The Action for Empowerment and Accountability research programme (covered regularly on this blog) is drawing to a close in a welter of research papers summarizing their findings. I was particularly taken with the one from the ‘Governance at the Margins’ team, both because of the format and the content. Here’s the link (sorry, forgot it in first version of this

The world’s wealthiest people, whose fortunes already strained comprehension, collectively gained $1 trillion last year, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. It’s the smiles that get you…. ‘For lots of people, the nuts & bolts of practical political action can often be daunting. Which is why @galdemzine is launching our brand new ‘How To’ series – a collection of straightforward guides

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Back in the day, when I was doing advocacy on trade and globalization, I was struck by the extent to which the underlying assumptions of International NGOs resembled those of their governments – the liberal Anglo-Saxons targeted European subsidies, or northern tariffs, both of which they argued damaged southern producers. The French and Germans often seemed more interested in protecting

This made me feel ancient Bad news on multiple fronts from the aid and development sector. ‘The Government of India’s decision to refuse renewal of Oxfam India’s Foreign Contribution Regulation Act registration will severely affect the ongoing humanitarian & social work in 16 states across the country.’ From Save the Children: ‘With profound sadness we confirm two of our staff

and with that, I’m clocking off for Christmas – see you in 2022

We’ve had a cracking series of lectures and discussions on our Friday afternoon LSE ‘Cutting Edge Issues in Development Thinking and Practice’ series, so I thought I’d post some links to the youtube videos and podcasts for those who are looking for some escape from the family Christmas (or otherwise just need some good brainfood). Grouping a bit by subject

Calling all geography teachers. Two maps of Mercator v geographical reality ht Sony Kapoor and Richard Spoor. Update: According to Helen Bunting (see comments) the Russia v Africa comparison is one of those ‘killer facts’ that, ermm, isn’t. Apologies to the geography teachers. USAID chief Samantha Power details its new localization push. Some v interesting detail and nuance in here.

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Another day, another conversation on research for impact, this time with ICIMOD, a network of thinktanks working to protect people, environment and culture across 8 countries of the Himalayan region. They asked me to record the conversation, thereby producing an accidental podcast. Here’s a partial, tidied-up transcript for those who prefer the written word. I’ve focussed on things that add

Guest post from Harley Wishart What do LGBTQIA+ rights have to do with gender-based violence? Well, a lot actually. Think about it. Patriarchal culture exists on the basis of an assumed gender binary that reinforces a power dynamic. Man/Woman: Man>Woman. Relationships between men and women are socially defined in relation to each other, reinforcing the binary through compulsory heterosexuality. The

Can’t help feeling like there’s already a name for this ht @bigdybbukenergy How Bangladesh is beating the odds on climate disaster deaths: excellent and hope-inducing case study in adaptation ‘The Triple Threat to Civil Society in India’ Catch up on Ingrid Srinath’s great lecture (with David Lewis discussing) as a blog, podcast or youtube video A Dillingham (Alaska) teenager turned