I once commented to a caseflow management trainer that caseflow management is “as much art as science.” He replied that it is actually “much more art” than science. My work on rule of law projects has led me to the same conclusion. Democracy and governance (D&G) programs are dynamic. Each program begins with a clear…
When approaching retirement, having a stable pension in place makes an enormous economic and psychological difference. Without that financial stability, however, it is easy for the elderly to fall into poverty. In Armenia, the risk of poverty is 1.2 times higher for households with two or more elderly people (over 60 years of age). This…
For many people, land is not merely a source of survival; it also evokes a deep sense of community, identity, history, and belonging. In Tajikistan, land is owned by the state, and citizens must apply for “use rights” to farm it. Even if farmers are successful, those rights can later be confiscated without warning. This…
As the head of Chemonics’ Democracy and Governance practice, I’m pleased to invite you to join us in an ongoing discussion about programming, trends, innovations, and experiments in this critical sector of international development work. To get the conversation going, I’m sharing here some thoughts that I hope will help structure our discussions moving forward.…
The count of African countries supposedly increased by one in June, when a Virginia man planted a flag in the disputed territory of Bir Tawil and claimed himself king of “North Sudan.” He based his claim on the doctrine of terra nullius, “land not under the sovereignty of any state.” The news article was something…
After decades of expansion, the space for civil society is closing in many parts of the world as governments adopt increasingly restrictive measures against civil society organizations (CSOs). This year’s USAID Democracy, Human Rights and Governance (DRG) Partners Forum, which took place June 19 to 20 in Washington, D.C., brought together leading civil society experts from…
In Quibdo, the departmental capital city of Choco in the northwest region of Colombia, a pervasive, yet unspoken, crisis has affected the lives of generations of women and girls living amid violence, fear, and a sense of hopelessness. In an area of Colombia where poverty index rates are double the nation’s poverty index — at…
What do you do when you are in danger of losing half of your land to an influential businessman? Gulbahor Rajabova, a farmer from Tajikistan, found herself in this precarious situation more than four years ago. She had to act fast to make sure she didn’t lose her land, and subsequently, her livelihood. Such scenarios…
The USAID Strengthening Educational Performance-Up (STEP-Up) Zambia project began in December 2011. This report describes how the project team’s first challenge was to understand why the primary education system in Zambia, which once performed well, had in recent years (circa 2012) struggled to deliver quality education and produce students who succeed in higher education. STEP-Up’s…
Final Report: Paraguay Threshold Country Program: Focus Area II Formalization of Economic Activities
According to the Central Bank of Paraguay’s (BCP) preliminary figures for 2007, the private sector—defined as “economic activities not produced by the public sector”—accounted for 85% of GDP. Formalization enables this critical sector for economic development to become better organized and more stable. This report describes the results of the improvements implemented and their impact…
The Indonesian Supreme Court is initiating reforms to increase transparency and public access to information through its Legal and Public Affairs Bureau (Humas). Humas, which was established in September 2007, has been carrying out public information reforms within the Supreme Court. A four-year USAID project, Changes for Justice, has been assisting Humas in carrying out its…