Accountability, transparency, Participation, and Inclusion. A New Development Consensus? - Carothers, Thomas; Brechenmacher, Saskia (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2014)
The wide-reaching consensus around the normative and instrumental value of accountability, transparency, participation, and inclusion remains less solid than enthusiasts of these concepts might wish.

Revisiting the Foundational Assumptions of Fiscal Transparency and Accountability Work - Carothers, Thomas; Brechenmacher, Saskia (International Budget Partnership, 2018)
The Fiscal Futures team recently updated the foundational assumptions of fiscal transparency and accountability work to fit today’s world. Learn more.

Learning in Development Co-operation - Carlsson, Jerker; Wohlgemuth, Lennart (Almqvist & Wiksell International, 2000)

Polycentric Systems of Governance: A Theoretical Model for the Commons - Carlisle, Keith; Gruby, Rebecca L. (Policy Studies Journal, 2019)
Polycentricity is a fundamental concept in commons scholarship that connotes a complex form of governance with multiple centers of semiautonomous decision making. If the decision-making centers take each other into account in competitive and cooperative relationships and have recourse to conflict resolution mechanisms, they may be regarded as a polycentric governance system. In the context of natural resource governance, commons scholars have ascribed a number of advantages to polycentric governance systems, most notably enhanced adaptive capacity, provision of good institutional fit for natural resource systems, and mitigation of risk on account of redundant governance actors and institutions. Despite the popularity of the concept, systematic development of polycentricity, including its posited advantages, is lacking in the commons literature. To build greater clarity and specificity around the concept, we develop a theoretical model of a polycentric governance system with a focus on the features necessary or conducive for achieving the functioning predicted by commons scholars. The model is comprised of attributes, which constitute the definitional elements, and enabling conditions, which specify additional institutional features for achieving functionality in the commons. The model we propose takes the concept a step further toward specificity without sacrificing the generality necessary for contextual application and further development.

Agile, is it just a delivery mechanism? - Carignan, Louis-Philippe (Scrum.org Community Blog, 2014)
As a Agile coach, I refer to a few tools to help me think about where my Scrum teams should go next on their path to Agility. One of these tools is the Agile subway map, a list of Agile practices grouped in different categories. It helps me think how a specific practice could help …

Doing Development Differently in the Global South - Workshop Report - CARE (CARE and British Council, 2018)

Learning From Failure 2020 - What CARE’s evaluations tell us about how to improve our work - CARE (CARE, 2020)
“Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” --Samuel Beckett Here’s my favorite part of that quote: the ultimate goal is not a lack of failure; it’s better failures. That’s good news for CARE, because we just published round two of our Learning From Failure initiative, and…I know this will surprise everyone…we haven’t stopped failures yet. We do have some hopeful signs that we’re failing better; or at least, that we’re improving on some concrete weaknesses we identified in the first round. It’s an interesting process to launch the second phase of learning from failure. The first round, we didn’t know what we were going to find. We spent as much time talking about how it was the first-ever report of its kind as we did about the actual failures. Our case study admitted, “It's still very early to see specific development impacts.” Round two isn’t quite the same. It’s not new anymore, so there’s less excitement at having invented something. We’re not discovering data and themes for the first time. In a lot of ways, the stakes are higher. Round two of learning from failure becomes an exercise in continuous performance improvement, rather than a journey of discovery. If we don’t see improvements, we don’t have the excuse that it’s too early to tell. It also takes a sustained commitment. Launching an exploratory exercise at a small scale is easy, especially when no one quite knows what the answers will be. Pulling together a few pieces of content over a few months is pretty straightforward. It takes some staying power—and real support from leadership—to keep up the work over time, especially in the middle of a pandemic. That’s even more true once we’ve seen one round of results and had a chance to understand the work that it takes to improve.

Listen carefully. Tread lightly. Adapt quickly. Approaching Adaptive Management: Examples from our Somalia Education Programming - CARE (CARE Learning, 2020)
Adaptive management approaches potentially offer us opportunities to deliver high quality results in circumstances where change is complex, including in fragile, unstable or conflict affected places. However, building adaptive programming continues to be a challenge for the sector. For CARE, our Department for International Development -UK Aid funded Girls’ Education Challenge (GEC) programming has provided useful learning on how to operationalise adaptive approaches. In this paper we expand on our learning from this project and offer some recommendations for how to create more opportunities for truly adaptive programming in the future. In particular: • Projects that are designed to adapt need budget structures, results frameworks and governance that enable the process of adaptation. In our GEC projects the approaches employed by DFID, including the introduction of Review and Adaptation meetings have served to support meaningful adaptation. • Adaptive projects require both strong participatory elements and flexible governance and accountability structures. Whilst rigorous and comprehensive Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) systems are important without these other elements appropriate adaptation can be hindered. • Adaptive Management requires resources. Where the expected change is complex, adaptation is frequently necessary to ensure we are responding to context and evidence. This should be adequately resourced if we are to expect results. In an environment where many INGOs work consistently within complex environments, the sector also needs more opportunities to trial these approaches and could benefit from more funding streams available which include the kinds of approaches used by DFID in current GEC programming

Global governance and local peace: accountability and performance in international peacebuilding - Campbell, Susanna (Cambridge University Press, 2018)
Local peacebuilding and global accountability -- The country context--Burundi from 1999 to 2014 -- Ingos in peacebuilding--globally unaccountable, locally adaptive -- International organizations in peacebuilding--globally accountable, locally constrained -- Bilateral development donors--accountable for global targets, not local change

Barrio Mio and Katye: PCI’s neighbourhood approach in cities - Campbell, Leah (AKNAP case study, 2019)

What's missing? Adding context to the urban response toolbox - Campbell, Leah (ALNAP Study, 2018)

USAID Applied Political Economy Analysis - Field Guide - Cammack, Diana (USAID, 2016)
Political Economy Analysis (PEA) is a field-research methodology used to explore not simply how things happen in an aid-recipient country, but why things happen. It results in a written assessment with recommendations for a mission's County Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS), project or activity design, or course correction during implementation.USAID's Applied PEA is a problem-focused method specially intended to be used by Mission staff to inform the design of aid interventions at any phase of the USAID program cycle and at any level of effort.

Learning, monitoring and evaluating: achieving and measuring change in adaptive programmes - Callaghan, Sarah; Plank, Georgia (Synthesis Paper, 5, 2017)

Evaluating Systems Change Results: an inquiry framework - Cabaj, Mark (Tamarack Institute, 2018)

The road to adaptive management: knowledge, leadership, culture and rules - Byrne, Karri Goeldner; Sparkman, Timothy; Fowler, Ben (The BEAM Exchange, 2016)
Keywords: IMPORTANT; Practice

Adaptive management: A practical guide to mitigating uncertainty and advancing evidence-based programming - Byom, K.; Ingram, M.; Oakley, A.; Serpe, L. (PACT, 2020)
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 with an introduction to adaptive management, then walks through successive steps to determine how much adaptation a project requires and how to design an appropriate system. The second half of this guidebook contains a toolkit of examples and templates that projects can tailor to their needs.

Impact assessment and the quest for the Holy Grail - Bymolt, Roger (KIT Working papers, 2015)

Citizen science in hydrology and water resources: opportunities for knowledge generation, ecosystem service management, and sustainable development - Buytaert, Wouter; Zulkafli, Zed; Grainger, Sam; Acosta, Luis; Alemie, Tilashwork C.; Bastiaensen, Johan; De Bièvre, Bert; Bhusal, Jagat; Clark, Julian; Dewulf, Art; Foggin, Marc; Hannah, David M.; et al. (Frontiers in Earth Science, 2014)
The participation of the general public in the research design, data collection and interpretation process together with scientists is often referred to as citizen science. While citizen science itself has existed since the start of scientific practice, developments in sensing technology, data processing and visualisation, and communication of ideas and results, are creating a wide range of new opportunities for public participation in scientific research. This paper reviews the state of citizen science in a hydrological context and explores the potential of citizen science to complement more traditional ways of scientific data collection and knowledge generation for hydrological sciences and water resources management. Although hydrological data collection often involves advanced technology, the advent of robust, cheap and low-maintenance sensing equipment provides unprecedented opportunities for data collection in a citizen science context. These data have a significant potential to create new hydrological knowledge, especially in relation to the characterisation of process heterogeneity, remote regions, and human impacts on the water cycle. However, the nature and quality of data collected in citizen science experiments is potentially very different from those of traditional monitoring networks. This poses challenges in terms of their processing, interpretation, and use, especially with regard to assimilation of traditional knowledge, the quantification of uncertainties, and their role in decision support. It also requires care in designing citizen science projects such that the generated data complement optimally other available knowledge. Lastly, we reflect on the challenges and opportunities in the integration of hydrologically-oriented citizen science in water resources management, the role of scientific knowledge in the decision-making process, and the potential contestation to established community institutions posed by co-generation of new knowledge.
Keywords: Citizen science; Co-generation of knowledge; Water Resources Management; hydrological sensing; poly-centric governance

Integrating Top-Down and Bottom-Up Adaptation Planning to Build Adaptive Capacity: A Structured Learning Approach - Butler, J. R. A.; Wise, R. M.; Skewes, T. D.; Bohensky, E. L.; Peterson, N.; Suadnya, W.; Yanuartati, Y.; Handayani, T.; Habibi, P.; Puspadi, K.; Bou, N.; Vaghelo, D.; et al. (Coastal Management, 2015)
Climate adaptation planning provides an opportunity to enhance the adaptive capacity of stakeholders across multiple levels. However, reviews of standard top-down and bottom-up approaches indicate that the value of multistakeholder involvement is not fully recognized or incorporated into guidelines. Focusing on provinces in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea within the Coral Triangle region, we present a novel integrated top-down and bottom-up planning approach. Based on Participatory Systemic Inquiry the process involves three stages of workshops intentionally designed to promote social learning, knowledge exchange, empowerment and social networks among multilevel stakeholders. Stage 1 workshops engage government, nongovernment and science stakeholders at the provincial level to analyze sub-districts' vulnerability and design appropriate adaptation strategies. Stage 2 engages local government, non-government and community stakeholders within vulnerable sub-districts identified in Stage 1. Stage 3 combines Stage 1 and 2 stakeholders to refine adaptation strategies and design action plans for sub-districts. Evaluation demonstrated that different stakeholder groups' perceptions of community adaptation needs varied significantly, justifying the approach. In terms of adaptive capacity, the primary outcome for all stakeholder groups was innovative ideas, suggesting that social learning and knowledge exchange had occurred. Empowerment was a secondary outcome. We discuss how the approach could be further refined.
Keywords: Climate change; Coral Triangle; Evaluation; Social learning; knowledge cultures

Dialogic Organization Development: The Theory and Practice of Transformational Change - Bushe, Gervase R. (EDS Publications Ltd., 2015)
Dialogic Organization Development is a compelling alternative to the classical action research approach to planned change. Organizations are seen as fluid,socially constructed realities that are continuously created through conversations and images change happens when those conversations and images change. Leaders and consultants can help foster, support, or accelerate the emergence of transformational possibilities by encouraging disruptions to taken-for-granted ways of thinking and acting and the use of generative images to stimulate new organizational conversations and narratives. Dialogic OD is a different mindset, but it s also the previously unrecognized underpinning of such diverse change methods as Appreciative Inquiry, the Art of Convening, Future Search, and many more.

Who Owns Poverty? - Burt, Martin (Red Press Ltd, 2019)
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 povertywho by owning the problem, own the solution. This book is for all the governments, development NGOs, charities, dreamers, thinkers, doers and leaders who are frustrated with limiting their aspirations to reducing poverty, or alleviating its effectsand the lack of progress we face in doing either. This is a book about unleashing trapped energy within poor families to do the unthinkable: eliminate global poverty once and for all.

Thinking and Working Politically in the Land Sector in Mekong Region - Burns, Tony; Ingalls, Micah; Rickersey, Kate (FIG Congress 2022, 2022)
In recent decades, the World Bank and many bilateral development partners have provided funding to support land administration reform. Traditional land administration reform projects focus on the economic and technical design of interventions based on a library of best practice, commonly avoiding the “messy politics” typically involved in land governance. Experience and lessons from land administration reform initiatives have been documented and a recurrent theme is that many projects fail to create effective, transformative change and gain the critical mass, and the community participation, necessary to ensure the sustainability of land administration reform. Over the last decade there have been concerted efforts to develop more politically informed ways of thinking and working using a range of methodologies referred to, variously, as Thinking and Working Politicallyi (TWP), Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA) and Doing Development Differently (DDD). There is little evidence that these different approaches have been applied in the land sector.

Navigating Complexity in International Development: Facilitating Sustainable Change at Scale - Burns, Danny; Worsley, Stuart (Practical Action Publishing, 2015)
Governments and organizations invest huge sums of money in development interventions to explicitly address poverty and its root causes. However, a high proportion of these do not work. This is because interventions are grounded in flawed assumptions about how change happens -- change is rarely linear, yet development interventions are almost entirely based on linear planning models. Change is also characterized by unintended consequences, which are not predictable by planners and by power dynamics, which drive outcomes towards vested interests rather than real need. Development processes need to engage effectively with these sorts of complex system dynamics. This book provides a conceptual framework for this thinking, offers detail case studies of interventions which have been built on this philosophy and which demonstrate key facets of it. It articulates some clear methodological underpinnings for this work, and draws out the implications both for development, practice and practitioners.
Keywords: IMPORTANT

Designing a Participatory Programme at Scale: Phases 1 and 2 of the CLARISSA Programme on Worst Forms of Child Labour - Burns, Danny; Apgar, Marina; Raw, Anna (CLARISSA Working Paper, 2021)
CLARISSA (Child Labour: Action-Research-Innovation in South and South-Eastern Asia) is a large-scale Participatory Action Research programme which aims to identify, evidence, and promote effective multi-stakeholder action to tackle the drivers of the worst forms of child labour in selected supply chains in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Myanmar. CLARISSA places a particular focus on participants’ own ‘agency’. In other words, participants’ ability to understand the situation they face, and to develop and take actions in response to them. Most of CLARISSA’s participants are children. This document shares the design and overarching methodology of the CLARISSA programme, which was co-developed with all consortium partners during and since the co-generation phase of the programme (September 2018–June 2020). The immediate audience is the CLARISSA programme implementation teams, plus the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). This design document is also a useful reference point for other programmes trying to build large-scale participatory processes. It provides a clear overview of the CLARISSA programmatic approach, the design, and how it is being operationalised in context.

Assessing Impact in Dynamic and Complex Environments: Systemic Action Research and Participatory Systemic Inquiry - Burns, Danny (CDI Practice Paper, 2014)
This CDI Practice Paper is about the uses of Systemic Action Research (SAR) and Participatory Systemic Inquiry (PSI) for impact assessment (Burns 2006, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2013; Wadsworth 2001, 2010).

Participatory Systemic Inquiry - Burns, Danny (2012)
This article explores Participatory Systemic Inquiry processes through two examples of practise. The first is about embedding public engagement in UK higher education, the second is about water infrastructure development and local capacity development in small towns situated around Lake Victoria. These examples illustrate why it is necessary to understand the wider systemic dynamics within which issues are situated, and how this helps to identify workable and sustainable solutions to problems. It describes the learning architectures which were constructed to hold the local and thematic inquiries and then to extend them. It also demonstrates the methods which operationalised these processes and explores some of the methodological differences between this approach and other approaches to qualitative and participatory research.

Systemic action research: Changing system dynamics to support sustainable change - Burns, Danny (Action Research, 2014)
This article explores the characteristics of systemic action research. It looks at the conceptual underpinnings of systemic action research and explores some of the ways in which it differs from (builds on) other forms of action research. It then explores some of the issues and dilemmas faced by systemic action researchers.

Challenge-led Innovation Workbook. Organising for Systems Innovation at Scale - Burkett, Ingrid (Griffith Centre for Systems Innovation, 2023)
Organising for Systems Innovation at Scale Our team at Griffith Centre for Systems Innovation have been experimenting with and evolving a Challenge-led Innovation Approach (based on Mission-oriented approaches developed by Mariana Mazzucato at UCL IIPP and others internationally). We are using this approach to guide the way we work internally and engage with our systems innovation partners. We’ve facilitated intensive Re:Treats, worked with government bodies, businesses and civic organisations, and engaged deeply with others exploring this work. We have a bias for developing and testing HOW such approaches could be applied to respond to both local and global challenges rather than getting too caught up in the what and why of such approaches. We decided to openly share our learnings and thinking to date in this workbook, to spark conversations and innovation in both practice and thinking amongst those exploring how we work, and to learn together to address complex systems and challenges. We see this booklet as a first step in a longer learning journey. In it we share an overview of: the principles and processes that sparked our evolution to a Challenge-led Innovation framework (from Mission-oriented). examples of our learnings from other system innovators who are experimenting. an adaptable process to help guide the learning journey. learning tools and canvases to catalyse thinking, practice, and further adaptations. Part One sets out some foundations we’ve identified as important to Challenge-led Innovation. If you want to jump straight into the mapping process, we suggest you skip to Part Two. The final section, Part Three, focuses on what we have learnt about the conditions needed and how to get started on a Challenge-led initiative.

Tale of the converted: how complex social problems have made me question the use of data in driving impact - Burgoyne, John (Impact of Social Sciences, 2019)
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.

Seeing the Combined Effects of Aid Programmes - Burge, Richard; Nadelman, Rachel; McGee, Rosie; Fox, Jonathan; Anderson, Colin (IDS Policy Briefing, 2022)
Multiple aid agencies often try to support change in the same places, at the same time, and with similar actors. Surprisingly, their interactions and combined effects are rarely explored. This Policy Briefing describes findings from research conducted on recent aid programmes that overlapped in Mozambique, Nigeria, and Pakistan, and from a webinar with UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) advisors and practitioners. The research found three distinct categories of ‘interaction effects’: synergy, parallel play, and disconnect. We explore how using an ‘interaction effects’ lens in practice could inform aid agency strategies and programming.

Aiming at the Wrong Targets: The Domestic Consequences of International Efforts to Build Institutions - Buntaine, Mark T.; Parks, Bradley C.; Buch, Benjamin P. (International Studies Quarterly, 2017)
We explain why international development organizations have had so little success building and reforming public sector institutions in developing countries. They often fail despite their apparently strong commitment to achieving measurable results and extraordinary amounts of time, money, and effort. We demonstrate that, when donors and lenders make access to financing contingent upon achievement of performance targets, recipient countries tend to choose easy and shallow institutional targets. These targets measure the organization of public sector institutions, rather than their effectiveness at addressing public problems. Such targets provide countries with low-cost opportunities to signal commitment to institution-building to international development organizations. We demonstrate the explanatory and predictive power of our argument in the context of a sector of World Bank lending—environment and natural resource management—that focuses heavily on improving public sector institutions.

Beyond 'Technology for Development' and 'Sustainability' towards Systemic and Holistic Rural Innovation: Success Factors from the Southern African Experience over 20 years - Buisson, Uys Du; Cronje, Braam; Marais, Mario; Haruperi, Emmanuel; Rensburg, Johann (2014 International Conference of the UNESCO Chair in Technologies for Development, 2014)
Abstract: This paper describes essential, real-world activities and processes needed to develop and deploy people-centred networks enabled with innovative technologies that in turn produce "...

Refining advocacy assessment: reflections from practice - Buffardi, Anne; Hearn, Simon; Tilley, Helen (Working Paper, 2017)
• This paper revisits how existing advocacy evaluation frameworks classify people and activities, and define and assess outcomes. We discuss how assessments could be more specific and propose bounding the scope of inquiry in one of four ways: strategy specific, outcome oriented, actor-centric or system-wide. • In classifying activities, the same action or event may be situated at different phases of the change pathway – in some cases used as a tactic to influence a policy outcome, and in others an intended outcome itself. • Because advocacy is more relational than other types of more technical development interventions, there will be fewer sources of directly observable data, and the direction of potential bias may be unknown. • In terms of learning, advocacy initiatives are contextually dependent, therefore lessons may be less directly transferable to subsequent phases of an initiative or to other settings. Organisations have bounded repertoires and the transferability of skill sets is limited, so advocates adapt how and with whom they engage more than what they do

10 Things to Know About Evaluation - Buffardi, Anne; Hearn, Simon; Pasanen, Tiina; Price, clare; Ball, Louise (RAPID, 2015)
Evaluation is essential to good development. But there are still many myths and misconceptions about what it is - and how it should be used. ODI's Research and Policy in Development Programme (RAPID) has many years' experience supporting evaluation in complex development contexts. In support of the International Year of Evaluation 2015, we've put together our essential 'things to know' about evaluation in 10 infographics. Available in English and French.

Multi-project programmes functions, forms and implications for evaluation and learning - Buffardi, Anne; Hearn, Simon (Methods Lab, 2015)
Multi-project programmes can serve different purposes. For instance, they may coordinate multiple implementing entities; standardise management and technical support; compare intervention approaches across different contexts; enhance leverage through joint action; or foster sustainability by building relationships among organisations. • At the same time, multi-project programmes are costly, potentially duplicate other mechanisms that fulfil similar functions, and can dilute focus and create confusion. • To guide decisions on what coordination, evaluation and learning mechanisms are needed, it is helpful to articulate the intended purpose of using a programme model. Identifying the purpose(s) can help staff determine what types of knowledge sharing strategies may be most useful to the programme, and how project and programme theories of change can be sequenced

Monitoring and learning for country-level portfolio decision-making and adaptation - Buffardi, Anne L; Mason, Paige; Hutchings, Claire; Sharp, Samuel (Briefing Note, 2019)
Most measurement and adaptive management approaches were developed for and from individual projects. This briefing aims to guide measurement and management of country-level portfolios of work. It identifies potential purposes portfolio-level analyses can fulfil, types of adaptation, and the relative role of monitoring, learning and evaluation (MEL). Drawing on reviews of practice from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), guidance notes, and experiences of members of the Global Learning for Adaptive Management (GLAM) initiative, it offers recommendations and considerations that are particularly relevant for this level of analysis and management. Key messages - Portfolio-level analyses can serve eight potential purposes, each of which answers different questions, involves adaptation at different times and levels, and requires different types of evidence. Identifying the purpose(s) and how the component parts relate to each other should guide the development of monitoring and learning systems. - Portfolios are oriented more towards breadth than depth, involve more people with different perspectives, and draw on multiple sources of evidence with potentially greater variation in quality. - In practice, four activities appear to be applied most frequently at a portfolio level: alignment of indicators and aggregation of monitoring data; synthesis of multiple sources and types of information to provide a summary of outputs, outcomes, common observations and trends; periodic review and reflection sessions; and strategic planning, design or refresh of the portfolio strategy. - The extent to which evidence-informed portfolio management is facilitating learning and adaptation has not been well documented to date, and we suggest potential indicators to do so.

When theory meets reality: assumptions, feasibility and implications of a complexity-informed approach - Buffardi, Anne (Methods Lab, 2016)
Over the last half century, repeated calls for adaptive learning in development suggests two things: many practitioners are working in complex situations that may benefit from flexible approaches, and such approaches can be difficult to apply in practice. • Complexity thinking can offer useful recommendations on how to take advantage of distributed capacities, joint interpretation of problems and learning through experimentation in complex development programmes. • However, these recommendations rely on underlying assumptions about relationships, power and flexibility that may not hold true in practice, particularly for programmes operating in a risk averse, results-driven environment. • This paper poses guiding questions to assess the fit and feasibility of integrating complexity informed practices into development programmes.

Outcome mapping: learning brief - Buell, Stephanie; Malallah, Haneen; Mason, Paige (Briefing Paper, 2020)
Adaptive programmes recognise that certain changes, particularly in behaviours, are complex, non-linear and difficult to measure. This briefing note explores the use of outcome mapping (OM) as a monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) approach to track behavioural change and inform adaptation for two programmes: the Pathways to Resilience in Semi-arid Economies (PRISE) research consortium and the Accountability in Tanzania programme (AcT I and AcT II). It discusses the implementation of OM, the ways in which it has enabled adaptation and enabling contexts in order to identify key considerations for MEL specialists and programme managers as they determine whether OM may be the right fit, and how best to use the approach. Key messages OM has a number of different benefits as a MEL approach, including unpacking different uses of information at different levels of programme implementation; helping to develop a common language around progress markers; and going beyond monitoring to inform adaptation throughout implementation. These benefits are important aspects of monitoring, evaluation and learning for adaptive management (MEL4AM), as they provide richer evidence for decision-making at a frequency that could mean real-time learning and change. OM works best when it is embedded throughout the organisation, and as part of programme and organisational culture, rather than tasked to a MEL unit or individual.

Linking constituent engagement and adaptive management - Buell, Stephanie; Campbell, Megan; Pett, Jamie (Overseas Development Institute, 2020)
Constituent engagement is the two-way process of involving constituents in the design, delivery, monitoring and evaluation of programmes. Constituent engagement and adaptive management together can be a powerful combination; high-quality constituent engagement can reinforce effective adaptive management, and vice versa. By highlighting stories from leading practitioners and their organisations, this paper explores how programmes ensure that constituent engagement informs meaningful adaptation. Key messages Constituent engagement and adaptive management are both important tools for implementing responsive and effective development programmes. Together, they can be a powerful combination: input from constituent engagement can be a key source of information and evidence that meaningfully informs programme design and adaptation, and closing the feedback loop in this way increases the quality of future engagement. Both adaptive management and community engagement principles recognise that, for a programme to be effective, it must be responsive to the people meant to ultimately benefit from it. Beyond providing a key source of information for potential programme adaptations, constituent engagement efforts also help build trust with stakeholders, align expectations and promote accountability. This paper explores five key elements for ensuring that constituent engagement and adaptive management are effectively linked within a programme: strong internal systems and external channels; skilled staff that value engagement and adaptation; decision-maker champions; clear points for reflection and action; and a meaningful role for constituents.

Getting good at disruption in an uncertain world: Insights from Southern NGO leaders - Buckley, Lila; Ward, Halina (International Institute for Environment and Development, 2016)
Keywords: IMPORTANT

Contracts for adaptive programming - Bryan, Kevin; Carter, Paddy (ODI, 2016)
Adaptive programming is an approach to development that encourages experimentation, learning & adaptation. This report examines the contractual underpinnings of this approach.

Emerging Technologies and Approaches in Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning for International Development Programs - Bruce, Kerry; Gandhi, Valentine J; Vandelanotte, Joris (MERL Tech, 2020)
Emerging technology is making monitoring, evaluation, research and learning (MERL) more precise and enriching data. However, this evolution is so rapid that it can be difficult to stay informed about the field overall. This paper presents examples of emerging technology that are most often used in MERL for development programs, describes the pros and cons of their use, and discusses technology and ethics concerns that practitioners should keep in mind. The paper covers new types of data sources (application data, sensor data, and drones), new ways to store data (distributed ledger technology and the cloud), and new ways to analyze data (text analytics and supervised and unsupervised learning).

Design Thinking for Social Innovation - Brown, Tim; Wyatt, Jocelyn (Stanford Social Innovation Review, 2010)
Designers have traditionally focused on enhancing the look and functionality of products. Recently, they have begun using design techniques to tackle more complex problems, such as finding ways to provide low-cost healthcare throughout the world. Businesses were the first to embrace this new approach—called design thinking—and nonprofits are beginning to adopt it too.

Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation - Brown, Tim (HarperBusiness, 2009)
The myth of innovation is that brilliant ideas leap fully formed from the minds of geniuses. The reality is that most innovations come from a process of rigorous examination through which great ideas are identified and developed before being realized as new offerings and capabilities. This book introduces the idea of design thinking‚ the collaborative process by which the designer′s sensibilities and methods are employed to match people′s needs not only with what is technically feasible and a viable business strategy. In short‚ design thinking converts need into demand. It′s a human−centered approach to problem solving that helps people and organizations become more innovative and more creative. Design thinking is not just applicable to so−called creative industries or people who work in the design field. It′s a methodology that has been used by organizations such as Kaiser Permanente to increase the quality of patient care by re−examining the ways that their nurses manage shift change‚ or Kraft to rethink supply chain management. This is not a book by designers for designers; this is a book for creative leaders seeking to infuse design thinking into every level of an organization‚ product‚ or service to drive new alternatives for business and society.
Keywords: IMPORTANT

Putting Gender into Political Economy Analysis: why it matters and how to do it - Brown, Emily; Haines, Rebecca; O’Neil, Tam (From Poverty to Power, 2018)
Gender specialists from Oxfam and Care introduce a new guide that covers both theory and practice of including gender in political economy analysis.
Keywords: Gender

The MSP Guide: How to Design and Facilitate Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships - Brouwer, Herman; Woodhill, Jim; Hemmati, Minu; Verhoosel, Karèn; van Vugt, Simone (Practical Action Publishing, 2016)
In recent years, multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs) have become popular for tackling the complex challenges of sustainable development. This guide provides a practical framework for the design and facilitation of these collaborative processes that work across the boundaries of business, government, civil society and science. The guide links the underlying rationale for multistakeholder partnerships, with a clear four phase process model, a set of seven core principles, key ideas for facilitation and 60 participatory tools for analysis, planning and decision making. The guide has been written for those directly involved in MSPs – as a stakeholder, leader, facilitator or funder – to provide both the conceptual foundations and practical tools that underpin successful partnerships. What’s inside draws on the direct experience of staff from the Wageningen Centre of Development Innovation (WCDI), at Wageningen University & Research, in supporting MSP processes in many countries around the world. The guide also compiles the ideas and materials behind WCDI’s annual three week international course on facilitating MSPs and social learning. This work has been inspired by the motivation and passion that comes when people dare to “walk in each other’s shoes” to find new paths toward shared ambitions for the future.

The MSP Tool Guide: Sixty tools to facilitate Multi-Stakeholder Partnerships - Brouwer, Herman; Brouwers, Jan (CDI, Wageningen University and Research, 2016)
What is ‘The MSP Tool Guide’ all about? This compilation of 60 tools is an companion to The MSP Guide, the Wageningen University & Research CDI resource on how to design and facilitate effective multi-stakeholder partnerships. At the request of many readers we have compiled them into one document to enable easy storing and sharing. These tools are available in summarized version in the MSP Guide in Chapter 6. The detailed versions on how to use the tool, and when to use it, are available on the portal www.mspguide.org/tools-and-methods. The content of this portal is compiled in this Tool Guide.

This startup uses machine learning and satellite imagery to predict crop yields - Brokaw, Alex (The Verge, 2016)
Mark Johnson wants to beat the United States Department of Agriculture at its own game: predicting yields of America's crops. The USDA puts boots on the ground, deploying hundreds of workers to...

Assessing the Evidence: The Effectiveness and Impact of Public Governance-Oriented Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives - Brockmyer, Brandon; Fox, Jonathan A. (Transparency & Accountability Initiative, 2015)
Transnational multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) – voluntary partnerships between governments, civil society, and the private sector – are an increasingly prevalent strategy for promoting government responsiveness and accountability to citizens. While most transnational MSIs involve using voluntary standards to encourage socially and environmentally responsible private sector behavior, a handful of these initiatives – the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), the Construction Sector Transparency Initiative (CoST), the Open Government Partnership (OGP), the Global Initiative on Fiscal Transparency (GIFT) and the Open Contracting Partnership (OCP) – focus on information disclosure and participation in the public sector. Unlike private sector MSIs, which attempt to supplement weak government capacity to enforce basic social and environmental standards through partnerships between businesses and civil society, public sector MSIs ultimately seek to bolster public governance. But how exactly are these MSIs supposed to work? And how much has actually been achieved?The purpose of this study is to identify and consolidate the current state of the evidence for public governance-oriented MSI effectiveness and impact. Researchers collected over 300 documents and interviewed more than two-dozen MSI stakeholders about their experiences with five public governance oriented multi-stakeholder initiatives.This report provides a ‘snapshot’ of the evidence related to these five MSIs, and suggests that the process of leveraging transparency and participation through these initiatives for broader accountability gains remains uncertain. The report highlights the ongoing process of defining MSI success and impact, and how these initiatives intersect with other accountability actors and processes in complex ways. The study closes with key recommendations for MSI stakeholders.
Keywords: Accountability; Participation; Program evaluation; Transparency; global governance; multi-stakeholder

Learning for change in accountable governance programming - Brock, Karen; Shutt, Cathy; Ashlin, Alison (MAVC Learning Review, 2016)
Keywords: IMPORTANT

More accountable and responsive governance: How do technologies help make it happen? - Brock, Karen; McGee, Rosemary (2017)
The change Making All Voices Count wants to see is more responsive, accountable governance. The programme has contributed to this change by supporting tech-enabled initiatives which amplify citizen voice and nurture government responsiveness, and by building understanding of when and how the technologies help create and support change. In March 2017, partners from 34 of the programme's projects met with Making All Voices Count staff and associates in South Africa in order to share their stories of change. The learning event participants analysed their experiences using a framework that describes seven streams of tech-enabled change: the information stream; the feedback stream; the naming-and-shaming stream; the conducive innovation system stream; the connecting citizens stream; the infomediation stream and the intermediation stream.

Organisational Learning in NGOs: Creating the motive, means and opportunity - Britton, Bruce (Intrac, 2005)

Complexity-Aware Monitoring - Britt, Heather; Patsalides, Melissa (Briefing on USAID's Discussion Note, 2013)

Causal Link Monitoring - Britt, Heather; Hummelbrunner, Richard; Greene, Jacqueline (2017)
Causal Link Monitoring (CLM) 1 integrates design and monitoring to support adaptive management of projects. CLM helps project planners and managers identify the processes that are required to achieve desired results, and then to observe whether those processes take place, and how. Result-producing processes specify the causal links between results in a logic model or results framework—in other words, the processes between results.2 CLM focuses on how specific individuals or organizations use results to achieve other results. In CLM, planners start by creating a logic model to help document predictable, agreed-upon elements of the project. Next, they refine the causal links by describing the processes that will transform results at one point in the causal chain to the next. Planners are often less certain about these resultproducing processes. Finally, the CLM logic model is enhanced with information about two important sources of uncertainty, contextual factors that may influence the project and diverse perspectives on the problem and its solution.

Iterative Design and Monitoring for Adaptive Management: How Causal Link Monitoring can help - Britt, Heather; Hummelbrunner, Richard; Green, Jackie (Better Evaluation, 2018)
Development actors are embracing the concept and practice of adaptive management, using evidence to inform ongoing revisions throughout implementation. In this guest blog, Heather Britt, Richard Hummelbrunner and Jackie Greene discuss a practical approach that donors and partners can use to agree on what’s most important to monitor as a project continues to evolve.

Thinking and Working Politically (Yangon, October 2016) - British Council (British Council Myanmar, 2017)
On 3-4 October 2016, British Council, Pyoe Pin, The Asia Foundation and UK DFID co-hosted a two day conference on ‘Thinking and Working Politically’ (TWP) for more effective and sustainable development assistance. The success or failure of development programmes is, in many – if not most – cases, determined by domestic politics within countries, rather than by the technical elegance of programme design by external donors. The event brought together international donors, implementing agencies and local partners. Participants compared experiences on what has worked, where and why – both in Myanmar, and across the world including case studies from Sudan, Zambia and the Philippines. Throughout the conference, participants familiarised themselves with politically smart development approaches and what it means to think and work politically in Myanmar. This has laid foundations for greater collaboration on TWP to help meet Myanmar’s critical development challenges.

Adapting to learn and learning to adapt: Practical insights from international development projects - Brinkerhoff, Derick; Frazer, Sarah (RTI, 2018)
Adaptive programming and management principles focused on learning, experimentation, and evidence-based decision making are gaining traction with donor agencies and implementing partners in international development. Adaptation calls for using learning to inform adjustments during project implementation. This requires information gathering methods that promote reflection, learning and adaption, beyond reporting on pre-specified data. A focus on adaptation changes traditional thinking about program cycle.

Reflections on Ten Years of USAID’s Experience with Political Economy Analysis and Thinking and Working Politically - Brinkerhoff, Derick; Cassidy, Marc (TWP CoP, 2023)
The global Thinking and Working Politically (TWP) Community of Practice (CoP), the Washington DC TWP CoP, and USAID organised a webinar on 5 December 2022 to take stock of how USAID and its partners have used PEA to inform programme strategy, design and implementation, and support TWP. This paper synthesises the key points arising from the webinar, including observations on the impacts, opportunities, challenges, and prospects for PEA/TWP to become more deeply adopted and sustained as a development methodology and approach across sectors. It starts by defining key concepts. It then highlights insights from the discussions of the impact of the application of PEA and TWP principles across sectors. The paper concludes by looking at progress achieved to date, as well as constraints and opportunities to increase the uptake of both thinking and working politically in USAID-sponsored programming.

Adapting to Learn and Learning to Adapt: Practical Insights from International Development Projects - Brinkerhoff, Derick W.; Frazer, Sarah; McGregor, Lisa (RTI Press, 2018)
Adaptive programming and management principles focused on learning, experimentation, and evidence-based decision making are gaining traction with donor agencies and implementing partners in international development. Adaptation calls for using learning to inform adjustments during project implementation. This requires information gathering methods that promote reflection, learning, and adaption, beyond reporting on pre-specified data. A focus on adaptation changes traditional thinking about program cycle. It both erases the boundaries between design, implementation, and evaluation and reframes thinking to consider the complexity of development problems and nonlinear change pathways.Supportive management structures and processes are crucial for fostering adaptive management. Implementers and donors are experimenting with how procurement, contracting, work planning, and reporting can be modified to foster adaptive programming. Well-designed monitoring, evaluation, and learning systems can go beyond meeting accountability and reporting requirements to produce data and learning for evidence-based decision making and adaptive management. It is important to continue experimenting and learning to integrate adaptive programming and management into the operational policies and practices of donor agencies, country partners, and implementers. We need to devote ongoing effort to build the evidence base for the contributions of adaptive management to achieving international development results.

Unpacking the concept of political will to confront corruption - Brinkerhoff, Derek W. (U4 Brief, No. 1, 2010)
Quite often, "lack of political will" is identified as the culprit for poorly performing anti-corruption programmes. Yet despite the frequency with which it is used to explain unsatisfactory reform outcomes, political will remains under-defined and poorly understood. Further, assessments are often conducted retrospectively, looking back at failed programmes. By applying a model of political will that specifies a set of action-based components that are observable and measurable, and amenable to external reinforcement and support, more clarity regarding the degree of political will can be achieved.

Implementing Adaptive Approaches in Real World Scenarios: A Nigeria Case Study, with Lessons for Theory and Practice - Bridges, Kate; Woolcock, Michael (The World Bank, 2019)
How does adaptive implementation work in practice? Drawing on extensive interviews and observations, this paper contrasts the ways in which an adaptive component of a major health care project was implemented in three program and three matched comparison states in Nigeria. The paper examines the bases on which claims and counterclaims about the effectiveness of these approaches were made by different actors, concluding that resolution requires any such claims to be grounded in a fit-for-purpose theory of change and evaluation strategy. The principles of adaptive development may be gaining broad acceptance, but a complex array of skills, expectations, political support, empirical measures, and administrative structures needs to be deftly integrated if demonstrably positive operational results are to be obtained, especially when undertaken within institutional systems, administrative logics, and political imperatives that are predisposed to serve rather different purposes.

Digital Technologies for Democratic Governance in Latin America: Opportunities and Risks - Breuer, Anita; Welp, Yanina (Routledge, 2016)
This book is the first to comprehensively analyse the political and societal impacts of new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in a region of the Global South. It evaluates under what conditions some Latin American governments and people have succeeded in taking up the opportunities related to the spread of ICTs, while others are confronted with the pessimist scenario of increased, digitally induced social and democratic cleavages. Specifically, the book examines if and how far the spread and use of new ICT affected central aims of democratic governance such as reducing socio-economic and gender inequality; strengthening citizen participation in political decision making; increasing the transparency of legislative processes; improving administrative processes; providing free access to government data and information; and expanding independent spaces of citizen communication. The country case and cross-country explore a range of bottom-up driven initiatives to reinforce democracy in the region. The book offers researchers and students an interdisciplinary approach to these issues by linking it to established theories of media and politics, political communication, political participation, and governance. Giving voice to researchers native to the region and with direct experience of the region, it uniquely brings together contributions from political scientists, researchers in communication studies and area studies specialists who have a solid record in political activism and international development co-operation.

Participation and accountability in development management - Brett, E. A. (The Journal of Development Studies, 2003)
This article critically reviews the role of participatory theory in managing development projects and programmes in poor countries. Participation has emerged in response to global demands for greater individual and social control over the activities of state and private agencies, and especially to the manifest failures of traditional ‘top-down’ management systems in LDCs. Claims made on behalf of these participatory methodologies are critically reviewed and a distinction is drawn between strong and weak versions of the theory. Empirical evidence is then considered to evaluate the effectiveness of these methodologies, using long-standing insights of social science theory to show that participation can succeed for specific kinds of projects and programmes in favourable circumstances, but is unsuitable for many others. It commonly fails in contexts where local conditions make co-operative and collective action very difficult, or where it is manipulated by implementing agencies to justify their own actions or poor performance.

Using Evidence - What works? - Breckon, Jonathan; Dodson, Jane (Alliance for Useful Evidence, 2016)

Using Research Evidence - A practice guide - Breckon, Jonathan (Alliance for Useful Evidence, 2016)

Science, Technology, and Innovation in Uganda: Recommendations for Policy and Action - Brar, Sukdeep; Farley, Sara E.; Hawkins, Robert; Wagner, Caroline S. (A World Bank Study, 2011)

Systems Thinking: An introduction for Oxfam programme staff - Bowman, Kimberly; Chettleborough, John; Jeans, Helen; Whitehead, James; Rowlands, Jo (Policy & Practice, 2015)
Development organizations frequently face and overcome challenges in programme delivery. But what happens when the proposed solutions fail? How can organizations adapt to changing conditions and ensure the benefits of programmes are shared as widely as possible?

The Answer is 42. On Data, Information and Knowledge - Bours, Dennis (Earth-Eval, 2015)
A recent discussion with some colleagues on the differences between data, knowledge and information made me realize that there still is a lot of confusion when it comes to the use of terms; confusion that goes well beyond my earlier blog post on indicators, measures and metrics.

Embracing Complexity: Strategic Perspectives for an Age of Turbulence - Boulton, Jean G.; Allen, Peter M.; Bowman, Cliff (Oxford University Press, 2015)
The book describes what it means to say the world is complex and explores what that means for managers, policy makers and individuals. The first part of the book is about the theory and ideas of complexity. This is explained in a way that is thorough but not mathematical. It compares differing approaches, and also provides a historical perspective, showing how such thinking has been around since the beginning of civilisation. It emphasises the difference between a complexity worldview and the dominant mechanical worldview that underpins much of current management practice. It defines the complexity worldview as recognising the world is interconnected, shaped by history and the particularities of context. The comparison of the differing approaches to modelling complexity is unique in its depth and accessibility. The second part of the book uses this lens of complexity to explore issues in the fields of management, strategy, economics, and international development. It also explores how to facilitate others to recognise the implications of adopting a complex rather than a mechanical worldview and suggests methods of research to explore systemic, path-dependent emergent aspects of situations. The authors of this book span both science and management, academia and practice, thus the explanations of science are authoritative and yet the examples of changing how you live and work in the world are real and accessible. The aim of the book is to bring alive what complexity is all about and to illustrate the importance of loosening the grip of a modernist worldview with its hope for prediction, certainty and control.

Human-Centered, Systems-Minded Design - Both, Thomas (Stanford Social Innovation Review, 2018)
Both human-centered and systems-thinking methods fit within an effective design approach, and can work in conjunction to address social challenges.

Conservation Enterprises: Using A Theory of Change Approach to Synthesize Lessons from USAID Biodiversity Projects - Boshoven, Judy (Measuring Impact, 2017)
In an effort to increase the understanding of conservation enterprises’ activities and outcomes and to improve the effectiveness of biodiversity programming, this brief synthesizes lessons from past USAID-funded efforts to support conservation enterprises

Lessons Learned from the Forest, Climate and Communities Alliance - Boshoven, Judy (Measuring Impact, 2014)
The Forest, Climate, and Communities Alliance (FCCA) was an initiative funded by USAID’s Bureau for Economic Growth, Education, and the Environment/Office of Forestry and Biodiversity (E3/FAB) under the USAID Global Development Alliance (GDA)1 between 2009 and 2013. FCCA was one of the first USAID-funded projects for reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD+). The Rainforest Alliance (RA) implemented FCCA in Ghana and Honduras. Operating in two different contexts allowed FCCA to generate important lessons learned that may be useful as countries around the world search for approaches to prepare for and implement successful REDD+ mechanisms. In 2013, as FCCA was coming to an end, USAID tasked the Measuring Impact (MI) initiative with an independent review to generate lessons learned from FCCA. In capturing and disseminating lessons from the FCCA project, the Agency intends to contribute to the understanding of what may be effective, and under what conditions, when promoting REDD+ in conjunction with forest and agricultural product certification. MI is a five-year USAID project executed by the E3/FAB Office designed to improve the Agency’s practice of conservation by building USAID’s capacity to better design, manage, evaluate, and learn from biodiversity conservation initiatives. As such, MI was tasked with carrying out this review of lessons learned from FCCA while using RA’s general hypothesis as the basis to describe the project and its lessons.

Politically smart, locally led development - Booth, David; Unsworth, Sue (Discussion Paper, 2014)
Aid donors have found it hard to move from thinking politically to working differently, but there is evidence that they can do so and that this improves outcomes. This paper presents seven examples of where adopting a politically smart, locally led approach has led to better outcomes.
Keywords: Practice

From political economy analysis to doing development differently: a learning experience - Booth, David; Harris, Daniel; Wild, Leni (ODI, 2016)
A study of how development efforts can be strengthened by an awareness of political economy, reflecting on the experiences of PoGo policy researchers.
Keywords: IMPORTANT

The SAVI programme in Nigeria: Towards politically smart, locally led devlopment - Booth, David; Chambers, Victoria (ODI, 2014)
 More examples are needed of aid programming that works by being responsive to country realities: politically smart, problem-driven and locally led  DFID’s SAVI programme has revealed a hitherto untapped potential for change leading to better development results at state level in Nigeria  SAVI provides low-profile support to state-level organisations and partnerships, building their capacity to engage constructively with government  It avoid the pitfalls of a donor-driven approach by ‘taking the money off the table’  This illustrates the power of facilitated multi-stakeholder engagement and the disadvantages of seeing this in terms of ‘supply side’ and ‘demand side’ governance  The set-up of the DFID suite of state-level programmes, with separately managed sector support and ‘governance’ initiatives, has limited realisation of the potential  Key enabling conditions were that DFID provided space for an experience-based design process and permitted tangible results to be judged retrospectively, not pre-programmed

Learning to make a difference: Christian Aid Ireland’s adaptive programme management in governance, gender, peace building and human rights - Booth, David; Balfe, Karol; Gallagher, Róisín; Kilcullen, Gráinne; O'Boyle, Sarah; Tiernan, Alix (ODI, 2018)
This paper assesses the relevance of adaptive or trial-and-error approaches to the field of governance, peace building and human rights. Tackling the problems of poverty, vulnerability and exclusion that persist in parts of the world that continue to be affected by violence or political insecurity is difficult for several reasons. For one, because of the complexity of the prevailing social, economic and political systems, solutions to chronic problems are far from obvious. One response to this aspect of the challenge is adaptive programme design and management. This paper is the product of a multi-year collaboration between ODI and the core team of Christian Aid Ireland to assess the relevance of adaptive or trial-and-error approaches to the field of governance, peace building and human rights. It explains the basis on which Christian Aid Ireland’s current five-year programme has become committed to an adaptive approach. It then describes and seeks to draw lessons from the programme’s first year of experience, considering the possible implications for implementation over the coming years. The authors find that to get full benefits from the move to adaptive management, the new ways of working and their underlying principles will need to become more embedded in organisational practices and cultures.

Aiding Institutional Reform in Developing Countries: Lessons from the Philippines on what works, what doesn't and why - Booth, David (Working Politically in Practice Series: Case Study, 2014)

Incubating policy for economic transformation: Lessons from Nepal - Booth, David (ODI, 2018)

Politically smart support to economic development: DFID experiences - Booth, David (ODI, 2016)

Still watering white elephants? The blueprint versus process debate thirty years on - Booth, David (Perspectives on politics, production and public administration in Africa: essays in honour of Ole Therkildsen, 2015)

Thinking and Working Politically: Professional Development Reading Pack - Booth, David (GSDRC Applied Knowledge services, 2015)

Why the Problem with Learning Is Unlearning - Bonchek, Mark (Harvard Business Review, 2016)
Don’t get stuck in your current ways of thinking.

A Low-resource Aware Framework for ICT Service Development in Rural Africa - Bon, Anna; Gordijn, Jaap; Akkermans, Hans (28th International Conference on Advanced Information Systems Engineering, 2016)
Technological innovation and information & communication technologies (ICTs) are considered enabling factors for social and economic development, even in very poor parts of the world. However,...

Use Case and Requirements Analysis in a Remote Rural Context in Mali - Bon, Anna; de Boer, Victor; Gyan, Nana Baah; van Aart, Chris; De Leenheer, Pieter; Tuyp, Wendelien; Boyera, Stephane; Froumentin, Max; Grewal, Aman; Allen, Mary; Tangara, Amadou; Akkermans, Hans (Requirements Engineering: Foundation for Software Quality, 2013)
[Context & motivation] Few studies have reported on a systematic use case and requirements analysis of low-tech, low-resource contexts such as rural Africa. This, despite the widespread agreement on the importance of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for social and rural development, and despite the large number of ICT projects targeting underprivileged communities. [Question/problem] Unfamiliarity with the local context and differences in cultural and educational backgrounds between end-users and software engineers are the challenges for requirements engineering (RE) we encountered. [Principal ideas/results] We describe a systematic approach to RE in developing areas, based on the Living Lab methodology. Our approach is supported by extensive field research and based on co-creation within a multi-disciplinary and multi-cultural team of developers and users. This approach creates a shared understanding of the problem and its local context, and optimizes communication. [Contribution] We illustrate the approach using a case study of web- and voice-based communication services, that we developed for a rural context in Mali.

Developing ICT Services in a Low-Resource Development Context - Bon, Anna; Akkermans, Hans; Gordijn, Jaap (Complex Systems Informatics and Modeling Quarterly, 2016)
Keywords: IMPORTANT

Digital Development: Elements of a Critical ICT4D Theory and Praxis - Bon, Anna; Akkermans, Hans (Springer International Publishing, 2019)
In recent years, critical research literature in ICT4D has grown. It is widely accepted that theory is to inform practice. However, the inverse directionality, practice informs theory, is much less present in ICT4D, including in critical research. In this paper, we discuss ways how ICT4D research and theory may be better informed by practice—in terms of (i) recognizing praxis-oriented research paradigms and integrating their results, (ii) development of foundational theories, (iii) critical analysis of ICT4D emerging policies, and (iv) positioning ICT4D in the wider development debate. This suggests several elements or directions in which critical research has the potential to push current boundaries of ICT4D in terms of content as well as relevance.
Keywords: Action research paradigm; Critical research; Network complexity theory; Principles for Digital Development

Intervention or Collaboration? Redesigning Information and Communication Technologies for Development. - Bon, Anna (2020)
How can we design and build digital technologies to support people in poor and low resource environments to achieve their objectives? And how can we do this inclusively and ethically, while considering the complexity of their living and working environments? This is the central question in my research. One of the grand challenges of international development cooperation is to make digital technologies available for social and economic development of poor regions of the world. To achieve this goal – often referred to as ICT4D – knowledge and technologies are transferred from wealthy countries to poor regions. Nevertheless, these efforts have often turned out unsuccessful and unsustainable, despite large budgets and numerous projects in prestigious international development programs. Mismatch between the transferred technologies and the target environment is a recurrent problem of ICT4D projects. Improvement can be achieved, for example, by involving end-users in the design process. International development organizations are aware of this, and terms like "co-creation", "participation" and "user-oriented design" have nowadays become part of the international development discourse. However, real co-creation and user-centered design are incompatible with unidirectional transfer of technologies and knowledge (this is how ICT4D is commonly organized, in conventional international development). Moreover, the term participation becomes meaningless, in the light of externally formulated development goals. One key question to ask is: what do the envisaged users want? Remarkably, many ICT4D projects, programs and policies do not really ask and (field) investigate this question, which can only be answered by extensive research on-the-ground. This thesis describes the search for and the design of an alternative approach to ICT4D. Ten years of field and action research with partners in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Ghana have led to a collaborative, iterative and adaptive approach, dubbed "ICT4D 3.0". What is novel of this alternative approach and how does it answer the central question? First of all, ICT4D 3.0 is a practical approach for critical investigation and action. It consists of a reconfigurable framework that guides the design and development of information systems, bridging the knowledge gap between developers and users to unlock and integrate different domains of (global, local, indigenous, academic, nonacademic) knowledge. It targets complex, resource-constrained environments where many (for the ICT developers and researchers) unfamiliar conditions or obstacles may exist. It fosters innovative capacity and learning in action, bringing together people with different backgrounds and perspectives in trans-disciplinary and multicultural teams. It is socio-technical, result-oriented, focused on the objectives of the stakeholders and the requirements of their livelihoods. This approach has been validated in various different contexts, by users, ICT developers, practitioners and students. Second, ICT4D 3.0 contributes to a theoretical understanding of ICT4D as a process of networked innovation in complex (adaptive) systems. The underlying idea is that knowledge sharing and diffusion of innovations are complex (non-linear) dynamic processes that evolve and propagate through social networks in rather unpredictable ways, whereby innovation works out differently, depending on context, and whereby contextual (e.g. social, cultural, environmental, political) factors play an important role, and have to be considered. This theoretical framework explains the effectiveness of a collaborative, iterative, adaptive approach in ICT4D. Third, ICT4D 3.0 is built on ethical principles. When reflecting on the meaning and purpose of digital development, it is clear that digital development is not only a question of technology and practice, and collaboration is more than a prerequisite for successful technological innovation and long-term sustainability: collaboration is a fundamental human, ethical value. Therefore, as a reflective practitioner, one has to ask oneself whose interests one is actually looking after, which goals one is trying to achieve, where they come from, how power and political issues play a role and which core values are at stake. This makes ICT4D 3.0 into a democratic process of dialogue and deliberation, in which all voices are heard, in which the local context and complexity are central and in which development goals are determined by the users themselves and not imposed from outside. In this light, the approach proposed in this thesis takes a value position and can be considered a decolonial approach, striving for democracy, emancipation, autonomy and social and economic betterment. Field experience shows that ICT4D can be a meaningful, collaborative, networked process of knowledge sharing, driven by local initiatives, realizing change for the better, in a complex world.

Responding to complexity: A Case Study on the Use of “Developmental Evaluation for Managing Adaptively” - Boisvert, Kayla (University of Massachusetts, 2017)

Management challenges to implementing agile processes in traditional development organizations - Boehm, B.; Turner, R. (IEEE Software, 2005)
Discussions with traditional developers and managers concerning agile software development practices nearly always contain two somewhat contradictory ideas. They find that on small, stand-alone projects, agile practices are less burdensome and more in tune with the software industry's increasing needs for rapid development and coping with continuous change. Managers face several barriers, real and perceived, when they try to bring agile approaches into traditional organizations. They categorized the barriers either as problems only in terms of scope or scale, or as significant general issues needing resolution. From these two categories, we've identified three areas - development process conflicts, business process conflicts, and people conflicts - that we believe are the critical challenges to software managers of large organizations in bringing agile approaches to bear in their projects.
Keywords: Aerospace engineering; Aerospace materials; Agile methods; Agile software development; Automatic testing; Business processes; Computer industry; DP industry; Programming; Project management; Refining; Software engineering; Software management; Software systems; development process conflicts; process integration; software development management; software industry; systems engineering; traditional development organizations

Spiral Development: Experience, Principles, and Refinements - Boehm, B. W. (Carnegie Mellon University, 2000)

Using a Participatory Theory Driven Evaluation Approach to Identify Causal Mechanisms in Innovation Processes - Blundo‐Canto, Genowefa; Devaux‐Spatarakis, Agathe; Mathé, Syndhia; Faure, Guy; Cerdan, Claire (New Directions for Evaluation, 2020)
Applied agricultural research institutes play different roles in complex agricultural innovation processes, contributing to them with other actors. To foster learning and usable knowledge on how research actions influence such lasting innovation processes, there is a need to identify the causal mechanisms linking these actions and the effects of the changes they enable. A participatory, theory-driven, ex-post evaluation method, ImpresS, was developed by the French Agricultural Research Center for International Development (Cirad). ImpresS reconstructs the innovation history and its impact pathway by analyzing behavioral mechanisms linked to stakeholders' individual reactions and responses, and underlying process mechanisms at a group level. ImpresS relies on iterative updating and refinement and on triangulating data sources and collection methods to ensure internal validity and to increase credibility by enabling different actors to express their viewpoints. Drawing on an in-depth case study, we discuss how ImpresS makes it possible to draw robust conclusions on causal mechanisms while posing challenges linked to the group dynamics and power imbalances commonly encountered in participatory methods. As demonstrated by the case study, ImpresS generates policy-relevant knowledge for future research projects. It also demonstrates how research actions can help coconstruct lasting dynamics that can survive fluctuating institutional support. Distinguishing between behavioral and process mechanisms benefits knowledge use as it makes it possible to disentangle the conditions that trigger changes in a given context while generating research questions concerning the external validity of mechanism hypotheses.

From mouthset to mindset shifts in co-creating systems change - Blomkamp, Emma; Snow, Thea; Burkett, Ingrid (Griffith Centre for Systems Innovation, 2023)

Delivering large-scale IT projects on time, on budget, and on value - Bloch, Michael; Blumberg, Sven; Laartz, Jürgen (McKinsey on Business Technology, 2012)
Large IT efforts often cost much more than planned; some can put the whole organization in jeopardy. The companies that defy these odds are the ones that master key dimensions that align IT and business value.

Where next for development effectiveness? Building a renewed consensus - Blampied, Catherine (2016 CAPE Conference, 2016)

A Systems Framework for International Development: The Data-Layered Causal Loop Diagram - Blair, Courtney; Gralla, Erica; Wetmore, Finley; Goentzel, Jarrod; Peters, Megan (Production and Operations Management, 2021)
Meeting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will require adapting or redirecting a variety of very complex global and local human systems. It is essential that development scholars and practitioners have tools to understand the dynamics of these systems and the key drivers of their behavior, such as barriers to progress and leverage points for driving sustainable change. System dynamics tools are well suited to address this challenge, but they must first be adapted for the data-poor and fragmented environment of development work. Our key contribution is to extend the causal loop diagram (CLD) with a data layer that describes the status of and change in each variable based on available data. By testing dynamic hypotheses against the system's actual behavior, it enables analysis of a system's dynamics and behavioral drivers without simulation. The data-layered CLD was developed through a 4-year engagement with USAID/Uganda. Its contributions are illustrated through an application to agricultural financing in Uganda. Our analysis identified a lack of demand for agricultural loans as a major barrier to broadening agricultural financing, partially refuting an existing hypothesis that access to credit was the main constraint. Our work extends system dynamics theory to meet the challenges of this practice environment, enabling analysis of the complex dynamics that are crucial to achieving the SDGs.

Communications Strategic Intent With Systemigrams: Application to the Network-Enabled Challenge - Blair, Charles; Boardman, John; Sauser, Brian (Systems Engineering, 2007)
The U.K. Ministry of Defense (MoD) has mandated the development of a network enabled capability (NEC) across all of defense, aimed at producing agile military and nonmilitary effects via a network of networks. This paper provides an overview of NEC, representing it as a complex human activity system of systems (SoS), analysis of which cannot rely on purely traditional reductionist engineering approaches, requiring instead a soft-systems engineering approach. A literature review is then provided, covering nontraditional systems methodologies of the past 25 years, highlighting the more recent trend towards multimethodological practice. The paper introduces the systemic diagram, or systemigram, conceptual model, explaining its evolution from a form of visual language to its use as an appreciative learning system in a soft-systems methodology. Using the written prose of MoD policy makers, a systemigram model is constructed which represents the NEC concept, providing a systemic visualization of its complexity and an elucidation of the key SoS attributes of emergence, hierarchy, and boundary. Finally, the NEC systemigram is used in an example storyboarding technique, demonstrating its utility as a platform for stakeholder dialog leading towards a refined model that reflects a deeper understanding of NEC strategy. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Syst Eng 10:309–322, 2007

Adaptive management: an overview of the concept and its practical application in the Scottish context - Blackstock, Kirsty; Brown, Katrina; Gimona, Alessandro; Prager, Katrin; Irvine, Justin (The James Hutton Institute, 2016)

International Development - Illusions and Realities - Black, Maggie (New Internationalist, 2015)
Part of the popular, reissued NoNonsense series from New Internationalist'Development' is often misunderstood and can embrace everything from building a large dam to planting trees. The idea can often mask confusion, contradiction, deceit and corruption. This book is essential reading for anyone wanting to know what development actually is. It covers all the key themes and critically suggests ways to bring the poor and marginalised into the process.

Foresight and International Development* - Bingley, Kate (IDS Bulletin, 2016)
This article provides an overview of the use of foresight-type approaches and techniques in policy-related work in international development. It draws primarily on published and grey literatures, as well as select interviews with foresight practitioners. It begins with a brief introduction to the approaches and tools used in the field of strategic foresight, and then a broad mapping of the foresight landscape as relevant to international development. It provides reflections on the evidence of use and impact of foresight initiatives, and makes suggestions around future directions for foresight in international development.

Building tech-powered public services - Bickerstaffe, Sarah (Institute for Public Policy Research, 2013)
Given the rapid pace of technological change and take up by the public it is a question of when not if public services become tech powered This new paper asks how we can ensure that innovations are successfully introduced and deployed

Using PDIA to Put Data Into Action - Bhatia, Vinisha; Powell, Josh (Development Gateway, 2017)
We recently wrote about how the data for development community needs to take a more context aware, demand-driven approach to data. Applying theories of change...

Budgeting for Developmental Evaluation: An Interview with Michael Quinn Patton - Better Evaluation (2012)

Outcome Mapping - Better Evaluation (Better Evaluation, 2013)
Outcome mapping (OM) is a methodology for planning, monitoring and evaluating development initiatives in order to bring about sustainable social change. As the name suggests, its niche is understanding outcomes; the so-called ‘missing-middle’ or ‘black box’ of results that emerge downstream from the initiative’s activities but upstream from longer-term economic, environmental, political or demographic changes. At the planning stage, the process of outcome mapping helps a project team or program be specific about the actors it intends to target, the changes it hopes to see and the strategies appropriate to achieve these. For ongoing monitoring, OM provides a set of tools to design and gather information on the results of the change process, measured in terms of the changes in behaviour, actions or relationships that can be influenced by the team or program.

Social Return on Investment - Better evaluation (Better Evaluation, 2016)
Social Return on Investment (SROI) is a systematic way of incorporating social, environmental, economic and other values into decision-making processes. By helping reveal the economic value of social and environmental outcomes it creates a holistic perspective on whether a development project or social business or enterprise is beneficial and profitable. This perspective opens up new opportunities and forms the basis for innovative initiatives that genuinely contribute to positive social change and poverty reduction for all. SROI balances proving and improving or addresses the paradox between accountability and learning by placing the perspectives of the different stakeholders at the center of the valuation process. ​SROI originated in the USA from social enterprises interested in new ways to value the contributions they were making to society. It later arrived in Europe, where there is an increasing interest in the methodology as noted by recent publications by Context international cooperation in the Netherlands, the New Economics Foundation in the UK and the SROI Network head-quartered in the UK. SROI is used for planning purposes in terms of designing a Theory of Change, or Business Plan, and for assessing to what extent impact is realised or changes need to occur in the Business Plan. Although the SROI approach supports the thinking along the lines of a result chain, it does not support the idea of the components being connected in a linear fashion. The SROI approach is embedded in the acceptance of development taking place in situations of complexities. Here is a simple, illustrative example: A project aims to uplift the standard of living of people in a certain area and a beekeeping initiative is set up. As a result a beekeeper now enjoys regular meals whereas before this was not the case. In traditional Cost Benefit analyses, the value of the lunch would be measured in market prices. However after interviewing the beneficiaries, and applying some valuation tools, it turns out that the ‘real’ value is much higher than the market price; social value has been created above the market / economic value which is now being accounted for. Like traditional cost-benefit analysis, SROI includes a ratio; in this case a Social Return on Investment ratio. Where in traditional cost benefit analyses the ratios would be used to compare different projects, the SROI ratio is much more seen as one element in explaining and communicating general progress of certain developments. The number itself is not seen as the end goal. It can be interpreted as aiding the narrative of this particular initiative. The aspect of stakeholder perspectives is essential in the SROI approach. It is precisely the value perspectives of the stakeholders (and most importantly the key beneficiaries), assessed, not by assuming these values, but by thoughtfully and intellectually engaging the stakeholders themselves, which is at the heart of this innovative (e)valuation approach.

Theory of change software - Better Evaluation (2023)
There are a number of options when it comes to using software to help create a logic model. These range from generic word processing tools (Word, Powerpoint, or their Google Doc or Mac equivalents), to software that has been specifically tailored for visualising Theories of Change, like TOCO or Miradi. You should consider what resources you have to invest in software, both in terms of cost and in time to learn and use the features. If you only have a short timeframe and have simple needs, then a basic tool may suit you better than some of the more complex software available. It's important to investigate a few options and see what is going to be best for you.

Big Data to Data Science - Moving from “What” to “How” in the MERL Tech Space - Bertermann, Kecia; Robinson, Alexandra; Bamberger, Michael; Higdon, Grace Lyn; Raftre, Linda (MERL Tech, 2020)
This paper probes trends in the use of big data by a community of early adopters working in monitoring, evaluation, research, and learning (MERL) in the development and humanitarian sectors. Qualitative analysis was conducted on data from MERL Tech conference records and key informant interviews. Findings indicate that MERL practitioners are in a fragmented, experimental phase, with use and application of big data varying widely, accompanied by shifting terminologies. We take an in-depth look at barriers to and enablers of use of big data within MERL, as well as benefits and drawbacks. Concerns about bias, privacy, and the potential for big data to magnify existing inequalities arose frequently. The research surfaced a need for more systematic and broader sharing of big data use cases and case studies in the development sector.

Leading Change Through Adaptive Design - Berstein, Maya; Linsky, Marty (Stanford Social Innovation Review, 2016)
By integrating two practices—design thinking and adaptive leadership—social innovators can manage projects in a way that’s both creatively confident and relentlessly realistic.

Rediscovery of Traditional Ecological Knowledge as Adaptive Management - Berkes, Fikret; Colding, Johan; Folke, Carl (Ecological Applications, 2000)
Indigenous groups offer alternative knowledge and perspectives based on their own locally developed practices of resource use. We surveyed the international literature to focus on the role of Traditional Ecological Knowledge in monitoring, responding to, and managing ecosystem processes and functions, with special attention to ecological resilience. Case studies revealed that there exists a diversity of local or traditional practices for ecosystem management. These include multiple species management, resource rotation, succession management, landscape patchiness management, and other ways of responding to and managing pulses and ecological surprises. Social mechanisms behind these traditional practices include a number of adaptations for the generation, accumulation, and transmission of knowledge; the use of local institutions to provide leaders/stewards and rules for social regulation; mechanisms for cultural internalization of traditional practices; and the development of appropriate world views and cultural values. Some traditional knowledge and management systems were characterized by the use of local ecological knowledge to interpret and respond to feedbacks from the environment to guide the direction of resource management. These traditional systems had certain similarities to adaptive management with its emphasis on feedback learning, and its treatment of uncertainty and unpredictability intrinsic to all ecosystems.
Keywords: Adaptive Management; Resource management; Social learning; Traditional Ecological Knowledge; human ecology; resilience

Simple Habits for Complex Times: Powerful Practices for Leaders - Berger, Jennifer Garvey; Johnston, Keith (Stanford University Press, 2016)

ALL - The question of inclusiveness in ICT-mediated citizen engagement - Berdou, Evangelia (Think Piece, 2014)

Learning about New Technologies and the Changing Evidence Base for Social Science Research and Decision Making in International Development - Berdou, Evangelia (IDS Practice Paper in Brief, 2011)

Mediating Voices, Communicating Realities: Using Information Crowdsourcing Tools, Open Data Initiatives and Digital Media to Support and Protect the Vulnerable - Berdou, Evangelia (IDS, 2011)
This is the final report from a research project, supported by the UK Department for International Development, examining whether and how open ICT projects designed to support the poor can make a diff...

Lessons for PFM Reform - the PDIA Approach in Africa - Bento, Joana (Public Financial Management Blog - IMF, 2021)
Some important lessons are as follows: First, identifying a policy problem is critical for reforms to get traction both at a political and administrative level. Second, appropriate solutions can emerge from a process of experimentation, iteration, and adaptation. Third, building teams and institutional capabilities is a critical part of solving complex problems in a sustainable way.

Cognitive bias cheat sheet. An organized list of cognitive biases because thinking is hard - Benson, Buster (Better Humans, 2016)

Time to let go: remaking humanitarian action for the modern era - Bennett, Christina (ODI, 2016)
As the international humanitarian system faces a crisis of legitimacy, the Humanitarian Policy Group’s landmark report proposes a new model of humanitarian action.

Blurring the Boundaries: Citizen Action Across States and Societies - Benequista, Nicholas; Gaventa, John (Brighton: Citizenship DRC, 11., 2011)

Journalism from the ‘Silicon Savannah’: The Vexed Relationship Between Nairobi’s Newsmakers and its ICT4D Community - Benequista, Nicholas (Stability: International Journal of Security and Development, 2015)
During the course of a year-long knowledge exchange initiative called the Networked News Lab, a small group of Kenyan journalists and a PhD researcher from the London School of Economics and Political Science sought to identify opportunities for collaboration between newsmakers and practitioners from the field of information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D). In almost every instance, the project failed to promote cooperation between the two groups, though it succeeded in highlighting the fundamental issues that separate them. Drawing from interviews, project documents and participant observation, this chapter describes the incompatibilities between the two communities and what they suggest about current efforts to strengthen journalism in Africa through the application of ICTs.
Keywords: ICT4D; ICTs; IMPORTANT; Journalism; Kenya; state-building

Kenya’s tech community will not save journalism - Benequista, Nicholas (Briefing Note, 1, 2014)

Bridging Real-Time Data and Adaptive Management: Ten Lessons for Policy Makers and Practitioners - Ben Ramalingam; Inka Barnett; Kevin Hernandez; Panthea Lee; Anna Levy; Carrie Oppenheimer; Dennis Whittle; Craig Valters; Leni Wild (USAID, 2017)
The ongoing digital revolution has seen rapid growth in the deployment of technology enabled real-time data initiatives in international development and humanitarian work, developed with the goal of accelerating decision-making processes and enhancing aid effectiveness and efficiency.

Bridging the Gap: How Real-Time Data Can Contribute to Adaptive Management in International Development - Ben Ramalingam; Inka Barnett; Kevin Hernandez; Panthea Lee; Anna Levy; Carrie Oppenheimer; Dennis Whittle; Craig Valters; Leni Wild (USAID, 2017)
The ongoing digital revolution has seen rapid growth in the deployment of technology enabled real-time data initiatives in international development and humanitarian work, developed with the goal of accelerating decision-making processes and enhancing aid effectiveness and efficiency.

Evaluating interventions that prevent or counter violent extremism: A practical guide - Hofman, Joanna; Sutherland, Alex (RAND Corporation, 2018)

The Success Case Method: A Simple Evaluation Tool to Identify Critical Success Factors and Program Impa - Bell, Catherine; McDonalds, Diane (2006 Australian Evaluation Society International Conference, 2006)
Identification and reporting of critical success factors and program impact in an efficient, yet comprehensive manner is an inherent difficulty facing many evaluators of large-scale evaluations. This paper details how two evaluators encountered such problems in the initial review of a large-scale initiative and then successfully addressed these issues through the application of the Success Case Method in a subsequent evaluation of the same program. The Success Case Method is a down-to-earth evaluation tool that can be used for: finding out what is working and what is not, which also provides accurate and trustworthy information that can be used to make timely decisions (Brinkerhoff, 2003, p.3). This paper reports on the advantages of applying this approach to the evaluation of the Primary Welfare Officer Initiative (PWOI), a program that aims to improve the capacity of schools to support students at risk of disengagement and who are not achieving their educational potential.

An Introduction to the DCED Standard for Results Measurement - Bekkers, Nabanita Sen (2018)
Introduction used in the DCED-BEAM seminar

Guidelines for good market development program design. A managers’ perspective - Bekkers, Harald; Roggekamp, Peter (BEAM Exchange, 2014)
Good programme design is a key factor contributing to the success of market development programmes. Unfortunately, too many current designs have major flaws which prevent programmes becoming successful even before they get started. This document considers what makes market development programmes consistently successful and how to prevent programme design from being a hurdle to sustainable and efficient impact as scale.

Smart Implementation of complex change processes - Beier, Christoph; Kirsch, Renate (Global Solutions Journal, 2020)
Cooperation management facilitates the recoupling of progress toward sustainable development

Building Capacity for Strategic Innovation: an Emerging Competency Framework for Portfolio Work - Begovic, Milica; Colville, Jenniffer; Quaggiotto, Giulio; Vester, Søren; Naatujuna, Deborah; Oprunenco, Alex; Sadiku; Lejla; Uusikyla, Ida; Uriartt, Simone; Zorouali, Kawtar (Medium, 2023)
In a previous post we reflected on how a key learning from our “project to portfolio” journey to date is that it is ultimately about mustering the organizational will to transform. If the early days of our innovation work were about demonstrating results quickly and creating space for experimentation, now the challenge is of a different order. Eventually this means helping UNDP transition to a different value proposition and business model, as eloquently articulated by Gerd Trogemann: “No matter how well conceived and relevant in their own right, projects tend to pursue single point rather than systemic solutions, limit strategic space and the ability to adapt continuously and to connect the dots systemically. Systemic solutions need adaptive ways of working, strategic space, iterative learning, and radical collaboration.”

3 things that are enabling the UNDP’s shift to portfolios - Begovic, Milica (Medium, 2023)
By Millie Begovic, Head of the UNDP Strategic Innovation Unit

Introduction - Towards Systemic Approaches to Evaluation and Impact - Befani, Barbara; Ramalingam, Ben; Stern, Elliot (IDS Bulletin, 2015)

Clearing the fog: new tools for improving the credibility of impact claims - Befani, Barbara; D'Errico, Stefano; Booker, Francesca; Giuliani, Alessandra (iied Briefing Papers, 2016)
Development actors facing pressure to provide more rigorous assessments of their impact on policy and practice need new methods to deliver them. There is now a broad consensus that the traditional counterfactual analysis leading to the assessment of the net effect of an intervention is incapable of capturing the complexity of factors at play in any particular policy change. We suggest that evaluations focus instead on establishing whether a clearly-defined process of change has taken place, and improve the validity and credibility of qualitative impact statements. IIED research in Uganda shows that the methods of process tracing and Bayesian updating facilitate a dialogue between theory and evidence that allows us to assess our degree of confidence in ‘contribution claims’ in a transparent and replicable way.

Letting Evidence Speak for Itself: Measuring Confidence in Mechanisms - Befani, Barbara; D'Errico, Stefano (New Directions for Evaluation, 2020)
This chapter argues that the credibility of causal mechanisms can be greatly increased by formulating them as statements that are both empirically falsifiable and empirically confirmable. Whether statements can be so depends on the potential availability of the relevant evidence (e.g., no evidence exists that can prove or disprove the existence of God, but good quality evidence is potentially available in many other cases). The Bayes formula can be used to measure the extent to which a given set of empirical observations supports or weakens the belief that a causal mechanism exists. With this approach, confidence in the existence of a mechanism is increased or decreased through a process that can be open, transparent, and shared with the public or groups of stakeholders, reducing cognitive biases, and improving internal validity and consensus around the existence of given mechanisms. The approach is showcased in the evaluation of a learning partnership whereby a knowledge product released by a research organization influenced policy at the municipal level.

MSD Competency Framework - BEAM Exchange (BEAM Exchange, 2023)
MSD Competency Framework A catalogue of the full range of knowledge, skills and aptitudes found in high-performing teams that use the market systems approach. Useful for: Practitioners - identify personal training needs and continue your professional development Trainers - diversify your courses and refine your training / capacity-building offers Managers - strengthen your recruitment and induction processes MSD competencies Competency is a mix of knowledge, skills and attitudes demonstrated through concrete behaviours. This section explores the 17 competencies used by high-performing MSD teams. Arranged in three groups they relate to how we understand the world, make decisions and interact with others. Each competency is defined and has links to useful resources that explain or illustrate the knowledge or skills that feed it. Where available, sources of teaching and learning for that competency are included. Teaching and learning modes An exploration of the most common modes of teaching and learning that support practitioners to acquire knowledge, skills and attitudes. Some modes of learning are more relevant to certain types of competency - as indicated by the box colours. Each page has a summary of the teaching mode, guidance for team leaders and trainers, and examples of how to use this mode for developing specific competencies. Assessment modes Assessing competency is important for recruitment, performance appraisal and continued professional development These pages describe distinct approaches to evaluating individuals. They include a summary of the evaluation mode, guidance for assessors, and examples tailored to specific competencies.

Short Course - Adaptive Management, an overview - Bazaz Smith, Komal (American University, 2019)

A study of the sustained uptake developmental evaluation: How does developmental evaluation work in the USAID context, what factors help and hinder its success, and what is its value to stakeholders? - Baylor, Rebecca; Fatehi, Y. K.; Esper, H. (USAID, 2019)

Developmental Evaluation: How Barriers & Enablers Emerge Over Time - Baylor, Rebecca; Fatehi, Y. K.; Esper, H. (USAID, 2019)

The Generalizability Puzzle - Bates, Mary Ann; Glennerster, Rachel (Stanford Social Innovation Review, 2017)
The practice of using rigorous scientific evaluations to study solutions to global poverty is relatively young. Although researchers continue to advance our knowledge of the mechanisms at work, confusion about their role and value persists. Having evidence from specific studies is fine and good, but for policy makers, the point is not simply to understand poverty, but to eliminate it. Do decisions always need to be informed by evidence from the local context? What potential and limits do randomized controlled trials have for improving our knowledge and finding effective answers? Two leaders in anti-poverty research—J-PAL and IPA—dispel some of the myths about their field. In this article, authors from J-PAL argue that rigorous impact evaluations tell us a lot about the world, not just the particular contexts in which they are conducted. Access to this article made possible by MIT.

Christian Practical Wisdom: What It Is, Why It Matters - Bass, Dorothy C.; Cahalan, Kathleen A.; McLemore, Bonnie J.; Nieman, James R.; Scharen, Christian B. (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2016)
Why is the very kind of knowledge that people need to live well ― practical wisdom ― often the least understood, the hardest to learn, and the most devalued kind of knowledge?In this book five distinguished practical theologians examine the wisdom that is basic for faithful Christian living, question why it has been largely devalued, and advocate for its renewal. After first showing several concrete situations in which this kind of wisdom is visible ― marriage, church, community, culture, and more ― the authors then delve into the reasons for the decline of practical wisdom and set forth constructive cases for its renewal through biblical imagination and spiritual practice.

The Secret Sauce of Development Professionals: Tools for Assessing TOR Potential to Source Scalable Learning Interventions - Barton, Adam (Research on Improving Systems of Education (RISE), 2023)
Terms of reference (TORs) play an outsized role in driving scalable educational programming. These procurement documents shape, constrain, and signal programme priorities and possibilities. Successful funders and implementers across the globe hold rich processual knowledge about this documentation, which they use to draft and assess TORs. This project explores such best-practice knowledge around TOR review, seeking to support the design and implementation of educational programmes that can improve learning at scale in developing contexts.

Unpacking Mechanisms in Climate Resilient Agriculture Interventions - Barrett, Sam; D'Errico, Stefano; Anderson, Simon; Nebsu, Bayu (New Directions for Evaluation, 2020)
The investigation of causal mechanisms has the capacity to provide donors and implementing institutions with a greater understanding of people's reasoning and reactions as they work with interventions. This chapter contributes to the literature by identifying behavioral mechanisms generated through engagement with climate-resilient agriculture interventions within a larger livelihood project in Ethiopia. It works through the steps that enabled the study to unpack the black box between the climate-smart interventions and the outcome of crop production. The first step was a matching-based sampling design, following households over 3 years with six biannual surveys, and setting up a quasi-experimental evaluation setting. The second step used the data generated from the surveys in difference-in-difference models to assess the impact of the intervention on crop production. Third, to gain insight into the mechanisms at work, Focus Group Discussions (FGD) were conducted with smallholder farmer project beneficiaries. The FGDs revealed what the beneficiaries themselves considered the key mechanisms generated from the intervention, thus forming the bridge between the interventions and outcome. The result was an evaluation design enabling deeper insight into attribution claims. The findings offered novel insights for policymakers about how the climate-resilient interventions worked for the people themselves and shedding light on the inner workings of the climate-smart technologies. Finally, they provided key stakeholders (commissioning agency and implementing organizations) with a powerful means by which to learn about the last project, so to better plan for the next iteration and improve the climate resilience of smallholder farmers.

Learning about Theories of Change for the Monitoring and Evaluation of Research Uptake - Barnett, Chris; Gregorowski, Robbie (IDS Practice Paper In Brief, 2013)
This paper captures lessons from recent experiences on using ‘theories of change’ amongst organisations involved in the research–policy interface. The literature in this area highlights much of the complexity inherent in the policymaking process, as well as the challenges around finding meaningful ways to measure research uptake. As a tool, ‘theories of change’ offers much, but the paper argues that the very complexity and dynamism of the research-to-policy process means that any theory of change will be inadequate in this context. Therefore, rather than overcomplicating a static depiction of change at the start (to be evaluated at the end), incentives need to be in place to regularly collect evidence around the theory, test it periodically, and then reflect and reconsider its relevance and assumptions.

Celebrating Adaptive Delivery: A View from the Frontline in Myanmar - Barnes, Katrina; Lonsdale, Jane (IDS Working Paper, 2023)
The conversation on adaptive management has grown fast amongst development actors. These conversations often focus on designing, commissioning, and managing large-scale development programmes. Exactly how this impacts the frontline, the implementers, and day-to-day project delivery is still being debated. Yet, perspectives drawn directly from practice are often largely missing within these debates. This paper is written by two development practitioners. Through this paper, we reflect on the difference between adaptive management and adaptive delivery, and how this interacts with risk and aid accountability, particularly in contexts of fragility. Drawing on examples of Oxfam in Myanmar work and our personal insights in relation to delivering programming across humanitarian, peace-building, and development, we suggest that in complex, conflict-affected, and highly political environments adaptive delivery already happens far more regularly than is currently recognised, as a necessity to get activities delivered. However, it happens despite the system, not because of it, and is therefore often hidden and carried out ‘under the radar’ rather than celebrated as a success in difficult environments. This paper was written in 2019, before the military seized control of Myanmar in February 2021. Whilst it draws on examples from pre-2021 Myanmar to illustrate real life cases, it is a contribution to a broader global debate on adaptive management in practice, specifically in fragile contexts. This is not specifically aimed at practitioners working in Myanmar at present, who are now working in a protracted crisis. This paper makes tangible recommendations on steps that donors, international non-governmental organisations, local staff, and partners could take to promote a system of encouraging and celebrating adaptability in programme delivery in fragile contexts.

Understanding Governance from the Margins: What Does It Mean In Practice? - Barnes, Katrina, Barnes, Katrina; Anderson, Colin; de Chassy, Stephanie; Ahmed, Affaf; Ali, Mudabbir; Aung, Myo Min; Chaimite, Egidio; Joshi, Anuradha; Khan, Danyal; Loureiro, Miguel; Posse, Lucio; Rowlands, Jo; et al. (Institute of Development Studies (IDS), 2021)
What does governance look like ‘from below’ – from the perspectives of poor and marginalised households? How do patterns of conflict affect that? These were the questions at the heart of the Governance at the Margins research project. Over three years from 2017-2020 we worked to explore this through in-depth study in conflict-affected areas of Mozambique, Myanmar, and Pakistan. Our research teams interviewed the same people regularly over that time, finding out how they resolved problems and interacted with authorities. In this paper we connect what we found to the realities and complexities of development practice, drawing on the input of 20 experienced practitioners working in bilateral and multilateral development agencies and international NGOs, who generously gave their time to help us think through the practical implications of our wealth of findings.

Adaptive Peacebuilding Programming Through Effective Feedback Loops: Promising Practices - Barnard-Webster, Kiely; Jean, Isabella (CDA, 2018)
This case study report was developed by CDA’s part of Peacebuilding Evaluation Consortium collaborative research on the use of feedback loops in support of adaptive programming. Feedback loops are just one element of adaptive programming and are defined and used in different ways by organizations working on social change, peace and development issues. This document includes key findings from our desk review of reports and grey literature, key informant interviews, observations documented during CDA’s advisory and learning engagements with peacebuilding partners as well as the case study on SFCG’s feedback processes in Burundi. The findings are most relevant to program and M&E staff but have implications for senior management and policymakers in light of growing interest in strengthening adaptive management.

Complexity, Adaptation, and Results - Barder, Owen; Ramalingam, Ben (Center For Global Development, 2012)
In the last of a series of three blog posts looking at the implications of complexity theory for development, Owen Barder and Ben Ramalingam look at the implications of complexity for the trend towards results-based management in development cooperation. They argue that is a common mistake to see a contradiction between recognising complexity and focusing on results: on the contrary, complexity provides a powerful reason for pursuing the results agenda, but it has to be done in ways which reflect the context. In the 2012 Kapuscinski lecture Owen argued that economic and political systems can best be thought of as complex adaptive systems, and that development should be understood as an emergent property of those systems. As explained in detail in Ben’s forthcoming book, these interactive systems are made up of adaptive actors, whose actions are a self-organised search for fitness on a shifting landscape. Systems like this undergo change in dynamic, non-linear ways; characterised by explosive surprises and tipping points as well as periods of relative stability. If development arises from the interactions of a dynamic and unpredictable system, you might draw the conclusion that it makes no sense to try to assess or measure the results of particular development interventions. That would be the wrong conclusion to reach. While the complexity of development implies a different way of thinking about evaluation, accountability and results, it also means that the ‘results agenda’ is more important than ever.
Keywords: IMPORTANT

The Implications of Complexity for Development - Barder, Owen (2012)
In this lecture, adapted from his May 2012 Kapuściński Lecture, Owen Barder explores the implications of complexity theory for development policy. He explains how traditional economic models have tried and failed to understand why some countries have managed to improve living standards while other countries have not.
Keywords: IMPORTANT

Qualitative Comparative Analysis - A Rigorous Qualitative Method for Assessing Impact - Baptist, Carrie; Befani, Barbara (Coffey, 2015)

Biased Policy Professionals - Banuri, Sheheryar; Dercon, Stefan; Gauri, Varun (The World Bank Economic Review, 2019)
Although the decisions of policy professionals are often more consequential than those of individuals in their private capacity, there is a dearth of studies on the biases of policy professionals: those who prepare and implement policy on behalf of elected politicians. Experiments conducted on a novel subject pool of development policy professionals (public servants of the World Bank and the Department for International Development in the UK) show that policy professionals are indeed subject to decision-making traps, including the effects of framing outcomes as losses or gains, and, most strikingly, confirmation bias driven by ideological predisposition, despite having an explicit mission to promote evidence-informed and impartial decision making. These findings should worry policy professionals and their principals in governments and large organizations, as well as citizens themselves. A further experiment, in which policy professionals engage in discussion, shows that deliberation may be able to mitigate the effects of some of these biases.
Keywords: bias

The Use and Abuse of the Logical Framework Approach: A Review of International Development NGOs' Experiences - Bakewell, Oliver; Garbutt, Anne (Sida, 2005)
The logical framework approach (LFA) has come to play a central role in the planning and management of development interventions over the last twenty years. Although the logical framework has become universally known, it is far from universally liked. It has been the subject of much criticism over the years, concerning both the theoretical basis of the approach, and the way it is applied in practice. In this review, we have attempted to take stock of the current views of international development NGOs on the LFA and the ways in which they use it.

Increasing Participation in Evaluation - Baker, A; Bruner, B (Effectiveness Initiatives, 2014)
The Increasing Participation in Evaluation bulletin was developed by Anita Baker with Beth Bruner to help organizations integrate evaluative thinking into their organizational practice. This three page bulletin discusses how Organization Staff, Evaluators, and Funders are typically involved in participatory evaluation. The guide also defines the term "Ripple", and how to accomplish Ripple as well as examining what it looks like when Executive Leaders and Management Staff use Evaluative Thinking. Contents How are Organization Staff, Evaluators, and Funders typically involved in Participatory Evaluation? Organization Managers/Staff Roles Evaluators/Roles Funder Roles Shared Roles What is Ripple Anyway? How do you accomplish Ripple? What does it look like when Executive Leaders and Management Staff Use Evaluative Thinking? How to use these Bulletins

Participatory Budgeting as if Emancipation Mattered - Baiocchi, Gianpaolo; Ganuza, Ernesto (Politics & Society, 2014)
Participatory Budgeting has by now been widely discussed, often celebrated, and is now instituted in at least 1,500 cities worldwide. Some of its central features—its structure of open meetings, its yearly cycle, and its combination of deliberation and representation—are by now well known. In this article, however, we critically reflect on its global travel and argue for more careful consideration of some of its less well-known features, namely the coupling of the budgeting meetings with the exercise of power. We disaggregate PB into its communicative and empowerment dimensions and argue that its empowerment dimensions have usually not been part of its global expansion—and this is cause for concern from the point of view of emancipation. We thus discuss the specific institutional reforms associated with empowerment in the original version as well as its analytic dimensions. We also address some of the specific dangers of a communication-only version of PB as well as some suggestions for reintroducing empowerment.

Institutional Change, Political Economy, and State Capabilities : Learning from Edo State, Nigeria - Bain, Katherine; Porter, Doug; Watts, Michael (Justice, security, and development series, 2015)
This paper is one of a series aimed at deepening the World Bank’s capacity to follow through on commitments made in response to the World Development Report (WDR) 2011, which gave renewed prominence to the nexus between conflict, security, and development. Nigeria is a remarkable illustration of how deeply intractable the cycle of poverty, conflict, and fragility can become when tied to the ferocious battles associated with the political economy of oil. This paper places the corpus of analytic and programmatic work concerning institutional reform in conversation with a now substantial body of work on resource politics and most especially, the debate over the politico-institutional character (sometimes called political settlements or pacting arrangements associated with the order of power) and reform landscape of the petro-state. Recent institution reform policy writing appears to have little to say about the political and economic conditions in which crises and institutional disjunctures may authorize, and thereby enable, agents to embark on institutional reforms. The authors focus on Edo state for two reasons. First, it does not on its face appear to be an obvious location in which to explore a reform experience, given its entanglement in the Niger Delta conflict and the maladies typically associated with state fragility. Second, Edo is of interest also because of the changes that its experience is contributing to the World Bank country team’s effort to engage operationally across all its instruments with the political economy of institutional reform in Nigeria, its largest client country in Africa.

Doing Development Differently at the World Bank: updating the plumbing to fit the architecture - Bain, Katherine A.; Booth, David; Wild, Leni (ODI, 2016)
Keywords: IMPORTANT

Digital lives in Ghana, Kenya and Uganda - Bailur, Savita; Donner, Jonathan; Locke, Chris; Schoemaker, Emrys; Smart, Charlotte (Caribou Digital, 2015)
Keywords: IMPORTANT

Are we there yet? Localisation as the journey towards locally led practice: models, approaches and challenges - Baguios, Arbie; King, Maia; Martins, Alex; Pinnington, Rose (ODI, 2021)
Localisation and locally led international development practice has long been discussed, but has still not been delivered. Systemic barriers have posed challenges, and the term itself is contested. Now, the last tumultuous 18 months could provide a critical juncture to finally move forward with this crucial agenda. The pandemic has highlighted structural inequalities in the global system, and disrupted ways of working in the international development sector. The Black Lives Matter movement has brought conversations about racism and colonialism to the fore. And the climate crisis has highlighted the need for global action on humanity’s challenges that remain rooted in local realities. The emerging analysis in this review aims to set out the key issues in this agenda, building on a wealth of existing knowledge. It aims to span sectors, highlighting many new and existing models and approaches in the humanitarian, development, philanthropic and private sectors. It reviews the barriers and challenges to localisation and locally led practice, with a view to informing a campaign for systemic change to move forward with this agenda. The review is based on: a rapid review of the literature and evidence on localisation and locally led practice; two consultations with over 100 total participants, targeted at Global South actors; and analysis of 28 existing models and approaches.

Looking for a way out of aid’s pre-pandemic mess? A model based on cake - Baguios, Arbie (From Poverty to Power, 2020)
Arbie Baguios presents his ideas on how to reform the aid system

The Art of Community: Building the New Age of Participation - Bacon, Jono (O'Reilly Media, 2012)
Online communities provide a wide range of opportunities for supporting a cause, marketing a product or service, or building open source software. The Art of Community helps you recruit members, motivate them, and manage them as active participants. Author Jono Bacon offers experiences and observations from his 14-year effort to build and manage communities, including his current position as manager for Ubuntu.Discover how your community can become a reliable support network, a valuable source of new ideas, and a powerful marketing force. This expanded edition shows you how to keep community projects on track, make use of social media, and organize collaborative events. Interviews with 12 community management leaders, including Linus Torvalds, Tim O’Reilly, and Mike Shinoda, provide useful insights.Develop specific objectives and goals for building your communityBuild processes to help contributors perform tasks, work together, and share successesProvide tools and infrastructure that enable members to work quicklyCreate buzz around your community to get more people involvedHarness social media to broadcast information, collaborate, and get feedbackUse several techniques to track progress on community goalsIdentify and manage conflict, such as dealing with divisive personalities

The role of research and learning in adaptive programming - Babon, Andrea; Denney, Lisa (Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre, 2018)
Andrea Babon and Lisa Denney explore how learning partners - a common feature of aid programs - can operate and feed into programs.

Global mapping of technology for transparency and accountability - Avila, Renata; Feigenblatt, Hazel; Heacock, Rebekah; Heller, Nathaniel (Transparency & Accountability Initiative, 2010)

Building Bridges to an Uncertain Future Lived Now: Lessons from the Use of Participatory Action Research and Theory of Change Towards A Realistic Community-Based Participatory Monitoring and Evaluation System - Avila, Enrique M.; Tolentino, Lutgarda L.; Binondo, Claudia B.; Perez, Maripaz L.; Apgar, J. Marina (International Journal of Agriculture System, 2016)
Building on experience from the CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems implemented by WorldFish in the Visayas and Mindanao regions of the Philippines, known as the VisMin Hub, we describe the development and evolution of a monitoring and evaluation (M&E) system emerging from the facilitated action-reflection cycles of testing and adopting theories of change carried out with community partners through participatory action research (PAR). The former guides our community partners and us, as members of the potentially emergent PAR groups, towards the realization of the community’s vision; the latter facilitates learning to understand what, how and why change is unfolding. Unlike the conventional M&E system where indicators are pre-set at the beginning of program implementation, these processes result in an organically-evolved, communitybased participatory M&E system that is continuously revised according to contexts to guide communities towards realizing their visions. Its ultimate outcome is enhanced people’s capacity to own the product and process, giving rise to an internally-driven change. Towards the end, the paper offers an iterative discussion of learnings from implementing such an approach.
Keywords: Aquatic agricultural systems; CGIAR; Community-based participatory MEL; Learning; Participatory action research; research in development; theory of change

Social Accountability and Service Delivery Effectiveness: What is the Evidence for the Role of Sanctions? Background Paper - Aston, Tom; Zimmer Santos, Grazielli (2022)
Executive Summary Understanding how civil society can get government to respond to their needs, preferences and demands, and deliver goods and services to citizens is a central concern in social accountability initiatives. It is widely argued that sanctions make a key difference to service delivery outcomes, and that without them, transparency and accountability interventions are less likely to be effective and less likely to be sustainable (Anderson et al., 2020; Arugay, 2016; Fox, 2020; Goetz and Jenkins, 2005; Grandvoinnet et al., 2015; McGee and Gaventa, 2011; Molina et al., 2017; Joshi, 2010; Joshi, 2017; Tsai et al. 2019). In this paper, sanctions refer to the threat or imposition of a punishment for transgressing a rule or norm. Yet, what evidence is there to support the claim that sanctions are king? How much do we actually know about social and formal sanctions and their effectiveness in improving service delivery? Looking at 11 meta-reviews and 35 cases, this background paper sheds light on these questions and the conditions under which sanctions promoted within social accountability interventions may have contributed to improved service delivery. Sanctions, both social and formal, feature very prominently in the scholarly literature related to accountability, so much so that some scholars have argued that it has become synonymous with punishment (Mansbridge, 2014; Schedler, 1999). While it may not be true that these concepts are fully synonymous, this trend in scholarship significantly influenced the thinking of donors such as the Department for International Development (DFID) and the World Bank over the last two decades (Grandvoinnet et al., 2015; Malena and McNeil, 2010; Moore and Teskey, 2006; World Bank, 2003). As a result, sanctions also feature in the dominant models, or theories of change, in the social accountability sector. Yet, in reviewing 11 meta-reviews in the transparency and accountability sector we found that while there is plenty of theoretical argument asserting the potential effectiveness of social and formal sanctions, there was limited empirical evidence to support the claim that sanctions were key. Our review of 35 cases revealed five mechanisms of change related to social and formal sanctions. These were: (i) “sticks” – response to punishment; (ii) “big brother is watching” – response to threat of formal punishment; (iii) diagonal accountability – response to threat of formal punishment by horizontal accountability agencies; (iv) litigation – response to legal investigations or lawsuits supported by community paralegals and legal aid organizations and; (v) response to “naming and shaming” by civil society and/or media. We challenge the dominant view in scholarship that harder social sanctions and enforcement of stronger formal sanctions are either necessary to the achievement of higher-level service delivery outcomes or that they will deliver better and more sustainable outcomes. We find that both social and formal sanctions can contribute to improving service delivery outcomes across a variety of country contexts. In half of the 35 cases reviewed, we were able to establish a likely link between social or formal sanctions and intermediate effects over the short term with some degree of confidence. These effects ranged from increased service provider awareness and motivation, increased availability of funding, staff, and materials, to improved infrastructure quality, and in a minority of cases impact level changes such as improved test scores. However, the role of sanctions in delivering outcomes was often unclear, outcomes were almost never sustainable, and in close to half of the 35 cases reviewed there were substantial negative effects. These effects ranged from reducing transparency and funding, to discrediting, relocating, and reprisals for advocates and whistle-blowers, threats of violence to collaborating government actors, damaging staff morale, reducing attendance, and generating conflict among staff and between staff and community members and between staff and patients, damaging trust. There are therefore some serious ethical dilemmas associated with sanctioning efforts which need to be carefully considered. We argue that imposing sanctions without building relationships or systems to promote good behavior is unlikely to improve service delivery outcomes in a sustainable way. Another, perhaps surprising, finding was that there are some actors that are regular targets of sanctions, and in many cases, these actors are a lot weaker than is commonly assumed. Three broad types of actors were the most common targets of punishment: (i) absentee nurses or teachers who had their pay or allowances reduced; (ii) offending officials who were either suspended, relocated, or fired; and (iii) contractors who had to cover the cost of rejected materials or faced lawsuits, alongside civil servants involved in contracting. We suggest that closer relationships may perhaps reduce stakeholders’ appetite to impose sanctions. Particularly in the health sector, we found that more proximate relationships created disincentives for confrontation, and in such circumstances, a “policing” approach to monitoring was also deemed inappropriate and counterproductive. Conversely, it seems that actors generally prefer to sanction “others,” i.e., when an actor/organization was outside the group. Short-term consultants, contractors, and suppliers were easy (and quite vulnerable) targets for harder sanctions. It has also been argued that there may be productive combinations of collaborative and confrontational tactics — i.e., hybrids. We found that many supposed confrontational and collaborative hybrids were, in fact, dislocated in time and space. Many so-called “inside-outside” strategies, therefore, seem to be a potential mischaracterization. We also found, as Fung and Wright (2003) argued nearly two decades ago, that adversarial forms of engagement cannot easily be redeployed for collaborative purposes. It is widely argued that supposedly ‘weaker’ forms of citizen engagement are less effective than those with ‘strong enforceability (McGee and Gaventa, 2011).’ We found no compelling evidence to support this contention. A quarter of cases reviewed were collaborative for certain periods or in certain locations. On average, these were slightly more successful when compared with periods or locations when imposing sanctions was a key strategic emphasis. So, soft power can also be powerful. Rather than one approach necessarily being superior (confrontational, collaborative, or hybrid) however, we argue that the best approach is likely to be the one most appropriate to the context. While we were unable to identify strong trends of contextual factors which enabled social and formal sanctions to play a role in enhancing service delivery, we were able to identify several conditions which we believe offer the greatest promise. These conditions were: (i) supportive leaders who played a role as champions; opening doors or accompanying civil society efforts; (ii) high capacity and legal authority of oversight agencies; (iii) competitive elections, which provided windows of opportunity for CSOs to combine political and social accountability efforts, and; (iv) vulnerable public servants and service providers already in relatively precarious situations and are thus easy targets. Overall, our study finds that sometimes sanctions can be effective, but punishment is not the answer to all the world’s problems. Given these limitations, we recommend that it is time to reconsider “carrots” and enquire further into the enabling conditions for bureaucrats and service providers. Relatedly, scholars, evaluators, and program teams should look more closely at service providers’ or civil servants’ motivations and take context into account more seriously. To uncover these contextual and motivational features, we believe that scholars, evaluators, and prprogrameams should also make better use of theory-based and participatory methods. And perhaps most importantly, donors and practitioners should carefully consider and mitigate the potential for backlash from sanctions-based approaches.

Contribution Rubrics: A simple way to assess influence - Aston, Tom (Independent Consultant, 2020)
This document explores how organisations can measure the level of influence that they had over an outcome. It summarises influence in terms of the significance of the outcome, the level of contribution and the strength of evidence.

One step back, two steps forward: CARE’s journey towards doing development differently - Aston, Tom (Care Insights, 2017)
The Doing Development Different (DDD) community emerged in August 2014 and advocates that (a) the barriers to development are as much political as tec...

Sounding clever or being smart? – How to do more with less in evaluating governance programmes - Aston, Tom (Care Insights, 2018)
About a decade ago, the development sector fell into the same trap the financial services industry did in the mid-1990s. We were all seduced by clever...

W(h)ither sanctions? - Aston, Tom (Thomas Aston LinkedIn pulse, 2020)
Considerations on where and when sanctions fit into the conception of social accountability is a nudge toward better and more granular descriptions of what work is being undertaken effectively in which situations.

Process Tracing Innovations in Practice: Finding the Middle Path - Aston, Thomas; Wadeson, Alix (CDI Practice Paper, 2023)
Evaluation practitioners in the international development sector have given considerable attention in recent years to process tracing as a method for evaluating impact, including discussion of how to assess the relative importance of causal factors. Despite the increasing interest, there is a relative dearth of examples of practical learning and evidence of applying process tracing in practice. This CDI Practice Paper draws on comparative learning from applying three different types of process tracing in international development initiatives. It argues in favour of a ‘middle path’ of applying evidence tests and rubrics to structure evaluative judgements rather than formal Bayesian updating or looser forms of process tracing. It also calls attention to the potential added value of taking a participatory approach, offering practical recommendations for how to do this effectively.

Monitoring and evaluation for thinking and working politically - Aston, Thomas; Roche, Chris; Schaaf, Marta; Cant, Sue (Evaluation, 2022)
This article explores the challenges of monitoring and evaluating politically informed and adaptive programmes in the international development field. We assess the strengths and weaknesses of some specific evaluation methodologies which have been suggested as particularly appropriate for these kinds of programmes based on scholarly literature and the practical experience of the authors in using them. We suggest that those methods which assume generative causality are particularly well suited to the task. We also conclude that factoring in the politics of uncertainty and evidence generation and use is particularly important in order to recognize and value diverse experiential knowledge, integrate understandings of the local context, accommodate adaptation and realistically grapple with the power relations which are inherent in evaluation processes.

The Art and Craft of Bricolage in Evaluation - Aston, Thomas; Apgar, Marina (CDI Practice Paper, 2022)
This CDI Practice Paper by Tom Aston and Marina Apgar makes the case for ‘bricolage’ in complexity-aware and qualitative evaluation methods. It provides a framework based on a review of 33 methods to support evaluators to be more intentional about bricolage and to combine the component parts of relevant methods more effectively. It discusses two cases from practice to illustrate the value added of taking a more intentional approach. It further argues that navigating different forms of power is a critical skill for bricolage, and that doing so can help to ensure rigour.

Assumptions and triple loop learning - Aston, Thomas (Medium, 2021)
Triple loop learning

Changing theories - Aston, Thomas (Medium, 2023)
You may, or may not, be surprised to hear that many theories of change lack what we might generally understand as a theory.

Evaluating complexity, simplistically - Aston, Thomas (Medium, 2022)
A critical appraisal's of CEDIL papers on Evaluating Complex Interventions... A study was recently published by the Centre of Excellence for Development Impact and Learning (CEDIL) entitled Evaluating complex interventions in international development. This is the sort of title that raises great expectations. Complexity is a hugely popular theme and many of us are keen to know more about how to evaluate efforts that seek to achieve results amid complexity. In April 2021, CEDIL conducted a webinar on the paper, and in July 2021 CEDIL published a blog. In September 2021, I wrote a blog expressing some reservations regarding the focus of the study; its apparent over-emphasis on interventions, under-emphasis on context, as well as its choice of some supposedly under-used methods. These methods were: (1) factorial designs; (2) adaptive trials; (3) Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA); (4) synthetic control; (5) agent-based modelling, and system dynamics.

How to make theories of change more useful? - Aston, Thomas (Medium, 2021)
A fair amount has been written recently questioning the value added of theories of change. Have we gone through a hype cycle? Are they…

(Re)making the case for adaptive management - Aston, Thomas (Medium, 2022)
Great overview of what to read on adaptive management. It’s a long one, so I’ve split it into two – second installment tomorrow. Christian Aid Ireland’s recent publication The Difference Learning Makes by Stephen Gray and Andy Carl made a bit of a splash. The study found that Christian Aid Ireland’s application of adaptive programming contributed to better development outcomes and supported more flexible delivery. The much vaunted MUVA programme in Mozambique is also coming to a close and presenting its results from using and adaptive approach. So, it struck me that we might be at a critical juncture in the conversation on adaptive management. We’ve had the crashing to earth of inflated expectations in recent misanthropic reflections, [misanthropic, moi? – Duncan] alongside a fragile institutionalisation of adaptive management in donor agencies, NGOs, and private sector organisations. However, I’d argue that we’ve reached the point where adaptive management has passed the proof-of-concept stage.

“Real”​ process tracing: part 1 — context - Aston, Thomas (Medium, 2020)
When asserting the value of theory-based methods, you often here words like “black boxes” and “causal mechanisms.” These are commonly…

Rubrics as a harness for complexity - Aston, Thomas (Medium, 2020)
In this final blog in the series, I want to look at the potential value of rubrics. While evaluability assessments can help us to…

What, so what, now what? - Aston, Thomas (Medium, 2022)
Getting serious about systems change

Windows on the world: The power of assumptions in uncertain times - Aston, Thomas (Medium, 2020)
In my last blog on theory-based Monitoring Evaluation and Learning (MEL), I explained why relationships matter, and how to assess change…

A Guide To Agile Project Management Methodology & Tools - Aston, Ben (The Digital Project Manager, 2020)
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.

Embracing complexity - Towards a shared understanding of funding systems change - Ashoka (Ashoka, 2020)

Tools for supporting sustainable natural resource management and livelihoods - Ashley, Holly; Kenton, Nicole; Milligan, Angela (2013)

Participation by the poor in Luang Prabang tourism economy: current earnings and opportunities for expansion - Ashley, Caroline (ODI, 2006)

Bringing adaptive management to life: Insights from practice - Arora, Anmol; Gogoi, Elizabeth; Joy, Divya; Kumar, Pankaj; Luthra, Rajni; Pal, Uma; Pervaiz, Arif (Oxford Policy Management, 2019)

Mission-Based Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Platforms Assessment Report - Arntson, Laura; Giannoni, Tonya; Peek, Nancy; Saarlas, Kristin (USAID, 2017)
In 2016, the Bureau of Policy, Planning and Learning (PPL) commissioned an internal stocktaking of USAID's mission-based MEL (Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning) Platforms.

Twinning “Practices of Change” With “Theory of Change”: Room for Emergence in Advocacy Evaluation - Arensman, Bodille; van Waegeningh, Cornelie; van Wessel, Margit (American Journal of Evaluation, 2018)
Theory of change (ToC) is currently the approach for the evaluation and planning of international development programs. This approach is considered especially suitable for complex interventions. We question this assumption and argue that ToC’s focus on cause–effect logic and intended outcomes does not do justice to the recursive nature of complex interventions such as advocacy. Supported by our work as evaluators, and specifically our case study of an advocacy program on child rights, we illustrate how advocacy evolves through recursive interactions, with outcomes that are emergent rather than predictable. We propose putting “practices of change” at the center by emphasizing human interactions, using the analytical lenses of strategies as practice and recursiveness. This provides room for emergent outcomes and implies a different use of ToC. In this article, we make a clear distinction between theoretical reality models and the real world of practices.

Using adaptive processes and adverse outcome pathways to develop meaningful, robust, and actionable environmental monitoring programs - Arciszewski, Tim J.; Munkittrick, Kelly R.; Scrimgeour, Garry J.; Dubé, Monique G.; Wrona, Fred J.; Hazewinkel, Rod R. (Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management, 2017)
The primary goals of environmental monitoring are to indicate whether unexpected changes related to development are occurring in the physical, chemical, and biological attributes of ecosystems and to inform meaningful management intervention. Although achieving these objectives is conceptually simple, varying scientific and social challenges often result in their breakdown. Conceptualizing, designing, and operating programs that better delineate monitoring, management, and risk assessment processes supported by hypothesis-driven approaches, strong inference, and adverse outcome pathways can overcome many of the challenges. Generally, a robust monitoring program is characterized by hypothesis-driven questions associated with potential adverse outcomes and feedback loops informed by data. Specifically, key and basic features are predictions of future observations (triggers) and mechanisms to respond to success or failure of those predictions (tiers). The adaptive processes accelerate or decelerate the effort to highlight and overcome ignorance while preventing the potentially unnecessary escalation of unguided monitoring and management. The deployment of the mutually reinforcing components can allow for more meaningful and actionable monitoring programs that better associate activities with consequences. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2017;13:877–891. © 2017 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC)
Keywords: Adaptive monitoring; Environmental management; Environmental monitoring; Tier; Trigger

Assumptions, conjectures, and other miracles: The application of evaluative thinking to theory of change models in community development - Archibald, Thomas; Sharrock, Guy; Buckley, Jane; Cook, Natalie (Evaluation and Program Planning, 2016)
Unexamined and unjustified assumptions are the Achilles’ heel of development programs. In this paper, we describe an evaluation capacity building (ECB) approach designed to help community development practitioners work more effectively with assumptions through the intentional infusion of evaluative thinking (ET) into the program planning, monitoring, and evaluation process. We focus specifically on one component of our ET promotion approach involving the creation and analysis of theory of change (ToC) models. We describe our recent efforts to pilot this ET ECB approach with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in Ethiopia and Zambia. The use of ToC models, plus the addition of ET, is a way to encourage individual and organizational learning and adaptive management that supports more reflective and responsive programming.
Keywords: Assumptions; Community development; Critical thinking; Evaluation capacity building; Evaluative thinking; International Development; Theory of change

Appreciative Inquiry Australia - Appreciative Inquiry Australia (2015)
The site provides news and information on AI events and learning opportunities in Australia and also provides an archive of articles and discussions centred on the use of AI.

Learning through and about Contribution Analysis for impact evaluation - Apgar, Marina; Ton, Giel (Institute of Development Studies, 2021)
Over the past five years, colleagues from the Centre for Development Impact (CDI) – a joint initiative between the Institute of Development Studies, Itad and University of East Anglia – have been innovating with and learning how to use Contribution Analysis as an overarching approach to impact evaluation. In this blog series, we share our learning and insights, some of them in raw emergent form, highlight the complexities, nuances, excitements, and challenges of embracing new ways of doing impact evaluation. We begin this series by sharing ideas about ‘causal hotspots’ that first surfaced as ‘aha’ moments in our collaboration on the CDI short course Contribution Analysis for Impact Evaluation – the moments when we found the ways and words to better articulate our ideas and help people navigate the messy realities of theory-based evaluation.

Designing Contribution Analysis of Participatory Programming to Tackle the Worst Forms of Child Labour - Apgar, Marina; Snijder, Mieke; Prieto Martin, Pedro; Ton, Giel; Macleod, Shona; Kakri, Shanta; Paul, Sukanta (CLARISSA Research and Evidence Paper, 2022)
This Research and Evidence Paper presents the theory-based and participatory evaluation design of the Child Labour: Action-Research- Innovation in South and South-Eastern Asia (CLARISSA) programme. The evaluation is embedded in emergent Participatory Action Research with children and other stakeholders to address the drivers of the worst forms of child labour (WFCL). The report describes the use of contribution analysis as an overarching approach, with its emphasis on crafting, nesting and iteratively reflecting on causal theories of change. It illustrates how hierarchically-nested impact pathways lead to specific evaluation questions and mixing different evaluation methods in response to these questions, critical assumptions, and agreement on causal mechanisms to be examined in depth. It also illustrates how realist evaluation can be combined with contribution analysis to deeply investigate specific causal links in the theory of change. It reflects on learning from the use of causal hotspots as a vehicle for mixing methods. It offers considerations on how to navigate relationships and operational trade-offs in making methodological choices to build robust and credible evidence on how, for whom, and under what conditions participatory programming can work to address complex problems such as child labour.

Breaking free from the theory of change straight jacket - Apgar, Marina; Snijder, Mieke; Paul, Sukanta (CLARISSA, 2024)
The CLARISSA Social Protection Intervention was set us as an innovative social policy intervention for tackling social ills, with a...

Evaluating CLARISSA: Innovation Driven by a Participatory Learning Agenda - Apgar, Marina; Snijder, Mieke; Kakri, Shanta; Macleod, Shona; Paul, Sukanta; Sambo, Anna; Ton, Giel (CLARISSA working paper, 2020)
Children end up in child labour as a result of many, often unknown or hidden, interactions between multiple actors and multiple factors within households, communities, and labour systems, leading to unpredictable outcomes for children and other sector stakeholders and sometimes resulting in the worst forms of child labour (WFCL). It is a complex problem, and interventions aimed at tackling it are also, inevitably, complex and challenging. The way they influence change is non-linear, causality is uncertain, and unintended consequences may result. Programmes such as the Child Labour: Action-Research-Innovation in South and South-Eastern Asia (CLARISSA) that are engaging with such intractable challenges and aim to reach the most left behind (children in WFCL) are operating in conditions of complexity. This complexity poses significant challenges to the way programmes are designed, planned, implemented, and evaluated, and requires a move away from linear and predetermined models. In this Working Paper, we share our experience and early learning about how to design and implement monitoring, evaluation and learning that intentionally embraces the challenge of complexity.

Evaluating Research for Development: Innovation to Navigate Complexity - Apgar, Marina; Snijder, Mieke; Higdon, Grace Lyn; Szabo, Sylvia (The European Journal of Development Research, 2023)
Large publicly funded programmes of research continue to receive increased investment as interventions aiming to produce impact for the world’s poorest and most marginalized populations. At this intersection of research and development, research is expected to contribute to complex processes of societal change. Embracing a co-produced view of impact as emerging along uncertain causal pathways often without predefined outcomes calls for innovation in the use of complexity-aware approaches to evaluation. The papers in this special issue present rich experiences of authors working across sectors and geographies, employing methodological innovation and navigating power as they reconcile tensions. They illustrate the challenges with (i) evaluating performance to meet accountability demands while fostering learning for adaptation; (ii) evaluating prospective theories of change while capturing emergent change; (iii) evaluating internal relational dimensions while measuring external development outcomes; (iv) evaluating across scales: from measuring local level end impact to understanding contributions to systems level change. Taken as a whole, the issue illustrates how the research for development evaluation field is maturing through the experiences of a growing and diverse group of researchers and evaluators as they shift from using narrow accountability instruments to appreciating emergent causal pathways within research for development.

Extending epistemology for programme evaluation – can After Action Reviews become spaces for critical reflection? - Apgar, Marina; Snijder, Mieke (Methodspace - Sage, 2020)
The term After Action Review (AAR) is becoming more common in the world of development evaluation, particularly in programmes that focus on evaluation as a formative learning process. As structured and facilitated learning moments, AARs take many shapes always built to support a specific team in a specific moment on their journey. Across such a diversity of practice how do we understand the evolution of the AAR as a method with an action research orientation? Being mindful always of the risk of instrumentalising and co-opting participatory methods, there is danger that AARs become an empty programme ritual, remaining at the surface and failing to achieve critical reflection and so falling short of their intention of pushing for deeper change in our practice. As the evaluation and learning team of two large complex, multi-partner projects using research to address development challenges, we have been applying the AAR method while adapting to virtual COVID working with partners across the world. As action researchers we have been thinking about what critical reflection means within a programme AAR process and whether and how they can open up a second person inquiry space.

Finding and using causal hotspots: a practice in the making - Apgar, Marina; Snijder, Mieke (Institute of Development Studies, 2021)
This is the second blog in our series ‘Lessons on using Contribution Analysis for impact evaluation’. In our first blog, we introduced Contribution Analysis (CA) as an overarching approach to theory-based evaluation and the idea of causal hotpots as a way to zoom in, unpack and make the hard choices of where to focus evaluation research. Identifying specific links in the theory of change (ToC) with specific evaluation questions enables you to then choose appropriate methods. We have applied the approach in diverse settings, testing how robust Contribution Analysis can really be. Here we walk you through an example.

Bringing Participation into Complexity-Aware MEL: What is the evidence? - Apgar, Marina; Higdon, Grace Lyn (2018)

Contribution analysis for adaptive management - Apgar, Marina; Hernandez, Kevin; Ton, Giel (Briefing Paper, 2020)
This briefing note shares practical learning on the use of contribution analysis for adaptive management (CA4AM). It examines how the approach enables programmes to work with theories of change in a practical, reflexive way, and how, combined with assessing evidence of a programme’s contribution to change, its findings can inform programme adaptation. It also examines both how and to what extent CA enables AM through the experiences of four large complex programmes all working towards systems-level change and employing a structured process of reflection on theories of change. Key messages CA4AM can enable programmes to work with theories of change in a practical, reflexive way. It is particularly useful for programmes operating in conditions of complexity, when it is difficult to discern attribution and when systems-level change is the goal. A range of enabling factors help CA4AM to be used most effectively, including contractual flexibility; embedded monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL); and supportive leadership.

Revealing the Relational Mechanisms of Research for Development Through Social Network Analysis - Apgar, Marina; Fournie, Guillaume; Haesler, Barbara; Higdon, Grace Lyn; Kenny, Leah; Oppel, Annalena; Pauls, Evelyn; Smith, Matthew; Snijder, Mieke; Vink, Daan; Hossain, Mazeda (The European Journal of Development Research, 2023)
Achieving impact through research for development programmes (R4D) requires engagement with diverse stakeholders across the research, development and policy divides. Understanding how such programmes support the emergence of outcomes, therefore, requires a focus on the relational aspects of engagement and collaboration. Increasingly, evaluation of large research collaborations is employing social network analysis (SNA), making use of its relational view of causation. In this paper, we use three applications of SNA within similar large R4D programmes, through our work within evaluation of three Interidsiplinary Hubs of the Global Challenges Research Fund, to explore its potential as an evaluation method. Our comparative analysis shows that SNA can uncover the structural dimensions of interactions within R4D programmes and enable learning about how networks evolve through time. We reflect on common challenges across the cases including navigating different forms of bias that result from incomplete network data, multiple interpretations across scales, and the challenges of making causal inference and related ethical dilemmas. We conclude with lessons on the methodological and operational dimensions of using SNA within monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) systems that aim to support both learning and accountability.

Reframing, refining, and reconceptualising the worst forms of child labour through participatory adaptive programming - Apgar, Marina; Burns, Danny (Journal of modern slavery, 2021)
This article explores the potential of using participatory action research as an adaptive programming modality to drive learning and innovation to tackle the drivers of (and seek to eliminate) the Worst Forms of Child Labour. We draw on our experience from early phases of implementation of a large-scale action research programme, which despite the constraints covid-19 posed in moving to full implementation and participatory engagement with children and other stakeholders on the ground, is already generating rich learning about the opportunities and challenges of designing programmes that respond to the complex reality of WFCL. We share early learning about what it takes to be fully open to using the lived experience of programme development, and early findings from scoping and mapping of the dynamics of social norms, business practices and urban neighbourhoods and supply chains influencing WFCL in Bangladesh and Nepal, to frame and reframe the questions and response strategies and operationalise a participatory adaptive intent to work with hidden and complex dynamics that characterise the WFCL.

Innovating for inclusive rigour in peacebuilding evaluation - Apgar, Marina; Báez-Silva, Ángela Maria; Deng, Ayak Chol; Fairey, Tiffany; Rohrbach, Livia; Alamoussa, Dioma; Bradburn, Helene; Cubillos, Edwin; Gray, Stephen; Wingender, Leslie (Institute of Development Studies, 2022)
Inclusive and rigorous peacebuilding evaluation is both vital and complex. In this blog we share examples of how we are innovating our methodologies to move towards participatory and adaptive practice.

Getting beneath the surface in program planning, monitoring and evaluation: Learning from use of participatory action research and theory of change in the CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems - Apgar, J Marina; Allen, Will; Albert, Joelle; Douthwaite, Boru; Paz Ybarnegaray, Rodrigo; Lunda, Jeston (Action Research, 2017)
Many rural poor and marginalized people strive to make a living in social-ecological systems that are characterized by multiple and often inequitable interactions across agents, scale and space. Uncertainty and inequality in such systems require research and development interventions to be adaptive, support learning and to engage with underlying drivers of poverty. Such complexity-aware approaches to planning, monitoring and evaluating development interventions are gaining strength, yet, there is still little empirical evidence of what it takes to implement them in practice. In this paper, we share learning from an agricultural research program that used participatory action research and theory of change to foster learning and support transformative change in aquatic agricultural systems. We reflect on our use of critical reflection within participatory agricultural research interventions, and our use of theory of change to collectively surface and revisit assumptions about how change happens. We share learning on the importance of being strengths-based in engaging stakeholders across scales and building a common goal as a starting point, and then staging a more critical practice as capacity is built and opportunities for digging deeper emerge.

3 fallacies of embracing complexity - Ang, Yuen Yuen (UNDP Blog, 2018)
Global development is seeing an exciting paradigm shift. Increasingly, leaders and practitioners recognize that development is not a “complicated” challenge that can be neatly parsed out into separate problems and siloed departments, like assembling a car. Rather, the various tasks of development—poverty eradication, improving governance, climate action, gender equality, and so on—are all connected, making development a “complex” challenge.

Combining Big Data and Thick Data to Improve Services Delivery - Ang, Yuen Yuen (IBM Center for The Business of Government, 2018)