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…
Check out our countdown of the 10 most popular blog posts from 2019! 10. To Respond to the Venezuelan Migration Crisis, Let’s Also Tap the Private Sector By Ariana Szepesi-Colmenares As Venezuelan migrants navigate challenges in host countries, the private sector must play an active role in maximizing their economic opportunities. 9. Development Works Here…
Because of IFMS support, Haitian government agencies had real-time access to expenditure data through the improved IFMS network. Entities can send and receive key data faster and make more informed planning decisions. IFMS installed the UXP, a technology developed in Estonia that enables peer-to-peer data exchange over encrypted and mutually authenticated channels. IFMS contributed to…
In discussing and measuring project success, the international development community is increasingly turning to “data-driven deliverables” that collect solid, demonstrable data to show project results and to build, design, and implement successful development programs. Yet the development industry, by nature, works in places where high-quality, reliable, and consistent data is hard to collect. Local environments,…
Girls and women with disabilities experience up to 10 times more gender-based violence than those without disabilities (United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) global study). This can include physical or sexual violence, often perpetrated by family members or neighbors who know they are alone at home. To compound the situation further, women with disabilities have a…
Accountability ecosystems are defined as the relationship between multiple levels of government, citizen collective action, civil society advocacy, and institutions, wrapped together by a web of social, political, and cultural factors in a given country context. The relationship between multiple levels of government, citizen collective action, civil society advocacy, and institutions, wrapped together by a…
Photo courtesy of USAID Colombia Human Rights Activity. This post originally appeared on Devex. When everyone is struggling to recover from violent conflict, singling out one community for assistance among many ethnic and religious identities can actually make matters worse. Yet, to heal the inter-community rifts that set the stage for conflict, targeted outreach to…
Implemented by Chemonics, USAID’s five-year Strengthening Advocacy and Civic Engagement (SACE) Program in Nigeria differed from most civil society organization (CSO) capacity development and governance projects by taking a different approach to the traditional formula of enhancing capacity development and strengthening government accountability. Rather than using grants to support CSOs to implement a linear project strategy focused…
Last month in Morelia, Michoacán in Mexico, a woman returned to her vehicle to find she was being ticketed by a police officer for parking in a no parking zone. She became verbally aggressive towards the officer, pushed him, and accused him of distributing tickets only to collect bribes. Three years ago, Morelia authorities would…
This post was adapted from an interview between Elisabeth Dallas, Chemonics’ Peace, Stability and Transition Practice director, and Todd Diamond, a conflict, stability, and security director in Chemonics’ U.K. Division. For the full interview, watch the video below. How are violent extremism and gang violence — and the development community’s approaches to them — similar?…