In charting Bangladesh’s remarkable progress on a range of social indicators since the 1970s, Naila Kabeer explores the critical role played by women’s agency. How were women able to challenge existing gender norms in the context of the “lived” Islam of their culture? What are the lessons of this episode  – and what nuances are offered vis-à-vis the more “universal” path to progress and emancipation generally assumed by Western feminists?

Six months since the launch of the Activism, Influence and Change Programme at LSE, Duncan Green shares an update on the course and what will be coming next.

‘This movement wasn’t led by one person; it was collective and organic…’ Bill Omondi and Beverly Wakiaga reflect on last year’s protests to offer some thought on how INGOs and progressive organisations can show real solidarity.

If the development sector is serious about decolonisation, it must stop confusing optics with real, transformational change, argues Awssan Kamal.

The failure to deliver for poorer countries and the Trumpian backlash against free trade has shaken the dominance of the liberalisers and deregulators, says Duncan Green. He reports back from a recent gathering where experts unpicked emerging themes in a chaotic time for global trade policy: including the shift away from the multilateral system to bilateral treaties; and the heartening success of countries from Rwanda to Vietnam to Ecuador that have defied the old consensus.

Maya Mailer unpacks the theory of change of an innovative climate change group, which uses artistic, eye-catching stunts outside corporate HQs, narratives of hope and the social status of mothers to talk to parts of the private sector that other climate activists often struggle to reach.

How to finance real water justice around the globe? Jo Trevor on four insights from a thought-provoking workshop at the recent Marmalade Festival in Oxford.

Vadym Georgienko introduces an innovative democracy programme in Ukraine that offers real influence over how community funds are spent to those who get active in civic and community life, whether that’s by clearing leaves, planting greenery or knitting socks. Want to find out more about these citizen tokens? Come to the online conference Citizen Capital: From Within next week, on June 12.

Duncan Green introduces the brand-new edition of an Oxfam course for changemakers that he helped to design. And you can now learn how to make change happen in Arabic, French and Spanish, as well as English…

Duncan Green reviews a new book by a giant in the field of community organising and explores the differences between that approach to driving change and the policy-focused advocacy typically used by NGOs.

What happens when you support communities unconditionally to act as they see fit to tackle malnutrition? You get initiatives that seem, on the face of it, a long way from typical malnutrition interventions, whether that’s making soap, refurbishing a health centre or starting a poultry farm. Stephanie Buell of Action Contre la Faim on the “Boolo Xeex Xibon” project in Senegal – and how it actually put the community at the centre of the fight against malnutrition.

What does it take to persuade policy makers to make real progressive change? Kath Ford explains how Oxford University’s Young Lives study found success with a combination of robust longitudinal data, translating research into policy influencing and, crucially, relationships built painstakingly over many years.