This post originally appeared in the Council of International Development Companies’ (CIDC) Thought Leadership Compendium. Violent extremism’s threat to democracy and citizens’ security is growing and changing faster than domestic and international constituencies’ ability to contain it. Countering violent extremism (CVE) experts are urgently searching for effective means to prevent more people from embracing violent…
When designing a new project, how often do we set out to strengthen a particular actor’s or institution’s ability to “hold government to account?” What does that mean exactly? Maybe the better question to ask is: what is the most effective way to strengthen accountability in our development work? And then, what does it look…
For emerging markets, blended finance is the new cool kid on the block. It’s a tool that facilitates access to finance around the world, and it’s gaining momentum with the international development community. While articles discussing blended finance abound, development practitioners increasingly seek specific information about how to “do” blended finance. Chemonics and LixCap know…
With the recent Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the worst famine of the century in Yemen as a backdrop, delegations from member countries gathered in Bali last month for the Fifth Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) Ministerial Meeting. Since its inception in 2014, the GHSA has achieved a considerable number of…
What do forest and species loss have to do with politics? A great deal, in fact. Conserving and protecting natural resources involves a complex set of power dynamics, interests, and economies — licit and illicit — that affect how a program can operate within an existing local system. Biodiversity programming must embrace a Thinking and…
Across industries, companies work tirelessly to optimize their supply chains to get customers what they want, when they want it, and spend as little money as possible in the process. From agribusiness to e-commerce and information technology, companies strive for better data, stronger foresight, and breakthrough innovations that allow them to deliver high-quality goods faster…
The number of civilian deaths due to violent conflict more than tripled since 2007 — according to the World Bank and the United Nations’ Pathways for Peace study — and an estimated 65.6 million people have been displaced from their homes, largely due to conflict. The study also notes that the cost of responding to…
Last month was a magnificent culmination of events for us global health dreamers, with the Fifth Global Symposium on Health Systems Research (HSR2018) taking place in Liverpool, United Kingdom, the birthplace of the Beatles. Raised on my parents’ Fab Four vinyls, I walked along the River Mersey with John Lennon’s lyrics in my head. The…
Although international development programs often seek to extend aid efforts to the LGBTQ community as part of an inclusive development approach, these efforts can fail in places where there is a significant dichotomy between the program’s goals and the host country’s legislative and religious norms. LGBTQ efforts can be sidelined when aid efforts focus on…
This post originally appeared on the SEEP Network. What is the difference between a market distortion and a market disruption, and do we need to track data differently in these contexts? These are the fundamental questions that panelists at the 2018 SEEP Annual Conference session, M&E for Markets: Building Evidence, Tracking Distortions, and Measuring Success tried to answer. In…
Mosquitoes are the deadliest animals in the world, as Bill Gates notes in a 2014 blog post. While they are quite small and do not maul, poison, or drown people like many other animals, they carry diseases that can be deadly to humans. It is estimated that each year, mosquitoes are responsible for nearly one million…
This post originally appeared on the Frontline Health Workers Coalition’s blog. “There is a family of six children who were facing financial difficulties. I approached the husband and talked to him about family planning. He was hesitant at first, but now [his] wife is on Sayana Press. They recently stopped by my house to thank…