Greta Thunberg goes Death Metal and other Links I Liked

September 30, 2019
Note to would-be future politicians – destroy your school correspondence. Here’s young Boris Johnson’s (supposedly – I have no idea if it is a spoof). ‘How to analyse change processes’. My short paper is now Oxfam’s research guidelines series. 5% of the world’s population live less than 4m above sea level – the predicted rise by 2100 ht Max Roser
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#PowerShifts Resources: Lessons from the Global South for Surviving the Climate Crisis

September 27, 2019
Since the start of the #ClimateStrike past Friday September 20th, I have been moved by the avalanche of actions across the world to foreground the climate crisis, its devastating effects (present and future) and the demand for collective solutions. It is a tremendous glimpse of hope that so many voices have come together to call for a world where people’s existence, and their right to a dignified life, is valued above corporate
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What are the headlines of 8 years of research into Effective States and Inclusive Development?

September 24, 2019
At the end of a mind-bending 3 day conference on the findings of Manchester University’s ESID programme since 2011, I sat down with one of its masterminds, Sam Hickey and asked him to summarize it. He thinks and talks scarily fast, but stay with it – it’s great. We have summarized our findings as 3 Cs: Context, Capacity and Coalitions
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What are the downsides for Southern Scholars of Open Access to academic journals?

September 23, 2019
Duncan Green and Maria Faciolince consult #PowerShifts authors on how to try and sort out an unintended consequence of Open Access. For several years, there has been a push to make academic journals Open Access for readers, and Duncan’s been a big supporter. OA is a good thing in terms of allowing readers, North and South, to get access to
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2 Malawian school students who addressed the London Climate March, on the Crisis in Malawi

September 22, 2019
At the climate strike march in London on Friday I heard two Malawian high school students describing the critical situation back in their country. Later on I bumped into them at the Oxfam office (turns out we had invited them) and they kindly agreed to speak for a few minutes, even though they looked pretty tired. Here’s what they said:
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No Pain, No Gain in strategic planning: An open letter to my organization in 2040

September 20, 2019
Warren Krafchik, Executive Director of the International Budget Partnership got in touch to say he’d like to chip in on the discussion on strategic planning, kicked off recently by Mark Goldring. So, you’re thinking of embarking on a strategic planning process. A little over 20 years ago, I had this same thought and took IBP down a rather bumpy road.
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Naomi Hossain on The Politics of Education in Developing Countries: From Schooling to Learning

September 19, 2019
I recently caught up with the brilliant Naomi Hossain to discuss her latest book, edited with Sam Hickey, on educational reform in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ghana, Rwanda, South Africa, and Uganda . Open Access version available here. Do listen to the full 25m chat, but here’s some transcribed highlights for the time-starved. We wanted to look at the politics of social
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How can we think about climate change financing within a climate of inequality?

September 17, 2019
Starting this Friday, young people, their parents and entire communities around the world are mobilising in a special week of action to call for climate justice, 20-27 September. In this post, Harpreet Kaur Paul argues that just as the impacts of climate breakdown are not the same for everyone, neither is the responsibility for financing transformative repairs and solutions. Harpreet
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Post-Apocalyptic bookshops and other Links I Liked

September 16, 2019
Ah yes, balance HT @johnb78 World Population Growth. Brilliant, comprehensive, chart-tastic and interactive summary of everything you could want to know (and then some) about national/global demographics In Africa, ‘ the microcredit industry is not a driver of development and poverty reduction, but quite the opposite: it is an “anti-developmental”. Milford Bateman doing what he does best – beating up
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Why trust and intimacy are vital resources in research

September 12, 2019
Sandrine N’simire is a researcher at the Centre for Public Authority and International Development at the LSE. She discusses the challenge of building trust between researchers and respondents during research in Goma, DRC, and the eventual benefits from approaches that embrace trial and error.This post forms part of a series exploring Going Against the Flow, an ongoing project on water governance
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How does Coalitions for Change in the Philippines Compare with other Adaptive Management Programmes?

September 11, 2019
Following on yesterday’s podcast + transcript about the work of the Coalitions for Change (CfC) programme in the Philippines, I thought I’d compare it to the 3 Adaptive Management programmes I’ve also been studying in Tanzania, Nigeria and Myanmar. Let’s take context first, and then think about the nuts and bolts of the different programmes. 2 issues on Context: MICs
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Podcast: Thinking and Working Politically in a Pioneering Programme in the Philippines

September 10, 2019
Earlier this year I spent a fascinating week in the Philippines with the Coalitions for Change programme, one of the pioneers of ‘Thinking and Working Politically’ in the aid sector. CfC is run by The Asia Foundation and funded by the Australian Government. It ‘focuses on key policy reforms to improve lives of Filipinos and promote their economic well-being.’ I
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