Links I Liked

June 28, 2019
In 2018, international humanitarian aid reached a high of US$28.9 billion. No thanks to US, UK or Germany, which all cut $. New high due to leaps from UAE & Saudi Arabia of $1.7 billion and $806 million respectively. ‘Building on Oxfam’s work on Carbon Inequality it’s time to focus on the Polluter Elite: wealthy executives and directors of large
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How does an INGO like Oxfam help Africa get a good deal from its Natural Resources?

June 26, 2019
I recently caught up with Gilbert Makore, Oxfam’s Extractive Industries Adviser in East Africa recently. You can listen to the 25m podcast for more nuance, but here are some extracts: The East African moment: ‘The region sits at a very exciting point – it’s one of the emerging oil and gas producers in the world, with significant gas resources in
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PEKKA, an inspiring example of feminist activism from Indonesia

June 25, 2019
Thanks to Jonathan Fox for politely prodding me until I read his Accountability Research Centre’s great case study of PEKKA, an amazing Indonesian women’s organization, co-published with Just Associates. Some extracts: ‘PEKKA’s work began in 2001, emerging from the Komnas Perempuan (Widows’ Project), which set out to document the lives of widows in the conflict-ridden Aceh region. In the Widows’
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The challenges facing female researchers in conflict settings

June 24, 2019
Irène Bahati is a teaching assistant at the Department of Commercial Sciences at ISP/Bukavu and researcher at the Research Group for Violent Conflict and Human Secutity GEC-SH. This piece is part of the new “Bukavu Series” blog posts by the GIC Network.  Research is often seen as a man’s job, and in a patriarchal society it can be socially difficult for a woman
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Take-up and Doubt: where have we got to on Thinking and Working Politically?

June 21, 2019
Spent a day this week at a Washington workshop on ‘From Thinking Politically to Working Politically’, organized by Abt Associates, whose Graham Teskey is one of the TWP gurus. What struck me most was the combination of the spreading acceptance of TWP approaches within the aid sector, and serious questions being asked about important aspects of the whole enterprise by
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“When will we get a report on your findings?”: reflections on researcher accountability from DRC

June 20, 2019
Christian Chiza Kashurha is a teaching assistant at the Department of History  of ISP-Idjwi and researcher at  GEC-SH, Bukavu, DRC. This piece is part of the new “Bukavu Series” blog posts by the GIC Network. Throughout the Global South, in countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, research projects of researchers in the North are increasingly carried out either by, or with
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Book Review: The Business of Changing the World, by Raj Kumar

June 18, 2019
I found reading The Business of Changing the World rather disturbing – a bit like being taken hostage by a cult and submitted to polite but persistent brainwashing for several days (I’m a slow reader). The cult in question is what Anand Giridharadas calls ‘MarketWorld’ – an effusive, evangelical belief in the power of markets, data and new tech to
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Links I Liked

June 17, 2019
Declining child mortality: historically, almost everywhere, about 1/2 died before their 15th birthday. The global average today is 1/10 of that – one child in 20, Still far too many, obviously, but a striking change. The creeping criminalisation of humanitarian aid: now it’s happening in Europe & US. V worrying trend. The spoof twitter ‘God’ (6 million followers) has been
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In ‘Winner Takes All’, Anand Giridharadas takes down philanthropy’s ‘MarketWorld’: Book Review

June 13, 2019
If you’ve ever been irked by the combination of arrogance, platitude, complacency and dismissiveness that often characterizes the private sector-aid complex (philanthropists, management consultants, foundations, impact investors and their groupies across the aid business), then this is the book for you. In Winner Takes All, Anand Giridharadas hangs out at their motivational talks and high end dinners, and spends time
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Maps in Court: how the Waorani are upholding their rights in Ecuador

June 12, 2019
Aliya Ryan is an anthropologist working with Digital Democracy on their Ecuador programme to support the Waorani and Siekopai territory mapping projects.  Last month the Waorani hit the headlines due to a landmark win against the Ecuadorian Government. Sixteen Waorani communities contested the supposed consultation that the government carried out in 2012 before putting millions of hectares of rainforest up
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How can Daniel Kahneman help organizations get better at Strategic Planning?

June 11, 2019
Oxfam is embarking on another round of strategic planning – a protracted process of research, debate and negotiation that sometimes make me wonder whether ‘INGO’ should really stand for ‘Interminable Navel-Gazing Ordeal’. Why the negativity? Partly because I worry that much of what is painfully agreed then sits on a virtual shelf until the next exercise 5 years on. The
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Links I Liked

June 10, 2019
Academic Writing Genres [ht @AcademicsSay] First draft: Horror Abstract: Action thriller Hypothesis section: Fantasy Results section: Tragedy Limitations section: True crime Implications section: Satire Grant application: Science fiction Calling all activists (of whatever kind). Oxfam’s (new, improved) free online course ‘Make Change Happen‘ has begun another 8 week run. Feedback says people like the content, but value the convos with
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