@techreport{kantelberg_how_2022, title = {How and {Why} {Practitioners} {Think} and {Work} {Politically} - {Evidence} from {Chemonics} {Programming} {Across} {Sectors}}, url = {https://chemonics.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Chemonics_International_How_and_Why_Practitioners_Think_and_Work_Politically_Dec_19_2022.pdf}, abstract = {Most development practitioners have long recognized that deep contextual knowledge is crucial to understanding how projects interact with their local systems and, in turn, to navigating these systems. Moreover, this knowledge must complement projects' technical solutions, or they will fall flat and may even undercut project objectives as they clatter down. What, then, explains practitioners' particular interest in TWP as an explicit strategy and more than just "doing good development"? This report responds to that question and to the many calls for a more comprehensive picture of TWP by presenting new evidence of the various forms that TWP may take in practice. The evidence comes from a 2022 study that Chemonics undertook to foster more robust learning about TWP. Specifically, we closely examined Chemonics implemented projects that used or are using various forms of TWP in nine countries: Bangladesh, Iraq, Mozambique, the Philippines, Pakistan, Syria, Timor-Leste, and Tunisia. In conducting the study, we interviewed multiple staff from these projects. We complemented what we learned from these projects with a review of eight additional Chemonics- implemented projects applying TWP that had received dedicated support from Chemonics’ Center for Politically Informed Programming (the Center). We consider these findings alongside those of the recent (2022) USAID-Chemonics study on political economy analysis (PEA) usage to identify and articulate what is different and more effective about PEA processes and TWP practices that have received more support.}, language = {en}, urldate = {2023-01-03}, institution = {Chemonics International}, author = {Kantelberg, Renee and Swift-Morgan, Jennifer and Watson, Bryce}, month = dec, year = {2022}, }