rapid escalation of inequalities, the rise of new global powers and corporate interests, increasing impunity of human rights violations, suppression of civil society, and a re-shaping of democratic processes by post-truth, populist and nationalist politics. Rather than looking...

Development and humanitarian organisations seeking to be adaptive have emphasised the need to be transparent about complexity and uncertainty; to be honest about their inability to control what happens; and to design programmes that change over time to become more appropriate and relevant. At their heart, adaptive management approaches emphasise the ability to lean, 'unlearn' and adapt programming accordingly. The cornerstone of effective learning is the creation, gathering, accumulation,...

In this landmark collection, the voices of pathMakers and innovators in peacebuilding evaluation are assembled to provide new direction for the field.

When we purchased a license for the SenseMaker research method in early 2017 (a proprietary data collection and analysis software), the excitement in our more “geeky” teams was palpable. SenseMaker ... Read More

Stakeholder Analysis is used to identify the actors and relationships that influence project outcomes. This guidance, from IRC, can help you determine how to work and who to partner, coordinate or engage with in order to best achieve the outcome. It builds on existing stakeholder information and typically will include a participatory internal meeting or workshop.

LONGLISTED: CMI Management Book of the Year 2020 - Technology and Patterns at Work Transformed CategoryTraditional organizational structures and cultures are no longer fit for purpose in a digitally empowered world. The number of new and disruptive technologies is increasing, the speed of change shows no sign of slowing down and business leaders and organization development practitioners need to act urgently to enable their companies to succeed in the digital age. Agile Transformationis the...

The recent rapid evolution of digital technologies has been changing behaviors and expectations in countries around the world. These shifts make it the right time to pose the key question this paper explores: Will digital technologies, both those that are already widespread and those that are still emerging, have substantial impacts on the way citizens engage and the ways through which power is sought, used, or contested? The authors address this question both to mitigate some of the World...

15 Shares In practice the way in which research impacts and influences policy and society is often thought to be a rational, ordered and linear process. Whilst this might represent a ‘common sense’ understanding of research impact, in this cross-post John Burgoyne reflects on how upending the primacy of data and embracing complexity can lead to a more nuanced and effective understanding of research impact.

Research on the Information Society, the Digital Divide and Information and Communication Technologies for development

This is the story of the one question about global poverty we never thought to ask: who owns it? It's a question with an unexpected answer, one that challenges everything that we thought we knew about what poverty is, and what we can do about it. This is a story of a powerful data-driven methodology being used in a dozen countries across 5 continents. It's a new approach that puts poor families in charge of defining and diagnosing their own unique, multidimensional poverty—who by owning the...