Lives Amid Violence: Transforming Development in the Wake of Conflict, by Mareike Schomerus, (Open Access here) is one of the wisest books I’ve read in a long time. To write it, she became a modern day hermit (‘solitude, storms and music’), retreating to the Shetland Islands to reflect on and synthesize the lessons of a monster 10 year ODI research

This might have to be my new email signature ht Irene Guijt Some excellent-looking content on localization, evidence-informed policy making, markets and more in the latest Development Policy Review (Open Access). Otherwise apologies for UK centrism, but it was that kind of week: The UK government lays out its new development objectives. ‘U.K. development policy “past its nadir”’. Here’s hoping.

Links I Liked x2Bread and roses – why Oxfam is shining a light on feminist movements this MarchWhite Saviorism in International development. Theories, Practices and Lived ExperiencesHow could a Funder help Promote Research for Impact?Does digitalised social protection worsen exclusion for women?Remembering Robin Palmer, a giant in defence of land rights in Africa and beyond

British (or British adjacent) readers will by now probably have digested the main headlines of yesterday’s budget, but Katy Chakrabortty digs deeper in this guest post. Since election manifestos tend to appear only twice a decade, party leadership pledges can be made in TV debates and quietly forgotten and the King’s Speech is delivered with an air of regal deference,

A tribute by Craig Castro Robin Palmer, Oxfam GB (OGB)’s former global land advisor, passed away on Sunday 19 February 2023. He was a wonderful friend and colleague from whom I personally learned so much about land and property rights in Africa. As a regional advisor for OGB in southern Africa, I worked closely with Robin in organizing a landmark

Particularly liked the series of rather splendid blogs for International Women’s Day, written by our amazing LSE students. Here’s my favourite, not least because of the lovely blogging style: Does digitalised social protection worsen exclusion for women? by Divija Samria Here’s the deal: digitisation of delivery mechanisms in public programs is increasingly being used to improve targeted approaches, reduce out-of-system

Had an interesting chat recently (Chatham House rule, so no names) with some people wondering what a philanthropic funder with a bit of money and little/no bureaucratic constraints could do to encourage the uptake of evidence in policy making. After swiftly batting away any suggestion of a new database (cyber tumbleweed), we got onto some practical steps – please add

Some cracking gallows humour from India ‘Aid, corruption, & neighbours in need: A reporter reflects on Somalia’s drought.’ Brilliant piece: ‘When I asked a woman at a camp recently what it felt like being dependent on NGO handouts for years on end, she replied “We feel like we have no soul.” And one for UK readers… Ministerial Whatsapp exchange during

Themrise Khan, Kanakulya Dickson and Maika Sondarjee introducing their new book Since the racial uprising following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, the world has been faced with the reality of racism in most of what is known as the progressive, Western world. Movements like Black Lives Matter and Rhodes Must Fall have brought to the forefront the ingrained

Victoria Stetsko introduces Oxfam’s “Feminist Power” campaign for International Women’s Day, where it will be celebrating organisations across the globe fighting for rights and respect for women and queer people “Hearts starve as well as bodies: give us bread, but give us roses,” sang striking women workers in the early 20th century United States. That movement’s famous demand for “Bread

Russia is now the biggest arms exporter to Africa, but what’s going on in Algeria? Can a systems change approach improve disaster management? Really interesting case study from Indonesia Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse: ’ Taliban bans contraception calling use a ‘western conspiracy’ The rise and fall of innovation labs in the aid sector. ‘German ballet

Talking you through this week’s posts, while you do the washing up/walk the dog Links I LikedFive types of humanitarian influence Upshift: Turning Pressure into Performance and Crisis into Creativity