
May 31, 2023
Spent a half day at ODI recently discussing the reform of the Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) â the global ones like World Bank, the regional ones like the Asia or African Development Bank, and the new ones like the BRICs Bank. It was interesting for what was said, but also for what was missing. First what was said: On World
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Can humanitarian experience guide the development of new loss and damage funding?
May 24, 2023
After years of political wrangling, we are finally seeing some progress in terms of wealthy nations shouldering some (small part) of the burden of Loss & Damage â but how do we make sure we donât repeat the mistakes of the past? Debbie Hillier of Mercy Corps and Paul Knox Clarke of Adapt Initiatives explore in a new paper how
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What does politically smart support to democracy and human rights look like?
May 23, 2023
Guest Post by Laure-HĂ©lĂšne Piron and Alina Rocha Menocal with Kate Byom This blog is published to coincide with a webinar on âMaking a difference: How Applied Political Economy Analysis contributes to impact through better informed decisionsâ on Wednesday 24 May. It shares the findings of a Learning Review on the use of PEA in three USAID-funded human rights projects
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So I asked ChatGPT to write about the pros and cons of AI for International Development. What do you think?
May 22, 2023
In response to Fridayâs post on AI and Development, PS Baker asked when FP2P would publish its first AI generated post. Here you go. My Question: Write a 600 word blogpost on the risks and opportunities of AI for international development, in the style of Duncan Green’s From Poverty to Power blog ChatGPTâs response: ‘Introduction: Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged
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How do we Start Thinking About AI and Development?
May 19, 2023
Spent a mind-bending day this week discussing AI and development with some NGO and legal folk (Chatham House Rule, so thatâs all I can say, sorry). Everyone in the room knew at least ten times more than me on the subject. Perfect. Some impressions/ideas. The catalyst for the discussion was the UK Governmentâs new White Paper on AI and Innovation,
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Podcast + transcript: did we get it wrong on land grabs in Africa? In Conversation with Laura German
May 18, 2023
Laura German is Professor of Anthropology at the University of Georgia, and author of Power/Knowledge/Land: Contested Ontologies of Land and its Governance in Africa (University of Michigan Press) Duncan: I’m really pleased about this conversation because I’m way out of date on this topic. This is about land ownership and what we used to call land grabs. I last worked
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Where thinking and working politically meets gender: tactics that have worked
May 17, 2023
Guest post by Jane Lonsdale and Joanne Choe. This post was first published on the DevPolicy blog Questions that repeatedly come up when supporting reform programs include: how do we work with local politics to influence change without reinforcing existing elitism and capture of power? How do we âdance with the systemâ whilst at the same time trying to change the system?
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Why are Civil Wars Lasting Longer?
May 11, 2023
âWhy are civil wars lasting longer?â Asked a recent Economist essay â exactly the kind of big, hairy question to justify my subscription. Donât agree with all of it, but very thought-provoking. Some extracts from a typically highly readable piece: âThe average ongoing conflict in the mid-1980s had been blazing for about 13 years; by 2021 that figure had risen to 20.
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Public Engagement with Aid: What do we know from 10 years of research?
May 10, 2023
Went to a big event on public attitudes to aid recently . Weird being back in conference mode â panels galore, a few lightbulb moments, buzzy coffee breaks, the occasional bit of powerpoint poisoning. Still struggling to make sense of it all. Letâs try. The panel was presenting the findings of a 10 year research programme currently known most recently
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Linking Dignity & Development: Where have we got to?
May 4, 2023
Guest post by Tom Wein, Director of the IDinsight Dignity Initiative Five years ago, I published a post here on FP2P considering the role of dignity in development. Back then I wrote: âDevelopment aims to give people better lives. In doing so, we mainly aim to increase wealth and health â in part because we can measure those outcomes with
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Older and at the Sharp End: Why more Social Protection is needed to protect Older People in the global food, finance & fuel crisisÂ
May 3, 2023
Guest post by Babken Babajanian The current global crisis, with soaring prices for food and fuel, has been devastating for many people around the world. But for older people in poor countries with no access to pensions or social protection, it is particularly bleak. And worse still for older women. Sadly, although they are bearing the brunt of the crisis,
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Seeing the forest beyond the trees: Coalition building in Indonesia and beyond and the lessons for donors
May 2, 2023
Guest post by Nicola Nixon, Erman Rahman, Sumaya Saluja and Rahpriyanto Alam Surya Putra âCoalition-buildingâ: one of those topics that gets enthusiastic nods of approval among development practitioners. But what distinguishes effective from ineffective coalitions and what can donors do to support them?â In The Asia Foundationâs recent reflection paper On the right tack: reflections on coalition-building in The Asia
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