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This field guide helps to navigate crises using the Cynefin framework as a compass. It proposes a four-stage approach through which we can: - assess the type of crisis and initiate a response; - adapt to the new pace and start building sensing networks to inform decisions; - repurpose existing structures and working methods to generate radical innovation; - transcend the crisis, formalise lessons learnt and increase resilience. The guide stresses the importance of setting and managing...

Development cooperation has spent decades wrangling over the merits, evidence, and implications of what we may term “the learning hypothesis”: the idea that increased knowledge by development organisations must logically lead to increased effectiveness in the performance of their development activities. Organisations of all stripes have built research and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) departments, adopted a multitude of knowledge management systems and tools, and tinkered with...

When asserting the value of theory-based methods, you often here words like “black boxes” and “causal mechanisms.” These are commonly…

In this final blog in the series, I want to look at the potential value of rubrics. While evaluability assessments can help us to…

In my last blog on theory-based Monitoring Evaluation and Learning (MEL), I explained why relationships matter, and how to assess change…

Abstract Motivation On December 15, 2012 Sombath Somphone was abducted at a police checkpoint in his home city of Vientiane, the capital of Laos; his whereabouts remain unknown. This article considers his work and disappearance through the lens of Thinking and Working Politically (TWP) approaches to development. The article is supportive of TWP, but emphasizes the significant risks of politicized programming in authoritarian contexts. Purpose By examining the case of Sombath Somphone, the...

La pandemia de la Covid-19 ha brotado súbitamente en un momento de transición para las instituciones y organizaciones sociales de medio mundo. Cuando aún no se había superado la crisis de confianza de la última década entre los ciudadanos y los gobiernos, en un momento de gran impulso de las iniciativas de gobierno abierto, planes de innovación y transformación digital, para hacer más democráticas y eficientes las administraciones a través de programas políticos encaminados a configurar un...

A pandemia da Covid-19 surgiu de súbito num momento de transição para as instituições e organizações sociais de meio mundo. Antes ainda de se ter ultrapassado a crise de confiança da última década entre os cidadãos e os governos, num momento de grande impulso das iniciativas de governo aberto e de planos de inovação e transformação digital para tornar mais democráticas e eficientes as administrações através de programas políticos encaminhados para configurar um novo contrato social, verde e...

Abstract Background: Program logic is one of the most used tools by the public policy evaluator. There is, however, little explanation in the evaluation literature about the logical foundations of program logic or discussion of how it may be determined if a program is logical. This paper was born on a long journey that started with program logic and ended with the logic of evaluation. Consistent throughout was the idea that the discipline of program evaluation is a pragmatic one, concerned...

What can adaptive approaches from other sectors teach development practitioners about dealing with uncertainty?

There are many definitions of the term ‘transformation’ or ‘transformational change’. The first section of the report develops a basic understanding of transformations or transitions (used synonymously) viewed from various perspectives. In this, transformations are defined as processes that use disruptive innovations to change systems into fundamentally new systems that subsequently form the new mainstream. Section two describes existing approaches to environmental and climate finance in...

There are many definitions of the term ‘transformation’ or ‘transformational change’. The first section of the report develops a basic understanding of transformations or transitions (used synonymously) viewed from various perspectives. In this, transformations are defined as processes that use disruptive innovations to change systems into fundamentally new systems that subsequently form the new mainstream. Section two describes existing approaches to environmental and climate finance in...

A-ha! A moment etched in my memory: 20 or so researchers were...

Looking to brush-up on agile? Here's your complete guide to agile project management, agile principles and key components, and the best agile tools for 2020.

A recent conversation with a good governance programme in Myanmar tried to identify its underlying rules of thumb. Was that a good idea?

Pact’s Adaptive Management Guide provides practical guidance to development practitioners globally on the mindsets, behaviors, resources, and processes that underpin an effective adaptive management system. It presents an approach to managing adaptively that is rooted in complexity analysis and program theory. It draws on Pact’s global experiences and work on topics as diverse as health, livelihoods, markets, governance, capacity development, women and youth, and more. This document begins...

What can middle-level theory do? Middle-level theory (MLT) has several uses in development planning and evaluation. „ It helps predict whether a programme can be expected to work in a new setting. „ It offers insights into what design features are needed for success. „ It provides invaluable information for monitoring to see if the programme is on track and to fix problems that arise. „ It reveals the causal processes and related assumptions to be tested in an evaluation and helps identify...

The world faces converging crises of health, climate, gender and racial injustice and extreme economic inequality. The calls are mounting to ‘build back better’ to create more inclusive, caring and environmentally sustainable futures. But what evidence exists that this is possible? The Inspiring Better Futures case study series investigates whether radical change at scale is possible and how it was achieved. This paper synthesises 18 cases which show that people are already successfully...