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Should I birth a book? Top tips from a ‘book doula’

August 6, 2024
Always wanted to write that book about progressive change but don’t know where to start? Oxfam’s Irene Guijt shares tips from an expert…
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Want to decolonise your INGO? Get used to taking a back seat…

May 30, 2024
‘Dinosaurs’ must become ‘chameleons’ and ‘ostriches’ change into ‘eagles’ as international NGOs fundamentally rethink their role so they can work in true partnership with local actors, says Oxfam’s Adama Coulibaly
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How will political and economic shocks drive social change? Please help me write a paper…..

March 1, 2012
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Positive deviance: spotting the hidden innovations in development work

February 8, 2011
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Financial crises at a glance: bank crashes, geopolitics and how long til the rebound?

January 12, 2009
Here are two illuminating graphics from the Financial Times and Economist. First up is a figure from Martin Wolf’s latest column in the FT, itself based on a new paper by Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff, showing the proportion of the world economy affected by banking crises, from 1900-2008. Its main features are a spike around the Great Depression of the
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Final thought on Complexity Economics

January 9, 2009
This week, I’ve been mulling over Eric Beinhocker’s book, ‘The Origin of Wealth: Evolution, Complexity and the Radical Remaking of Economics’ (see previous posts – an overview and a discussion of the implications for our models of change). One question that remains is ‘why aren’t there more books like this?’ The initial idea of  ‘Complexity Economics’ dates from an epic debate
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Complexity Economics and Evolution – a Truly Big Idea

January 5, 2009
I spent much of the Christmas break sneaking off to read chapters of Eric Beinhocker’s path-breaking 2006 book ‘The Origin of Wealth: Evolution, Complexity and the Radical Remaking of Economics’. There’s probably too much to cover in one post, so I’ll follow up this overview with some more specific reflections in the days to come.
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Shocks and Change

December 29, 2008
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Complexity, Chaos, Catastrophes and Change: Is the New Physics much help to development wonks?

December 26, 2008
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I just read four novels in a row…

December 12, 2008
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Does Grassroots Activism Work? Two new collections of case studies

December 4, 2008
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Fixing Failed States

February 23, 2008
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