Conflict narratives in fragile states are often framed by identity groups or other non-state actors along ideological or ethno-sectarian lines to achieve political ends. But in many instances, the main grievances of populations in affected communities are centered around basic dignity and livelihoods. Non-state actors, including violent extremists, often try to capitalize on these grievances…
This post originally appeared in Foreign Policy’s April Issue. Mert Tangonan was stuck. It was 2017, and Tangonan, a native of the Philippines, wanted to persuade the country’s largest banks to accept digital payments. With 99% of the transactions conducted in cash or checks across the nation’s 7,000 islands, the banks had little incentive to…
Individuals with disabilities, particularly women and girls, have long been excluded from planning and responding to natural disasters, the impacts of climate change, and external shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Research indicates that natural disasters and pandemics exacerbate pre-existing inequities, disproportionately affecting women and girls and increasing their risk of violence, abuse, and exploitation…
We’d like you to meet Andres McAlister! Andres is an integrated supply chain manager on the Global Health Supply Chain team on the PSM (Procurement Supply Management) Project. Andres discusses how he became interested in development, his experience in the MiniMasters program brought by Chemonics’ partnership with Arizona State University, and what motivates him. Andres…
Innovation. Beyond its value as a buzzword, what does it mean for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals? Like those of the past, today’s challenges – climate change, global health security, sociopolitical unrest – demand innovative solutions. As development professionals, how do we adopt the mindset needed to foster innovative thinking? What lessons can we learn…
Afghanistan stands on the brink of a historic peace deal with the Taliban. However, with a peace deal comes the prospect of incorporating the Taliban into the formal structures of governance. And with a unified government, questions emerge about the impact of such governance on women’s rights. Over the past 20 years, the United States…
Recently, Chemonics partnered with the University of Notre Dame (one of the partners in the creation of USAID’s Private Sector Engagement Evidence Gap Map) to conduct an in-depth survey of our development programs. The goal was to better understand how our projects are working with the private sector to achieve development impact — and, more…
News: Chemonics and University of Notre Dame Tackle Global Development Challenges in New Partnership
Chemonics International is excited to announce its collaboration with the University of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs as a global partner in the school’s Integration Lab (i-Lab), a core component of the university’s Master of Global Affairs degree program. Through the i-Lab, the university pairs small student teams with global development partners and…
This blog post has been adapted from an article in Journal of Social Science & Medicine – Population Health. If you’ve worked in development for long enough, at some point you’ve scratched your head about why a technically sound strategy achieved less than expected results. As the old business adage goes, “Culture eats strategy for…
Understanding cultural norms is essential to achieving results in development interventions and preventing interventions from causing unintended negative consequences. However, capturing norms within everyday contexts in ways that can be monitored and evaluated can be expensive and time consuming and is not always feasible. We tested a novel method, the cultural consensus analysis (CCA), in…