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Nothing says ‘this needs a blog’ more than an over-long executive summary…. So here’s a summary and a few thoughts on ITAD’s report for the Gates Foundation on Champions: How to identify, support, and evaluate advocates for social change (full report 134 pages, Exec Sum 11 pages). I liked this because the aid sector is not always very thoughtful on

I’m not a great fan of post-growth/degrowth debates – not enough emphasis on how to actually change policy for my liking (compared to the ‘I’m right, the planet is frying, why won’t you listen!’ school of advocacy). But a new paper by the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity caught my eye because it explores precisely that interface between

Spent a happy 90 minutes last week connecting with a bunch of Oxfam campaigners taking part in its excellent Campaigns and Advocacy Leadership Programme. They had asked to discuss something which already feels a bit last decade – Theories of Change (ToCs). My random thoughts (powerpoint below) were cautiously worded, because I have a growing fear that in becoming a

US and UK politics summed up in a couple of pics Happy 90th birthday Robert Chambers – what a hero. Here are some tributes to his (ongoing) work. I want to be like him when I grow up….. A Kenyan citizen phones up the IMF switchboard and asks to cancel Kenya’s loan. V funny, and have to admire the IMF

Ah the joys of the Chatham House rule – just got back from the second of our two pilot sessions on our new course on influencing, for senior UN, INGO and other leaders in countries from Turkmenistan to Zambia. Thanks to the CHR, I can only use their words if I don’t quote name, institution or where they happened. So

Stefan Dercon introduces his new book, published today in the UK (review to follow) I am starting to appreciate why historians rarely study contemporary history. Interpreting the present is always hard. I have felt this weight in my two core activities over the last two years: providing advice on global affairs and development issues pertaining to development to a politician,

Loved this presentation at our Nairobi workshop by Patrick Gathara on use of satire in social change. 5 Strategies for Hitting a Writing Deadline. Best one is ‘Figure out when you’re most productive.’ Trouble is my morning window seems to be shrinking…. Proud of Oxfam America’s effort to get Big Pharma shareholders to vote for vaccine equity, with WHO Director-General

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Guest Post by Filippo Artuso and Barbara van Paassen, introducing a new episode on the People v Inequality podcast While many of us were living through the pandemic on interminable Zoom calls or watching Netflix, activists and changemakers around the world were finding new and innovative ways to respond to the pandemic. The curiosity to learn how these responses were

Still trying to recover from my minor dark night of the soul (more like a dark evening, really) on Adaptive Management, I was heartened by a new study from Christian Aid Ireland (CAI). The Difference Learning Makes: Factors that enable or inhibit adaptive programming is excellent,: well-written, encouraging, and probably warrants several posts. But attention spans being what they are,

It feels a bit odd to be reviewing a book when you’ve just had breakfast with the author, but I finished reading Hugo Slim’s overview of the Humanitarian system and its future on the way to a workshop we are both delivering in Nairobi, so good to write it up while it’s still fresh. First, the weird title: Solferino 21: