Tag Archives: Aid effectiveness

The underlying particulars of aid ineffectiveness in Afghanistan

Posted in: Voices of Afghanistan's Youth | May 15, 2013 at 10:13 am , by Guest Author/s

Continuing our series 'Voices of Afghanistan's Youth', Massúod Hemmat shares three stories of aid ineffectiveness in Afghanistan. We often bemoan aid ineffectiveness, but Massoud has witnessed duplication, lack of coordination and the primacy of political priorities first-hand. ...

Why your non-profit CEO needs to be the M&E officer

Posted in: Aid Effectiveness, M&E | April 11, 2013 at 9:00 am , by Emanuel Souvairan

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CEOs shouldn't just have a great smile, good business sense and a keen nose for fundraising; they need to be masters of monitoring and evaluation (M&E). Emanuel Souvairan of DevEd describes how M&E relates to NGO communications, donor relationships, and even organisational culture....

Monitoring, evaluation and the search for ‘impact’

Posted in: Aid Effectiveness, M&E | April 3, 2013 at 11:00 am , by Emanuel Souvairan

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Committed to saving lives or doing good but not yet daring enough to tackle the analysis required for monitoring and evaluation? Emanuel Souvairan, the Director of DevEd, describes the importance of good monitoring and evaluation along with some advice on how to determine what your impact is....

Good intentions are enough – to ‘nearly kill’ a local kid

Posted in: Aid Effectiveness, Ethics in development | March 25, 2013 at 9:00 am , by Guest Author/s

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Who has the right to make decisions about a child's health? An anonymous contributor describes how a situation where an NGO took responsibility for the care of an 11-year-old boy was nearly disastrous for the child, and how it raised all kinds of ethical questions about a child's care....

Goals are good, but do the MDGs need to be simplified?

Posted in: Aid Effectiveness, Alternatives in development | February 11, 2013 at 4:00 pm , by Scott Weathers

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This week we present three posts around the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). There are eight MDGs that need to be met by 2015. Given the unlikely even that all will be met, Scott Weathers suggests we condense the MDGs into something simpler....

Coming to a billboard near you: A very different portrayal of aid

Posted in: Aid Effectiveness, Foreign Aid | January 15, 2013 at 10:49 am , by Jennifer Lentfer

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An Oxfam ad at Reagan National Airport in Washington D.C.

Jennifer Lentfer, of Oxfam America, presents the the launch of a new campaign targeting Washington D.C's policymakers. Oxfam America is arguing that aid works, and in a language that policy makers can understand....

“In-donor refugee costs”: breaking down Australia’s latest aid ‘cut’

Posted in: Aid Effectiveness, Foreign Aid, Migration | December 18, 2012 at 8:22 pm , by Brendan Rigby

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Australia's Foreign Minister, Bob Carr, announced that $375 million in foreign aid will be re-allocated to cover the expenditure of refugees in Australia. This announcement has been met with outrage and derision. In this post, Brendan breaks down what it actually means and why such practices need to change....

Stop branding aid

Posted in: Ethics in development, Foreign Aid | October 29, 2012 at 9:00 am , by Josie Stewart

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Credit: Candice Villarreal/US Navy/USAid

In Liberia, and elsewhere, it is impossible to miss the international aid agencies' slogans, logos and flags, plastered on buildings, along the sides of cars and on peeling signs spread out along every roadway. The branding of aid is justified by the rights of the donors to take credit and...

Games in International Development: Fad or Innovation?

Posted in: Alternatives in development, Community Development | August 29, 2012 at 8:00 am , by Jennifer Lentfer

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"People have been playing more games these days in Washington D.C. And I don’t mean the strategies of the Obama and Romney spin teams." A Guest post by Jennifer Lentfer of how-matters.org on the value of using games in aid and development. ...

When does experience trump education?

Posted in: Career Advice, Education, Study | August 3, 2012 at 8:00 am , by Gregory Pellechi

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Aid and development is about doing practical work that has real world consequences, making experience a valuable asset for aid workers. So where in development is a formal qualification truly necessary? When does education truly trump experience? Greg Pellechi explores these questions in his first post for WhyDev....

(WO)MAN UP, DEV!

Posted in: Reflection, Self-help | June 7, 2012 at 10:00 pm , by Guest Author/s

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The Cynefin framework recognises that there are different types of systems in both our every-day lives and our work, and so we should not be approaching all of them in the same fashion. In this post, Justyna Król states that it is time to (wo)man up and stick our necks...

Don’t change the message. Change the messenger.

Posted in: Fundraising | May 16, 2012 at 10:00 pm , by Weh Yeoh

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Everything that we do in development is about selling a message. But how do we convince people when a message goes against the grain of what they already believe? As Weh Yeoh argues, framing the argument is important, but even more important is the person who is doing the framing....

Why I support isolated aid workers across the globe and so should you!

Posted in: Alternatives in development, Blogs, Coaching, Ethics in development, Psychology & Development, Reflection, Self-help | May 14, 2012 at 7:00 am , by Jennifer Lentfer

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Aid workers need to be able to know themselves before they can help others. Supporting and encouraging dedicated and self-identified change agents within aid institutions is crucial to moving this profession forward. In a guest post with us, Jennifer Lentfer, of the wildly successful blog How Matters, explains why a...

Aid and development: what works?

Posted in: Foreign Aid, Fundraising, Research | April 9, 2012 at 10:00 am , by Guest Author/s

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Using meta-analyses is one of the best ways to work out the effectiveness of programs in aid and development. Yet, getting this work off the ground is often difficult and costly. This week's post, from Eva Vivalt, highlights an interesting new initiative being started by student volunteers which is definitely...

Literacy in Development: the flaws with using literacy rates to inform development policy (part 3)

Posted in: Education | April 4, 2012 at 1:00 pm , by Alex Grey

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In her third post on literacy and development, Alex Grey examines some of the issues associated with using literacy rates as a measurement to inform development policy, and shows how problematic approaches to monitoring literacy can lead to problems on the ground....