In the DRC, are we ready to acknowledge what doesn't work as well as what does? Can we overcome our instinct to protect ourselves and learn from our mistakes to do better? Pete Vowles is Deputy Head of DFID DRC and a father of two, living, working and learning in the heart of the world's poorest country.
There is a rising groundswell of interest in how international donors can rapidly respond to changing contexts, developing adaptive competences and incentives. Owen Barder, Duncan Green, Matt Andrews, Tim Harford and Ben Ramalingam have all been writing about these issues …
Over the past 5 years we have almost entirely re-engineered the way DFID manages programmes and made some significant improvements. We have introduced, among other things: more rigorous design templates, tougher spending controls, better contract management policies, systematic quality assurance stronger use of …
Leaders from 11 countries met yesterday (Sunday 24th Feb) in Addis Ababa and signed a Peace, Security and Cooperation Framework agreement intended to bring peace to the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of Congo. After nearly a year of renewed fighting in …
No one would dare to suggest that every international development programme or policy has been a resounding success, yet finding the space to acknowledge and learn from instances of failure is still hard work. Happily though, there are signs that this …
Does our aid have the impact that was anticipated? How much does it change the lives of the world’s poorest people and for how long? What works, what doesn’t and why? And, what could we do differently? We conduct evaluations …
Last week I travelled to the province of Equateur in north-western Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to launch a bednet distribution programme that will protect 8 million people from malaria. Equateur is the DRC's largest province - larger than Zimbabwe. …
20 years ago I embarked on my first development job with Students Partnership Worldwide (SPW) - SPW has since changed its name to Restless Development and is leading the charge in youth-led development. As a naïve but an adventurous 18-year-old volunteer, …
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