SAVI Approach Paper 12: Managing Programme Finances to Support Adaptive, Locally-led Processes of Citizen Engagement in Governance - SAVI (DFID, 2016)
SAVI, is seeking to support processes of citizen engagement in governance in ways that are effective in influencing reform, and that are able to take on a life of their own without continuing donor support. SAVI is also an adaptive programme, putting learning and adaptation at the centre of all decision-making. Money is used and...

SAVI Approach Paper 13: Measuring Value for Money and using Value for Money Analysis - SAVI (DFID, 2016)
SAVI has established its own framework for assessing Value for Money in annual performance – in relation to expenditure, economy, efficiency, effectiveness and equity. Routine tracking and analysis of expenditure and economy ensure that inputs are supplied and services delivered to partners in line with SAVI’s core values, whilst also meeting DFID requirements and competing...

SAVI Approach Paper 14: Learning, Adaptation and Communications - SAVI (DFID, 2016)
SAVI, a DFID funded programme implemented by Palladium, is an adaptive programme, aiming to put learning and adaptation at the centre of all decision-making. Learning and adaptation takes place in SAVI at three levels: the work of partners; the work of SAVI delivery teams; and the enabling environment of the programme as a whole. Achieving...

SAVI Approach Paper 15: Introduction to PERL: the SAVI Successor Programme - SAVI (DFID, 2016)
In May 2016, SAVI transitioned into a successor programme – the ‘Engaged Citizens Pillar’ (ECP) of a wider DFID-funded governance reform programme ‘The Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn’ (PERL). ECP is managed by the same service provider, Palladium, and the same core management team as SAVI, and many of the SAVI front line staff...

SAVI Approach Paper 2: Programme Design - SAVI (DFID, 2015)
SAVI supports citizen engagement in governance through a facilitated partnership approach, in contrast to the usual approach of grants to civil society organisations (CSOs). The overall aim is to facilitate and support working relationships and processes of reform that are home-grown, self-sustaining and, after initial engagement, not dependent on external support. Our way of working...

SAVI Approach Paper 3: Theory of Change - SAVI (DFID, 2015)
SAVI’s theory of change is a simple, practical guide that staff and partners use to plan and to monitor change – as well as to reflect on and enhance their own effectiveness. It sets out broad stages of attitude and behaviour change over time to facilitate effective citizen engagement in governance processes, systems and structures....

SAVI Approach Paper 4: Thinking and Working Politically - Supporting partners and staff through a participatory apporach to political economy analysis - SAVI (DFID, 2015)
Thinking and acting politically is central to the SAVI programme. We support staff and partners to analyse the power relations that shape change in their state, and to use this knowledge to inform their decision-making. This includes decisions made by SAVI state teams relating to the issues and partners they engage with and support, and...

SAVI Approach Paper 5: Defining and Measuring Results - SAVI (DFID, 2015)
SAVI aims to facilitate replicable and sustainable processes of citizen engagement in governance. The programme in each state is locally defined, flexible and adaptive, and results are not predictable in advance. Standardised monitoring tools are not applicable, and consequently we have evolved our tools and frameworks during the programme through processes of learning by doing....

SAVI Approach Paper 6: Engaging Civil Society - SAVI (DFID, 2015)
SAVI state teams provide support to CS groups to become more effective agents of citizens’ voice and public accountability, through a variety of mutually reinforcing interventions. These include: hands-on support to demonstration civil society Advocacy Partnerships (APs) facilitating working partnerships between civil society APs, SHoAs, and the media brokering working relationships between all of these...

SAVI Approach Paper 7: Promoting Gender Equality and Social Inclusion - SAVI (DFID, 2015)
We promote attention to gender equality and social inclusion in all of our engagement with CS groups, the media and SHoAs, and in all of the issues and processes they work on. In all the states we work in, we also support partners to focus on some issues and form some partnerships and networks which...

SAVI Approach Paper 8: Engaging the Media - SAVI (DFID, 2015)
The overall aim of SAVI engagement with the media is for media representation of citizens’ interests to become normal, and play its part in helping state governments to be more responsive, inclusive and accountable to their citizens. Media partners – individual media personnel and selected media houses – are supported to be more effective agents...

SAVI Approach Paper 9: Engaging State Houses of Assembly - SAVI (DFID, 2015)
The overall aim of SAVI engagement with SHoAs is to promote lasting reforms that are not dependent on external funding and which promote an increasingly more responsive and accountable relationship between Nigerian state governments and their citizens. SHoAs are supported to be more effective agents of citizen voice and public accountability, demanding better performance from...

State Accountability and Voice Initiative (SAVI) - Approach Paper Series - SAVI (DFID, 2016)
We are piloting a new approach to identifying and supporting our partners. This breaks with convention in many ways in order to improve impact. Our approach is summarized in the Introduction to SAVI’s way of working. We have broken our approach down into key components – depicted in the form of our ‘knowledge tree’ –...
Keywords: IMPORTANT

“Cash Plus” programmes for children - Save the Children (Save the Children, 2017)
This paper provides a resource on “Cash Plus” interventions for children. These interventions combine household cash transfers with complementary, context-relevant interventionsn in order to address the multiple drivers of childhood deprivations and generate more powerful impacts for children across Save the Children’s Breakthroughs, in both development and humanitarian contexts.

Using Systemigrams in Problem Definition: A Case Study in Maritime Resilience for Homeland Security - Sauser, Brian; Mansouri, Mo; Omer, Mayada (Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, 2011)
The concept of resilience has been used among a diversity of fields with a myriad of definitions. A systems approach to discovering the essence of resilience could aid in understanding its concept and provide opportunities to distinguish its systemic characteristics that can be identified, planned, or analyzed regardless of the field in which it is considered. In order to begin executing such an approach, a comprehensive study of the literature on the topic and circumstances in which resilience has been used or referred to in several fields of studies is necessary. In this paper, the conceptual common denominator of resilience is identified based on the results of a literature survey and according to the way it has been used in different contexts. This basis leads to the objective of this effort, and that is to recognize the systemic characteristics of resilience and demonstrate the defining of a universally accepted definition. Using a soft systems methodology and a supporting systemic diagramming technique entitled Systemigrams, we present the formulation of defining resilience in maritime homeland security. In this effort, many stakeholders contributed their thoughts and concerns on the meaning and operational use of resilience through a repetitive process to formulate a definition of the term. The result of this methodic approach is a general definition of resilience that has been refined in a collaborative environment via the application the Boardman Soft Systems Methodology.

What is Rapid Action Learning and how was it developed? - Sanitation Learning Hub (2020)
To celebrate the publication of our latest Frontiers of Sanitation, we had a series of conversations with our colleagues and partners on our work on Rapid Action Learning so far. To download the publication in full, head to https://sanitationlearninghub.org/res...

Probes, toolkits and prototypes: three approaches to making in codesigning - Sanders, Elizabeth B.-N.; Stappers, Pieter Jan (CoDesign, 2014)
The role of making in the design process has been growing, taking on new forms and involving new players over the past 10 years. Where we once primarily saw designers using making to give shape to the future, today we can see designers and non-designers working together, using making as a way to make sense of the future. In this paper, we describe the landscape of design research and practice at the end of 2013 with special attention to the role of making across these perspectives: approach (cultural probes, generative toolkits and design prototypes), mindset (designing for people and designing with people), focus in time (the world as it is, the near future and the speculative future) as well as variations in design intent (provoking, engaging and serving).

Perspectives on Participation in Design - Sanders, Elizabeth (Wer gestaltet die Gestaltung? Praxis, Theorie und Geschichte des partizipatorischen Designs, 2013)
OCLC: 930782596
Keywords: Design

HIV, food and drugs: Livelihoods, nutrition and Anti-retroviral Therapy (ART) in Kenya and Zambia - Samuels, Fiona; Rutenberg, Naomi (ODI, 2008)
Key points • ART has restored the health of many people living with HIV, but their livelihoods lag behind • Good nutrition is important for people on ART. Food supplementation can help, but is no substitute for sustainable livelihoods • The livelihoods of people on ART can be bolstered through skills, livelihood networks, assets and cash or food transfers

Caja de Herramientas PDIA - Un enfoque “hazlo tú mismo” para resolver problemas complejos - Samji, Salimah; Andrews, Matt; Pritchett, Lant; Woolcock, MIchael (Center for International Development at Harvard University, 2018)
(Spanish version of he PDIA toolkit) The PDIAtoolkit is designed to guide you through the process of solving complex problems which requires working in teams. We call it a Do-it-Yourself (DIY) kit, where the ‘you’ is a committed team of 4-6 people mobilized to work together to solve a complex problem that cannot be solved by one person.

PDIA Toolkit - A DIY Approach to Solving Complex Problems - Samji, Salimah; Andrews, Matt; Pritchett, Lant; Woolcock, MIchael (Center for International Development at Harvard University, 2018)
The PDIAtoolkit is designed to guide you through the process of solving complex problems which requires working in teams. We call it a Do-it-Yourself (DIY) kit, where the ‘you’ is a committed team of 4-6 people mobilized to work together to solve a complex problem that cannot be solved by one person.

Building a Movement of Public Problem Solvers - Building State Capability - Samji, Salimah (Building State Capability, 2021)
Solving public problems is a hard and thankless job. One that is undertaken with a shortage of time as well as resources, and often under pressure to deliver results. A common approach used to solve public problems is to develop a plan, sometimes with experts, and then to assume that implementation will happen on autopilot. To quote Mike Tyson, “Everyone has a plan ’till they get punched in the mouth.” The question is, what do you do after you get punched? Continue with your existing plan? Or do you learn from the punch?

PDIA Course: Alumni are already practicing what they learned - Samji, Salimah (Building State Capability, 2017)
written by Salimah Samji We offered 4 free PDIA online courses between November 2015 and June 2016. They were well received and 365 people, living in 56 countries, successfully completed the course…

PDIA Notes 2: Learning to Learn - Samji, Salimah (Building State Capability, 2016)
written by Peter Harrington After over two years of working with the government of Albania, and as we embark on a new project to work with the government of Sri Lanka, we at the Building State Capa…

Miradi Measures Dashboard Demo - Salzer, D (2013)
Live demonstration (view in HD) of a new online measures dashboard site (http://miradi.sitkatech.com) that allows users of the Miradi Adaptive Management software (http://miradi.org) to share the progress they are making towards achieving their desired results

Has Kenya’s ICT revolution triggered more citizen participation? - Salome, Nyambura (Institute of Development Studies, 2016)
Lessons from policy in Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania
Keywords: IMPORTANT

How to create an agile organization - survey - Salo, Olli; Ahlbäck, Karin; Fahrbach, Clemens; Murarka, Monica (McKinsey & Co., 2017)
Eighteen practices for organizational agility The survey asked respondents about a series of specific actions that underlie each of the 18 practices (9 of them stable, and 9 dynamic) of organizational agility; all of the practices are summarized in the table below. To rate respondents’ organizations, we asked how frequently their performance units engaged in each action that supports a given practice.

The Voice of the Farmer In Agricultural Extension: A Review of Beneficiary Assessments of Agricultural Extension and An Inquiry into their Potential as a Management Tool - Salmen, Lawrence F (World Bank, 1999)

Beneficiary Assessment: An Approach Described - Salmen, Lawrence (World Bank, 2002)
Beneficiary assessment is a tool for managers who wish to improve the quality of development operations. This is an approach to information gathering which assesses the value of an activity as it is perceived by its principal users. The approach is qualitative in that it attempts to derive understanding from shared experience as well as observation, and gives primacy to the centrality of the other person’s point of view. As the Bank and others engaged in development activities seek to do their work better, one key indicator will need to be how the ultimate customer, or intended beneficiary, assesses the value of this work, project or policy, as it affects his or her life. The illumination of how an intended beneficiary appreciates a planned or ongoing developmental activity is the primary objective of this approach. Beneficiary assessment is a systematic inquiry into people’s values and behavior in relation to a planned or ongoing intervention for social and economic change. This method draws heavily from the tradition in social science known as "qualitative research...that fundamentally depends on watching people in their own territory and interacting with them in their own language, on their own terms" (Kirk and Miller). Yet beneficiary assessment also includes direct observation, incorporating simple counting, and is expressed in quantitative terms. The ultimate goal of beneficiary assessment is to reveal the meaning people give to particular aspects of their lives so that development activities may better enhance people’s ability to improve their own living conditions, as they see fit. This demands close rapport between the practitioner of this approach, the beneficiary and the development manager. The beneficiary assessment approach is not intended to supplant the questionnaire survey but to provide reliable qualitative, indepth information on the socio-cultural conditions of a beneficiary population which is intended to be of immediate use to managers and policymakers responsible for improving people’s lives.

Toward a Listening Bank: A review of best practices and the efficacy of Beneficiary Assessment - Salmen, Lawrence (1998)
"This paper will first provide a descriptive overview of the beneficiary assessment (BA) work done on World Bank projects (by region, sector, phase of cycle, and so forth); it will then discuss impact, both qualitatively (with case studies) and quantitatively; and finally it will propose a course that, if taken, could lead to a Bank that truly listens and is attuned as much to the perspectives of the governments and peoples it serves as to the financial markets it helps sustain." "BAs use the qualitative techniques of conversational interviewing, focus groups, and participant observation with representative samples of key actors, such as the intended—usually poor—beneficiaries, service providers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other local public- and private-sector leaders; analysis and the presentation of results are done as quantitatively as possible." Contents Beneficiary Assessment and the World Bank: An Overview Beneficiary Assessments in Africa Impact Case Studies Impact on Project Design Impact on Direct Cost Savings Summary of Quantifiable Impacts on Project Design and Objectives A Note on Methodology Complete the Paradigm Shift

Introducing the CLA Maturity Tool for Implementing Partners - Salib, Monalisa; Ziegler, Jessica (Social Impact, 2023)
On December 13, 2022, Social Impact hosted a webinar in our Evidence for Impact series, "Strengthen Your Team's CLA Practices: Introducing the CLA Maturity Tool for USAID Implementers." Through the session, we shared more about the origin and history of the USAID tool upon which this version is based, why and how we updated
Section: Uncategorized

Help! I’m hiring new staff and I want them to work adaptively. A guide to hiring adaptive employees. - Salib, Monalisa (USAID LEARN, 2019)
If you are involved in hiring, this tool can help you increase your chances of selecting staff members skilled in adaptive management. It will help answer the questions: Which competencies should I recruit for in order to hire more adaptive employees? Which desired qualifications should I incorporate into position descriptions to attract adaptive employees? Which interview questions should I ask to screen for adaptive employee competencies? You should use this tool when you decide to hire a new individual - whether that be a direct hire, contractor, or consultant - or when you are changing an individual’s current position description or scope of work. Specifically, this tool will help you determine which qualifications are most important for the position and offers interview questions you can use with candidates. — You’re in luck! We just released a new guide for hiring adaptive employees. This visual and user-friendly tool will help increase your chances of selecting staff skilled in adaptive management. Here are the details: What do you mean by “work adaptively” or an “adaptive employee”? An adaptive employee is an individual who, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, systematically acquires and uses knowledge to make decisions and adjustments in their work in order to achieve greater impact. Why focus on adaptive employees? Why does it matter? With industries, technologies, and organizations in a near constant state of flux, leaders are recognizing the importance of adaptability as a critical capacity. Because of this, it’s not surprising that a recent LinkedIn report found that adaptability was the most important soft skill hiring managers were screening for. In addition, evidence shows that teams that apply more data-driven and adaptive leadership practices perform better than those that focus less on these practices. It makes sense, then, that managers want to recruit more team members who are skilled in adaptive management - it helps achieve results. Who should use this tool? Anyone involved in hiring, responsible for developing or approving position descriptions, participating in interviews, and/or approving new hires. When should I use this tool? Use it as soon as you decide to hire a new staff person or when you’re adjusting existing position descriptions. What does the tool help me do? It will help you think through: Which competencies should I recruit for in order to hire more adaptive employees? Which desired qualifications should I incorporate into position descriptions to attract adaptive employees? (You can even copy and paste qualification language from the tool into scopes of work!) Which interview questions should I ask to screen for adaptive employee competencies? (You can copy and paste interview questions into your screening, interview, and reference check protocols!) Has the tool been tested? Yes, staff within USAID’s Global Development Lab and on the USAID LEARN contract tested the tool, providing feedback on the minimum viable product and subsequent versions. Testers confirmed finding the tool useful, and gave it a 9/10 score when asked if they would recommend it to colleagues. Some specific feedback from testers included: "The tool prompts deeper thought on what you might need and want in a job candidate" and "All [of the interview questions I used from the tool] worked well." What about the existing staff? How can they gain greater skills in adaptive management? Existing USAID staff and implementing partners can access online training in collaborating, learning, and adapting (CLA) and find resources in the CLA Toolkit. USAID staff also have access to an internal CLA community of practice and five-day, in-person CLA training.

Theory of Change Workbook: A Step-by-Step Process for Developing or Strengthening Theories of Change - Salib, Monalisa (USAID, 2022)
While over time theories of change have become synonymous with simple if/then statements, a strong theory of change should actually be a much more detailed, context-specific articulation of how we *theorize* change will happen under a program.

“There’s no money for that.” Three Ways to Resource Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting - Salib, Monalisa (USAID Learning Lab, 2016)
This blog is the third in an ongoing series exploring the components of USAID's CLA Framework. Here is the first blog on organizational culture and the second on effective learning.

The Internet and Democracy Building in Lusophone African Countries - Salgado, Dr Susana (Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2014)
This timely book fills an important gap in the literature on the influence of the Internet and new media in Portuguese speaking African countries. Based on extensive field work throughout the region the author examines the influence of the Internet in the transition to democracy in Africa, and asks whether there are new possibilities for popular activism to emerge from evolving communication environments and media systems.The book analyses the different forms of democracy, the concept of development, and addresses the debate about the relationship between democracy and development and explores the influence of the media in the democratization process, the promises that digital media bring to this process and to development and the implications of the African digital divide. In certain countries in this region democracy and independent news media are in their infancy but are starting to take hold, giving an excellent opportunity to observe the dynamics of civil society and the influence of increased freedom, new voting powers and new media in particular. The book offers important insights into the roles and functions that the media in general, and the Internet in particular, can perform in the creation of a more democratic society, as well as in empowering and educating citizens in democratic values.
Google-Books-ID: WC3jBAAAQBAJ
Keywords: Business & Economics / Industries / Computers & Information Technology; History / Africa / General; Political Science / Political Ideologies / Democracy

From analysis to action: operationalising learning and adaptation in Savings at the Frontier - Salehi, Yusef (2016)
Keywords: IMPORTANT

Defining the burden of proof in conservation - Salafsky, Nick; Redford, Kent H. (Biological Conservation, 2013)
Conservationists often must take action in the face of uncertainty about the costs and benefits of different options. Although this uncertainty can be paralyzing when the stakes are high, there is obviously a cost to inaction as well as action, and decision makers need to be encouraged to act when appropriate. Many other fields of human endeavor such as law, medicine, and public safety have formally developed the “burden and standards of proof” that decision makers have to meet in choosing to take action. In this paper, we review the standards developed in these other fields to help define a similar framework for conservation. Specifically we propose that a conservation decision maker must assume the burden of proof when there is a decision to act that substantially affects others, in which the decision maker has professional standing, where there is not immediate urgency, and where there is some, but not complete certainty about the outcomes of acting versus not acting. Once these initial tests have been met, in situations in which the decision maker is more worried about the consequences of not acting, then a relatively low standard of proof is required for taking action. If the decision maker is concerned with the consequences of acting in error, but the action is relatively reversible, then a medium standard of proof is required. And finally, if there are concerns about the consequences of acting in error, but the action is relatively irreversible, then a high standard of proof is required.
Keywords: Biodiversity; Burden of proof; Decision theory; Standard of proof; Uncertainty

Adaptive Management: A Tool for Conservation Practitioners - Salafsky, Nick; Margoluis, Richard; Redford, Kent (Foundations of Success, 2001)

Defining and using evidence in conservation practice - Salafsky, Nick; Boshoven, Judith; Burivalova, Zuzana; Dubois, Natalie S.; Gomez, Andres; Johnson, Arlyne; Lee, Aileen; Margoluis, Richard; Morrison, John; Muir, Matthew; Pratt, Stephen C.; Pullin, Andrew S.; et al. (Conservation Science and Practice, 2019)
There is growing interest in evidence-based conservation, yet there are no widely accepted standard definitions of evidence, let alone guidance on how to use it in the context of conservation and natural resource management practice. In this paper, we first draw on insights of evidence-based practice from different disciplines to define evidence as being the “relevant information used to assess one or more hypotheses related to a question of interest.” We then construct a typology of different kinds of information, hypotheses, and evidence and show how these different types can be used in different steps of conservation practice. In particular, we distinguish between specific evidence used to assess project hypotheses and generic evidence used to assess generic hypotheses. We next build on this typology to develop a decision tree to support practitioners in how to appropriately use available specific and generic evidence in a given conservation situation. Finally, we conclude with a discussion of how to better promote and enable evidence-based conservation in both projects and across the discipline of conservation. Our hope is that by understanding and using evidence better, conservation can both become more effective and attract increased support from society.
Keywords: Adaptive Management; Evidence-based conservation; Evidence-based practice; Natural resource management; Project management; biodiversity; environmental evidence

The Blind Man and the Elephant: Analysing the Local State in China - Saich, Tony (On the Roots of Growth and Crisis: Capitalism, State and Society in East Asia, 2002)

Doing things differently: Rethinking monitoring and evaluation to understand change - Saferworld (Saferworld, 2016)
Doing things differently: Rethinking monitoring and evaluation to understand change Learning paper Over the past four years, Saferworld has put in place a way of monitoring, evaluating and learning from our work focused on behaviour and relationship change. This paper outlines the process we have gone through to adapt, embed, and embrace an approach inspired by Outcome Mapping and Outcome Harvesting (OH). Key benefits of our monitoring, evaluation and learning approach are: It is simple, but promotes complex discussion and analysis. It allows conflict- and gender-sensitivity to be built into programmes; it promotes analysis of and adaptation to context. Bringing front-line staff and partners into wider conversations with others substantially increases cross-organisational learning.

Volume 3: Participatory Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning in Complex Adaptive Environments - SACE (SACE Program, 2018)
This volume is the last in a series of papers about systems approaches in complex environments, which includes the use of the collective impact model to address large-scale social problems, and the application of participant-driven MEL techniques across 17 networks of civil society organizations. It is based on the experiences of Root Change and Chemonics, two development partners working on a USAID civic engagement project in Nigeria (2013-2018), as well as hundreds of civil society organization partners. This is the final paper in the series and aims to highlight how the adaptation of participatory monitoring, evaluation, and learning techniques (e.g., most significant change, outcome mapping, and outcome harvesting) evolved and ultimately empowered cluster members. The first paper in the series presented a brief introduction to systems approaches in advocacy settings, the SACE theory of change, and the scope of Root Change’s work as technical lead on capacity building and measurement. The second volume aims to address the innovative use of the advocacy strategy matrix, adapted from work by the Center for Evaluation Innovation, for collective impact and the Collective Impact Model, an approach that engages multiple players in working together to solve complex social problems.

Using AI to disrupt business as usual in small evaluation firms - Sabarre, Nina R.; Beckmann, Blake; Bhaskara, Sahiti; Doll, Kathleen (New Directions for Evaluation, 2023)
While many knowledge workers may fear that the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) will threaten their jobs, this article argues that small evaluation businesses should embrace AI tools to increase their value in the marketplace and remain relevant. In this article, consultants from a research, evaluation, and strategy firm, Intention 2 Impact, Inc., make a case for using AI tools to disrupt business as usual in evaluation from theoretical and practical perspectives. Theoretically, AI may be another example of technology that was initially feared but is now ubiquitous in society. Using concrete examples, the authors describe how businesses and evaluators have evolved to keep up with changes in supply and demand. Lastly, it is posited that embracing AI will save time for those working in small businesses, which can ultimately increase added value and profitability.
_eprint: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ev.20562

Towards ‘Targeted Systems Change’ - Rye, Sam (Fieldnotes by Sam Rye, 2019)
Modelling and communicating how to shift systems

Causal Loop Diagrams: Little Known Analytical Tool | iSixSigma - Rushing, William (2010)
The causal loop diagram is an analytical tool that is seldom used in Six Sigma but nonetheless is still very valuable. It is a foundational tool used in system dynamics, a method of analysis used to develop an understanding of complex systems.

Doing the Transparent State: open government data as performance indicators - Ruppert, Evelyn; others (A World of Indicators: The production of knowledge and justice in an interconnected world, 2013)

An Introduction to Adaptive Management for Threatened and Endangered Species - Runge, Michael C. (Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management, 2011)
Management of threatened and endangered species would seem to be a perfect context for adaptive management. Many of the decisions are recurrent and plagued by uncertainty, exactly the conditions that warrant an adaptive approach. But although the potential of adaptive management in these settings has been extolled, there are limited applications in practice. The impediments to practical implementation are manifold and include semantic confusion, institutional inertia, misperceptions about the suitability and utility, and a lack of guiding examples. In this special section of the Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management, we hope to reinvigorate the appropriate application of adaptive management for threatened and endangered species by framing such management in a decision-analytical context, clarifying misperceptions, classifying the types of decisions that might be amenable to an adaptive approach, and providing three fully developed case studies. In this overview paper, I define terms, review the past application of adaptive management, challenge perceived hurdles, and set the stage for the case studies which follow.

Parliament and the people - Rumbul, Rebecca; Moulder, Gemma; Parsons, Alex (2018)
How digital technologies are shaping democratic information flow in Sub-Saharan Africa

Evaluation of the market systems development approach: Lessons for expanded use and adaptive management at Sida Volume I: Evaluation Report - Ruffer, Tim; Bailey, Helen; Dahlgren, Stefan; Spaven, Patrick; Winters, Mark (Sida, 2018)
This report presents the findings of an evaluation of Sida’s management of the market systems development (MSD) approach. It aims to inform thinking on how Sida can best manage its growing portfolio of MSD programs. Beyond this, it provides insights relevant to Sida’s wider support to complex and adaptive programs. The evaluation identified several factors that affect Sida’s ability to ensure that conducive conditions are in place for effective MSD programs and good development programming more generally. Sida’s relatively flexible framework of rules, guidelines and systems for project management provide the space needed for staff to innovate and manage adaptively. But for this to happen consistently and effectively, Sida needs to invest more deliberately in building the capacity of its staff in relevant areas. In addition, leadership and incentives are key to shaping a culture of active experimentation and learning. This needs to be supported with clearer guidance for those involved in the design and appraisal of MSD projects; and strengthened oversight of project performance, including through adjustments to Sida’s contracts and funding agreements.

Evaluation of the market systems development approach: Lessons for expanded use and adaptive management at Sida Volume II: Case studies - Ruffer, Tim; Bailey, Helen; Dahlgren, Stefan; Spaven, Patrick; Winters, Mark (Sida, 2018)
This report presents the findings of an evaluation of Sida’s management of the market systems development (MSD) approach. It aims to inform thinking on how Sida can best manage its growing portfolio of MSD programs. Beyond this, it provides insights relevant to Sida’s wider support to complex and adaptive programs. The evaluation identified several factors that affect Sida’s ability to ensure that conducive conditions are in place for effective MSD programs and good development programming more generally. Sida’s relatively flexible framework of rules, guidelines and systems for project management provide the space needed for staff to innovate and manage adaptively. But for this to happen consistently and effectively, Sida needs to invest more deliberately in building the capacity of its staff in relevant areas. In addition, leadership and incentives are key to shaping a culture of active experimentation and learning. This needs to be supported with clearer guidance for those involved in the design and appraisal of MSD projects; and strengthened oversight of project performance, including through adjustments to Sida’s contracts and funding agreements.

State of the Field Review: Fiscal Transparency and Accountability - Rudiger, Anja (International Budget Partnership, 2018)

Decide Madrid: A Critical Analysis of an Award-Winning e-Participation Initiative - Royo, Sonia; Pina, Vicente; Garcia-Rayado, Jaime (Sustainability, 2020)
This paper analyzes the award-winning e-participation initiative of the city council of Madrid, Decide Madrid, to identify the critical success factors and the main barriers that are conditioning its performance. An exploratory case study is used as a research technique, including desk research and semi-structured interviews. The analysis distinguishes contextual, organizational and individual level factors; it considers whether the factors or barriers are more related to the information and communication technology (ICT) component, public sector context or democratic participation; it also diﬀerentiates among the diﬀerent stages of the development of the initiative. Results show that individual and organizational factors related to the public sector context and democratic participation are the most relevant success factors. The high expectations of citizens explain the high levels of participation in the initial stages of Decide Madrid. However, the lack of transparency and poor functioning of some of its participatory activities (organizational factors related to the ICT and democratic dimensions) are negatively aﬀecting its performance. The software created for this platform, Consul, has been adopted or it is in the process of being implemented in more than 100 institutions in 33 countries. Therefore, the ﬁndings of this research can potentially be useful to improve the performance and sustainability of e-participation platforms worldwide.

Managing the development of large software systems - Royce, Winston (Proceedings of IEEE WesCon, 1970)

Design thinking - Rowe, Peter G. (The MIT Press, 1987)

Developing a performance story report: user guide - Roughly, A.; Dart, J. (Commonwealth of Australia, 2009)
This report is a nuts and bolts guide to developing a Collaborative Outcomes Report (COR)/ Performance Story Report (PSR) produced by the Australian Government and Jess Dart. It includes practical tips, step-by-step process guides and definitions of key concepts surrounding these approaches.

Adaptive Learning Guide: A pathway to stronger collaboration, learning, and adapting - Ross, Joey; Karlage, James; Etheridge, James; Alade, Mayowa; Fifield, Jocelyn; Goodwin, Christian; Semrau, Katherine; Hirschhorn, Lisa (USAID MOMENTUM Knowledge Accelerator, 2021)
The purpose of this Adaptive Learning Guide is to provide MOMENTUM project teams with the information and resources to integrate adaptive learning into the design, implementation, and improvement of MNCH/FP/RH programs. This guide provides a conceptual introduction to adaptive learning using links to existing resources and real-world examples of how adaptive learning can drive continuous learning and improvement in project work. The guide is built upon three foundational assumptions: We work in dynamic, often unpredictable environments. Unexpected turns of events will occur. Progress is rarely, if ever, linear. Integrating the principles and practices of USAID’s Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting Toolkit into projects and initiatives requires designing for learning and adaptation. We intend the guide to serve as a “starting point” for interested individuals and teams to begin or strengthen the processes that support the integration of adaptive learning into project work.

Supporting Learning? Exploring the relationship between grantee learning and grantmaking practice in the transparency and accountability sector - Ross, Jenny (INTRAC, 2015)
Learning is fundamental to work on transparency and accountability in complex environments. But how can funding practices best support learning?

Project Evaluation and the Project Appraisal Reporting System - Rosenberg, L.J.; Posner, L.D.; Hanley, E.J. (Fry Consultants Inc., 1970)

Development and the Learning Organization - Roper, Laura; Pettit, Jethro; Eade, Deborah (Oxfam Publications, 2003)

Development and the Learning Organisation: An introduction - Roper, Laura; Pettit, Jethro (Development in Practice, 2002)

Pando - Root Change (Root Change, 2020)
Pando is a platform that gives organizations a way to visualize, learn from, and engage with the social systems in which they work. We have designed Pando to help users build trust, strengthen relationships, and work together to achieve greater social impact. Grounded in social network analysis, Pando allows users to collect and visualize organizations and their relationships in real-time on simple and easy-to-use relationship maps. Relationship maps are managed by map administrators. These are actors interested in learning about a particular system and making the tool available to those working in the system. Pando is integrated with Keystone Accountability’s Feedback Commons, an online tool that allows map administrators to collect and analyze qualitative feedback about levels of trust and relationship quality among map participants. Key features of Pando include relationship mapping, feedback surveys, and dashboards.

Complexity, Institutions and Public Policy: Agile Decision-making in a Turbulent World - Room, Graham (Edward Elgar Pub, 2011)
Graham Room argues that conventional approaches to the conceptualization and measurement of social and economic change are unsatisfactory. As a result, researchers are ill-equipped to offer policy advice. This book offers a new analytical approach, combining complexity science and institutionalism. It also provides tools for policy makers in turbulent times. Part 1 is concerned with the conceptualization of socio-economic change. It integrates complexity science and institutionalism into a coherent ontology of social and policy dynamics. Part 2 is concerned with models and measurement. It combines some of the principal approaches developed in complexity analysis with models and methods drawn from mainstream social and political science. Part 3 offers empirical applications to public policy: the dynamics of social exclusion; the social dimension of knowledge economies; the current financial and economic crisis. These are supplemented by a toolkit for the practice of 'agile policy making'. This is a stimulating, provocative and highly original book. It will appeal to academics and students in social and policy studies and to a wide range of scholars in other disciplines where complexity science is already well-developed. It will also be of major interest for decision makers coping with complex and turbulent policy terrains.Contents: Preface 1. Introduction Part I: Concepts 2. The Complexity Paradigm 3. Complex Adaptive Systems 4. The Economy as a Complex Adaptive System 5. Institutional Settings and Architectures 6. Institutional Dynamics 7. The Struggle for Positional Advantage 8. Conceptualising Social Dynamics Part II: Methods 9. Attractors and Orbits in Dynamic Systems 10. Patterns in Time and Space 11. Connections and Networks 12. Mobility on Social Landscapes 13. Towards a Generic Methodology Part III: Policies 14. Agile Policy-Making 15. Poverty and Social Exclusion 16. Social Dynamics of the Knowledge Economy 17. Global Turbulence and Crisis Postscript: Tools for Policy-Makers References Index

Citizen-generated data and sustainable development - Rono-Bett, Karen; Kenei, Steve (DevInit and DRT, 2017)
The potential of citizen-generated data in the sustainable development agenda

Development Projects as Policy Experiments: An Adaptive Approach to Development Administration - Rondinelli, Dennis A. (Methuen, 1983)
International assistance programmes for developing countries are in urgent need of revision. Continuous testing and verification is required if development activity is to cope effectively with the uncertainty and complexity of the development process. This examines the alternatives and offers an approach which focuses on strategic planning, administrative procedures that facilitate innovation, responsiveness and experimentation, and on decision-making processes that join learning with action. A useful text for academics and practitioners in development studies, geography and sociology.

Projects as instruments of development administration: A qualified defence and suggestions for improvement - Rondinelli, Dennis A. (Public Administration and Development, 1983)
Projects have become an important instrument of international assistance and of development administration because they seem to offer major advantages over other forms of planning and management. But projects have also come under increasing criticism in recent years. The benefits they offer to various interests involved in development ensure, however, that they are unlikely to be abandoned or to diminish in importance in the near future. Thus, ways must be found to make them more flexible and responsive methods of planning and managing social and human development activities. This can be done by planning, appraising and implementing projects as policy experiments, making their design and administration more learning-oriented, and using them as instruments of strategic planning and management.

The politics of public sector performance: pockets of effectiveness in developing countries - Roll, Michael (Routledge, 2014)
OCLC: 869850351

Theory of Change - Rogers, Patricia (UNICEF, 2014)

Diffusion of Innovations - Rogers, Everett M. (Free Press of Glencoe, 1962)
Traditions of research on diffusion; Culture, norms, and diffusion; The adoption process; Characteristics of the innovation; Adopter categories; Innovators as deviants: in step with a different drummer; Opinion leaders and the flow of ideas; The role of the change agent and the consequences of innovation; Predicting innovativeness; Toward a theory of the diffusion and adoption of innovations.

Diffusion of Innovations, 5th Edition - Rogers, Everett M. (Free Press, 2003)
Now in its fifth edition, Diffusion of Innovations is a classic work on the spread of new ideas.In this renowned book, Everett M. Rogers, professor and chair of the Department of Communication & Journalism at the University of New Mexico, explains how new ideas spread via communication channels over time. Such innovations are initially perceived as uncertain and even risky. To overcome this uncertainty, most people seek out others like themselves who have already adopted the new idea. Thus the diffusion process consists of a few individuals who first adopt an innovation, then spread the word among their circle of acquaintances—a process which typically takes months or years. But there are exceptions: use of the Internet in the 1990s, for example, may have spread more rapidly than any other innovation in the history of humankind. Furthermore, the Internet is changing the very nature of diffusion by decreasing the importance of physical distance between people. The fifth edition addresses the spread of the Internet, and how it has transformed the way human beings communicate and adopt new ideas.

CLARISSA Cash Plus: Innovative Social Protection in Bangladesh - Roelen, Keetie; Howard, Neil; Afroze, Jiniya; Aktar, Afrin; Ton, Giel; Huq, Lopita (Institute of Development Studies, 2023)
Social protection, and cash transfers especially, have been found to have many positive impacts on families’ lives and are now widely recognised as a cornerstone of any prosperous, fair society. The CLARISSA Cash Plus intervention is an innovative social protection scheme for tackling social ills, including the worst forms of child labour (WFCL). Combining community mobilisation, case work and cash transfers, it aims to support people in a poor neighbourhood in Dhaka to build their individual, family, and group capacities to meet their needs. An increase in capacities is expected to lead to a corresponding decrease in deprivation and community-identified social issues that negatively affect wellbeing, including WFCL.
Accepted: 2023-06-30T11:14:55Z Publisher: Institute of Development Studies

CLARISSA Social Protection Intervention - Evaluation Report - Roelen, Keetie; Howard, Neil; Afroze, Jiniya; Aktar, Afrin; Ton, Giel; Huq, Lopita (Institute of Development Studies)
The CLARISSA Social Protection (SP) Cash Plus intervention represented an innovative social protection scheme for tackling social ills, including the worst forms of child labour (WFCL). The purpose of the intervention was to trial and evidence an innovative social policy intervention for tackling poverty, improving wellbeing, and addressing worst forms of child labour (WFCL). It was a universal and unconditional cash plus programme, combining community mobilisation, case work and cash transfers. It was implemented in a high-density and low-income neighbourhood in Dhaka to build individual, family, and group capacities to meet their needs. This, in turn, was expected to lead to a corresponding decrease in deprivation and community-identified social issues that negatively affect wellbeing, including WFCL.
Accepted: 2023-06-30T11:14:55Z Publisher: Institute of Development Studies

How to Make ‘Cash Plus’ Work: Linking Cash Transfers to Services and Sectors - Roelen, Keetie; Devereux, Stephen; Abdulai, Abdul-Gafaru; Martorano, Bruno; Palermo, Tia; Ragno, Luigi Peter (UNICEF Office of Research, 2017)
The broad-ranging benefits of cash transfers are now widely recognized. However, the evidence base highlights that they often fall short in achieving longer-term and second-order impacts related to nutrition, learning outcomes and morbidity. In recognition of these limitations, several ‘cash plus’ initiatives have been introduced, whereby cash transfers are combined with one or more types of complementary support. This paper aims to identify key factors for successful implementation of these increasingly popular ‘cash plus’ programmes, based on (i) a review of the emerging evidence base of ‘cash plus’ interventions and (ii) an examination of three case studies, namely, Chile Solidario in Chile, IN-SCT in Ethiopia and LEAP in Ghana. The analysis was guided by a conceptual framework proposing a menu of ‘cash plus’ components. The assessment of three case studies indicated that effective implementation of ‘cash plus’ components has indeed contributed to greater impacts of the respective programmes. Such initiatives have thereby addressed some of the non-financial and structural barriers that poor people face and have reinforced the positive effects of cash transfer programmes. In design of such programmes, further attention should be paid to the constraints faced by the most vulnerable and how such constraints can be overcome. We conclude with recommendations regarding the provision of complementary support and cross-sectoral linkages based on lessons learned from the case studies. More research is still needed on the impact of the many variations of ‘cash plus’ programming, including evidence on the comparative roles of individual ‘plus’ components, as well as the knowledge, attitudes and behaviour pathways which influence these impacts.
Series: Innocenti Working Papers Volume: 2017/10

Bridging the Gap: Synthesising Evidence from Secondary Quantitative and Primary Qualitative Data - Roelen, Keetie (IDS, 2016)

A New Policy Narrative for Pastoralism? Pastoralists as Reliability Professionals and Pastoralist Systems as Infrastructure - Roe, Emery (ESRC STEPS Centre, 2020)
This paper proposes that pastoralist systems are better treated, in aggregate, as a global critical infrastructure. The policy and management implications that follow are significant and differ importantly from current pastoralist policies and recommendations. A multi-typology framework is presented, identifying the conditions under which pastoralists can be considered real-time reliability professionals in systems with mandates preventing or otherwise avoiding key events from happening. The framework leads to a different policy-relevant counternarrative to pastoralism as understood today. Some features of the counternarrative are already known or have been researched. The paper’s aim is to provoke further work (including case research and interactions with decisionmakers) on how robust the counternarrative is as a policy narrative for recasting today’s pastoralist policy and management interventions.
Accepted: 2020-01-14T10:22:59Z

Making the Most of Mess: Reliability and Policy in Today's Management Challenges - Roe, Emery (Duke University Press Books, 2013)
In Making the Most of Mess, Emery Roe emphasizes that policy messes cannot be avoided or cleaned up; they need to be managed. He shows how policymakers and other professionals can learn these necessary skills from control operators who manage large critical infrastructures such as water supplies, telecommunications systems, and electricity grids. The ways in which they prevent major accidents and failures offer models for policymakers and other professionals to manage the messes they face.Throughout, Roe focuses on the global financial mess of 2008 and its ongoing aftermath, showing how mismanagement has allowed it to morph into other national and international messes. More effective management is still possible for this and many other policy messes but that requires better recognition of patterns and formulation of scenarios, as well as the ability to translate pattern and scenario into reliability. Developing networks of professionals who respond to messes is particularly important. Roe describes how these networks enable the avoidance of bad or worse messes, take advantage of opportunities resulting from messes, and address societal and professional challenges. In addition to finance, he draws from a wide range of case material in other policy arenas. Roe demonstrates that knowing how to manage policy messes is the best approach to preventing crises.

Managing Policy Mess - Roe, Emery (Governance in Turbulent Times, 2016)
What are the conditions for political development and decay, and the likelihood of sustained political order? What are the limits of established rule as we know it? How much stress can systems tackle before they reach some kind of limit? How do governments tackle enduring ambiguity and uncertainty in their systems and environments? These are some of the big questions of our time. Governance in turbulent times may serve as a stress-test of well-known ways of governing in the 21st century. Governance in Turbulent Times discusses this pertinent challenge and suggests how governments and organizations cope with and live with turbulence. The book explores how organizations and institutions respond to precipitous, conflicting, and novel-in short, turbulent-governance challenges. This book is a comprehensive and ground-breaking endeavor to understand how governance systems respond to turbulent challenges, and how turbulent times provide excellent opportunities to investigate the sustainability of governance systems. The book illustrates how politics, administrative scale and complexity, uncertainty, and time constraints can collide to produce turbulence. Building on prior work in organization theory and political science, we argue that turbulence refers to four properties related to the interaction of demands for action: variability, consistency, expectation, and unpredictability. Turbulence occurs where the interaction of demands is experienced as highly variable, inconsistent, unexpected, and/or unpredictable.
Google-Books-ID: IYSuDQAAQBAJ
Keywords: Comparative Politics; International Relations; Political Process; Political science; Public Affairs & Administration

Policy messes and their management - Roe, Emery (Policy Sciences, 2016)
This paper presents a framework for better managing policy messes and draws implications for bad and good mess management in policy analysis and management. The framework has three foci: (1) the cognitive space in which policy messes develop, particularly in terms of gaps between macro-designers and micro-operators; (2) the unique domain of competence within that space where professionals manage the resulting messes by virtue of their skills in recognizing system-wide patterns, formulating locally specific contingency scenarios and translating both patterns and scenarios in highly reliable services; and (3) the ability of those mess and reliability professionals to be reliable in their domain and with these skills by maneuvering across different performance modes as conditions dictate—just-in-case, just-on-time, just-for-now or just-this-way.

When Complex is as Simple as it Gets: Guide for Recasting Policy and Management in the Anthropocene - Roe, Emery (Institute for Development Studies, 2023)
Many readers recognise and understand that complex is about as simple as it gets for major policy and management. This guide is for those unwilling in the Anthropocene to shrink back into the older platitudes about ‘keep it simple’ and ‘not to worry, we’ll scale up the analysis later on’. This guide offers key concepts, methods, counternarratives, and analogies that recast major policy and management issues in ways that do not deny their complexity but help render them more tractable for action.
Accepted: 2023-06-06T09:51:20Z ISSN: 2040-0209

Beyond enforcement: communities, governance, incentives and sustainable use in combating wildlife crime. Symposium Report. - Roe, Dilys (IIED, 2015)

The New Development Economics: We Shall Experiment, but How Shall We Learn? - Rodrik, Dani (SSRN, 2008)
Development economics is split between macro-development economists - who focus on economic growth, international trade, and fiscal/macro policies - and micro-development economists - who study microfinance, education, health, and other social programs. Recently there has been substantial convergence in the policy mindset exhibited by micro evaluation enthusiasts, on the one hand, and growth diagnosticians, on the other. At the same time, the randomized evaluation revolution has led to an accentuation of the methodological divergence between the two camps. Overcoming the split requires changes on both sides. Macrodevelopment economists need to recognize the distinct advantages of the experimental approach and adopt the policy mindset of the randomized evaluation enthusiasts. Micro-development economists, for their part, have to recognize that the utility of randomized evaluations is restricted by the narrow and limited scope of their application. As the Chinese example illustrates, extending the experimental mindset to the domain of economy-wide reforms is not just possible, it has already been practiced with resounding success in the most important development experience of our generation.
Keywords: Economics; Finance; Health Care; International Development; International Economics; International Trade; Macroeconomics; Microeconomics; Social Policy; Welfare

Social Learning and Natural Resource Management: The Emergence of Three Research Perspectives - Rodela, Romina (Ecology and Society, 2011)
Rodela, R. 2011. Social learning and natural resource management: the emergence of three research perspectives. Ecology and Society 16(4): 30. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-04554-160430

Why Diverse Teams Are Smarter - Rock, David; Halvorson, Heidi Grant (Harvard Business Review, 2016)
Research shows they’re more successful in three important ways.

Monitoring and evaluation for adaptive programming - Roche, Chris; Kelly, Linda (Devpolicy Blog from the Development Policy Centre, 2018)
Chris Roche and Linda Kelly with six take-aways on what is being tried and learnt in setting up monitoring and evaluation frameworks for adaptive programs.

Overcoming Premature Evaluation - Roche, Chris (2016)
Guest post from Chris Roche on practical ways of introducing adaptive management, learning from failure etc in aid programmes

Simplicity, Accountability and Relationships: Three ways to ensure MEL supports Adaptive Management - Roche, Chris (From Poverty to Power, 2018)
Based on a recent discussion in Manila, Chris Roche reflects on how Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning can better support 'adaptive programming'.

Thinking and Working Politically through Applied Political Economy Analysis. A guide for practitioners - Rocha Menocal, Alina; Cassidy, Marc; Swift, Sarah; Jacobstein, David; Rothblum, Corinne; Tservil, Ilona (USAID, 2018)
Thinking and Working Politically (TWP) through Applied Political Economy Analysis (PEA). A guide for practitioners Have you ever done everything right in a development program — followed every technical best practice — but still missed the mark? When this happens, it often relates to factors in the context beyond any external development actor’s ability to control.

Hospicing The Old - Robinson, Cassie (Stewarding Loss, 2019)
In 2010 I was introduced to the Berkana Institutes’s Two Loop model, and I come back to it again and again. As I’ve moved across different…

Key Issues in Digitalisation and Governance - Roberts, Tony; Hernandez, Kevin; Faith, Becky; Prieto Martin, Pedro (SDC, 2022)
Digitalisation is perhaps the most important strategic challenge that governance will face over the coming decade. The process is delivering digital dividends as well as new exclusions and injustices, with the rapid but uneven increase in access to mobile and internet technologies transforming how social and economic life takes place. This report highlights the key opportunities and challenges arising from digitalisation.
Accepted: 2022-07-25T11:31:42Z Publisher: SDC Governance Network

Why Software Fails - We waste billions of dollars each year on entirely preventable mistakes - Robert N., Charette (IEEE Spectrum, 2005)
We waste billions of dollars each year on entirely preventable mistakes. The biggest tragedy is that software failure is for the most part predictable and avoidable. Unfortunately, most organizations don't see preventing failure as an urgent matter, even though that view risks harming the organization and maybe even destroying it. Understanding why this attitude persists is not just an academic exercise; it has tremendous implications for business and society.
Section: Computing

Adaptive management: where are we now? - Rist, Lucy; Campbell, Bruce M.; Frost, Peter (Environmental Conservation, 2013)
Adaptive management (AM) emerged in the literature in the mid-1970s in response both to a realization of the extent of uncertainty involved in management, and a frustration with attempts to use modelling to integrate knowledge and make predictions. The term has since become increasingly widely used in scientific articles, policy documents and management plans, but both understanding and application of the concept is mixed. This paper reviews recent literature from conservation and natural resource management journals to assess diversity in how the term is used, highlight ambiguities and consider how the concept might be further assessed. AM is currently being used to describe many different management contexts, scales and locations. Few authors define the term explicitly or describe how it offers a means to improve management outcomes in their specific management context. Many do not adhere to the idea as it was originally conceived, despite citing seminal work. Significant confusion exists over the distinction between active and passive approaches. Over half of the studies reporting to implement AM claimed to have done so successfully, yet none quantified specific benefits, or costs, in relation to possible alternatives. Similarly those studies reporting to assess the approach did so only in relation to specific models and their parameterizations; none assessed the benefits or costs of AM in the field. AM is regarded by some as an effective and well-established framework to support the management of natural resources, yet by others as a concept difficult to realize and fraught with implementation challenges; neither of these observations is wholly accurate. From a scientific and technical perspective many practical questions remain; in particular real-world assessments of the value of experimentation within a management framework, as well as of identified challenges and pathologies, are needed. Further discussion and systematic assessment of the approach is required, together with greater attention to its definition and description, enabling the assessment of new approaches to managing uncertainty, and AM itself.
Keywords: Adaptive Management; Decision making; Natural resource management; conservation; experimental management; uncertainty

Making Sense of ‘Messiness’. Monitoring and measuring change in market systems: a practitioner's perspective - Ripley, Matthew; Nippard, Daniel (2014)

The Science in Adaptive Management - Ripley, Matt; Jaccard, Sabine (ILO, 2016)
‘Adaptive management’ is all the rage in international development circles. But to avoid yet another buzzword – we need to learn from the experience of natural resource science.
Keywords: IMPORTANT

Adaptive Impact Management: An Integrative Approach to Wildlife Management - Riley, Shawn; Siemer, William; Decker, Daniel; Carpenter, Len; Organ, John; Berchielli, Louis (Human Dimensions of Wildlife, 2003)

Does Foreign Aid Really Work? An Updated Assessment - Riddell, Roger C. (Social Science Research Network, 2014)
This paper draws widely from the book Does foreign aid really work?, building on that discussion to provide an updated answer to the question based on recent evidence and contemporary debates on aid effectiveness. It starts with a brief discussion (Section 2) of the question: ‘does emergency aid work?’ This is important to the wider debate for two linked reasons. Firstly, the harshest critics of development aid are all supportive of emergency aid, with a number calling for its expansion in spite of evidence of major weaknesses and failures. Secondly, the sharp historical distinction made between emergency and development aid is becoming increasingly strained, as more emergency aid is being used a year or more after emergencies strike to rebuild lives and restore livelihoods, while more development aid is used to directly save lives.The rest of the paper focuses exclusively on development aid. Section 3 provides a rapid overview of the evidence of the impact of individual aid projects, including those of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs). The picture is overwhelmingly positive: well over 75% of projects meet their immediate objectives and impact has improved, even though sustaining benefits remains a challenge and there continue to be aid failures. Section 4 reviews the evidence of the wider and long-term impact of aid at the sectoral and country level, including a brief discussion of academic studies on aid and growth. Though there are still major gaps in our knowledge, the quality of the data is improving. However, there is little firm, quantitative evidence to show the specific contribution that aid has made to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which are a central purpose of many current donor programmes (Section 4.2). More widely, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that aid has contributed positively to both growth and wider development at the sector and country level, though some studies suggest aid has had little or no impact. Overall, the contribution that aid makes to aggregate development is lower than the public has been led to believe (Sections 4.1, 4.3. and 4.4). Assessments of the overall impact of the aid provided by NGOs are rare, but a recent study suggests it has been positive (Section 4.5). More attention is now given to the issues of corruption in aid. Although there is evidence of aid funds being used for corrupt purposes and of aid worsening corruption, on balance it remains a minor issue. Aid has had significant successes in helping the poor affected by corruption (Section 4.6). The second half of the paper shifts focus to the large gap between what aid has done and what it might do. Section 5 discusses a range of inefficiencies within and across the aid system and their costs in terms of reduced impact, including the way aid is allocated, its growing complexity, and the volatility and unpredictability of aid flows (Section 5.1 and 5.2). These inefficiencies place in a different light the evidence of aid’s overall positive impact. The paper looks at the different initiatives that have been mounted to begin to address these weaknesses and failures, including the 2005 Paris Declaration, and discusses why donors have failed to honour the promises they have made to change the ways that they give aid.In Section 5.3, the paper argues that the most critical debate about whether aid works concerns the assessment of whether the short-term, immediate and extensive benefits that aid undoubtedly brings are outweighed by the direct and indirect systemic problems that it risks creating or accentuating. As increasingly over the last decade donors have channelled more of their aid into short-term, quick-impact projects, assessing the wider negative systemic effects of aid has become even more important. Some recent studies suggest that aid’s systemic problems are large and growing, narrowing the gap between aid’s harshest critics and broader analyses of aid impact. Against the backdrop of already too many proposals of how to make aid work better, Section 6 lays out nine concrete proposals for doing this: deepening knowledge of local contexts; ensuring short-term uses of aid are consistent with and supportive of long-term development, and that all aid is more closely related to overall recipient development goals and processes; helping build local capacities for recipients to be able to coordinate aid better; moving from rhetoric to reality in learning lessons from aid; using aid to help the poor in middle income countries; reducing volatility in aid at the country level; encouraging budget support by addressing donor-country political concerns; and rethinking ways of communicating about aid. Section 7 concludes. It suggests that, paradoxically, aid’s impact may well have been harmed by focussing too narrowly on trying to make short-term aid work better, and that the main focus of attention needs to widen to assess how aid can contribute more to a recipient’s own development goals. Additionally, donors need to help build the capacity of developing countries and developing country scholars to enable them to play a bigger role in helping to answer the question of whether aid works; unsettling though their assessments may be.

Models for Foresight Use in International Development - Rhydderch, Alun (IDS Bulletin, 2016)
This article sets out the components of the foresight approach that has been adopted by many governments in the developed world, and identifies elements of this 'dominant' approach that may hinder its uptake in developing countries. Instead, it suggests that a less rigid, more exploratory and normative approach may be better suited to many developing country contexts. With reference to the writings and practice of the creator of 'la prospective', Gaston Berger, it argues for an attitude that combines bold and inclusive thinking about how to create better futures with the pragmatic engagement with political and administrative systems that can help bring these about.

(Breaking) The Iron Triangle of Evaluation - Reynolds, Martin (IDS Bulletin, 2015)
Keywords: Evaluation; impact

No Mechanism Without Context: Strengthening the Analysis of Context in Realist Evaluations Using Causal Loop Diagramming - Renmans, Dimitri; Holvoet, Nathalie; Criel, Bart (New Directions for Evaluation, 2020)
Realist evaluation is an approach with a strong emphasis on causal mechanisms and the context in which they are triggered. However, recent reviews of published realist evaluations show that context is often understudied. This is problematic, as a thorough understanding of the relationship between context and causal mechanisms is crucial in assisting policymakers to make appropriate and targeted decisions that improve the intervention. Therefore, we set out to test whether combining realist evaluation with the “systems thinking” approach and, more specifically, causal loop diagramming, could help strengthen the analysis of context. We did this through a study of a performance-based financing (PBF) intervention in the Ugandan health care sector by the Belgian development agency, Enabel. PBF allocates funds to health workers and/or health facilities based on their performance, and introduces additional management support tools, provides extra monitoring and supervision, and promotes community participation in management issues, among other activities. In this case, we found that the proposed combined methodological approach indeed adds value to the analysis, as it leads to insights into the role played by the underlying system that otherwise may have been overlooked. Moreover, such information may provide clear directions to policymakers on how to improve the intervention in a sustainable way. Finally, causal loop diagrams help to visualize complex causal interactions and to communicate them to policymakers.

Integrating modelling and smart sensors for environmental and human health - Reis, Stefan; Seto, Edmund; Northcross, Amanda; Quinn, Nigel W. T.; Convertino, Matteo; Jones, Rod L.; Maier, Holger R.; Schlink, Uwe; Steinle, Susanne; Vieno, Massimo; Wimberly, Michael C. (Environmental Modelling & Software, 2015)
Sensors are becoming ubiquitous in everyday life, generating data at an unprecedented rate and scale. However, models that assess impacts of human activities on environmental and human health, have typically been developed in contexts where data scarcity is the norm. Models are essential tools to understand processes, identify relationships, associations and causality, formalize stakeholder mental models, and to quantify the effects of prevention and interventions. They can help to explain data, as well as inform the deployment and location of sensors by identifying hotspots and areas of interest where data collection may achieve the best results. We identify a paradigm shift in how the integration of models and sensors can contribute to harnessing ‘Big Data’ and, more importantly, make the vital step from ‘Big Data’ to ‘Big Information’. In this paper, we illustrate current developments and identify key research needs using human and environmental health challenges as an example.
Keywords: Big data; Environmental health; Environmental sensors; Integrated modelling; Population health

Confronting the Contradiction - An exploration into the dual purpose of accountability and learning in aid evaluation - Reinertsen, Hilde; Bjørkdahl, Kristian; McNeill, Desmond (Expertgruppen för biståndsanalys (EBA), 2017)
Keywords: IMPORTANT

Appropriate ICT as a Tool to Increase Effectiveness in ICT4D: Theoretical considerations and illustrating cases - Reijswoud, Victor van (The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, 2009)
The need to bridge the digital divide is no longer a point of discussion and therefore focus has shifted to the design and implementation of programs that have the potential to close the information and knowledge gap between the developing and developed nations. Unfortunately, the majority of these programs are small and mimic what has been successful in the developed world. It has become increasingly clear that these successes do not necessarily translate well in the context of developing nations. This paper develops the hypothesis that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) projects in developing countries will become successful only when they are adapted to local conditions. The general concept of Appropriate Technology (AT) will be explored for the field of ICT. AT has already been embraced by fields like architecture, building technology and agriculture, but has not yet been rooted in ICT. The paper proposes a preliminary theory of Appropriate ICT along the lines of existing theories in AT and System development. The theory identifies Appropriate Technology principles at three levels: hardware, software and ICT change management. By means of real life mini cases in the ICT for Development context in Africa, the guiding principles for Appropriate ICT are illustrated. The paper will conclude with an agenda for further research in the three identified levels. The research agenda targets academia, governments, NGO's and industry.
Keywords: IMPORTANT

Exploring ways to reconcile accountability and learning in the evaluation of niche experiments - Regeer, Barbara J.; de Wildt-Liesveld, Renée; van Mierlo, Barbara; Bunders, Joske F. G. (Evaluation, 2016)
While evaluation is seen as a mechanism for both accountability and learning, it is not self-evident that the evaluation of niche experiments focuses on both accountability and learning at the same time. Tensions exist between the accountability-oriented needs of funders and the learning needs of managers of niche experiments. This article explores the differences in needs and expectations of funders and managers in terms of upwards, downwards and internal accountability. The article shows that as the multi-stakeholder contexts in which niche experiments take place give rise to various requirements, tensions in evaluation are essentially a specific manifestation of tensions between niche experiments and their multiple contexts. Based on our findings, an adjusted accountability framework is proposed, including several strategies that can reconcile a learning approach with accountability needs in niche experiments aiming to change current practices in a more sustainable direction.

Conjunctions: Introducing Cultural Participation as a Transdisciplinary Project - Reestorff, Camilla Møhring; Fabian, Louise; Fritsch, Jonas; Stage, Carsten; Stephensen, Jan Løhmann (Conjunctions. Transdisciplinary Journal of Cultural Participation, 2014)
In the introduction of Conjunction: Transdisciplinary Journal of Cultural Participation we introduce 1) the aim of the journal, 2) the journal’s conception of transdisciplinarity as an important precondition for understanding contemporary processes and dilemmas of participation, 3) important trajectories in the existing literature on participation that focus on participation as linked to technological changes, to democratic processes of transferring power, and to complex social situations calling for analytical and evaluative frameworks able to grasp multiplicity and competing interests, and 4) the theme and articles of the this special issue: cultural participation and citizenship.
Keywords: Cultural participation; Participatory citizenship; Power dynamics; democracy; transdisciplinarity

The Truth of the Work: Theories of Change in a changing world - Reeler, Doug; van Blerk, Rubert (The Community Development Resource Association, 2017)

What is Social Learning? - Reed, Mark; Evely, Anna; Cundill, Georgina; Fazey, Ioan; Glass, Jayne; Laing, Adele; Newig, Jens; Parrish, Brad; Prell, Christina; Raymond, Chris; Stringer, Lindsay (Ecology and Society, 2010)
Reed, M. S., A. C. Evely, G. Cundill, I. Fazey, J. Glass, A. Laing, J. Newig, B. Parrish, C. Prell, C. Raymond, and L. C. Stringer. 2010. What is social learning? Ecology and Society 15(4): r1. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-03564-1504r01

Implementing Innovation: A User's Manual for Open Government Programs - Reboot Design (2015)
This guide draws from our experience around the world helping government reformers achieve real change. It is a practical resource for anyone working to implement an open government initiative.

Using Data to Influence Government Decisions. Opportunities and Challenges for User-Centered Design to Improve Governance Data Impact - Reboot (Reboot & OSF, 2015)

Strategic framework for mainstreaming citizen engagement in World Bank Group operations : engaging with citizens for improved results - Rebolledo, Miguel; Seyedian, Aaron; Peixoto, Tiago; Hernandez, Zenaida; Zakhour, Jad; Mahmood, Syed A.; Masud, Harika; Manroth, Astrid; Hamad, Qays (The World Bank, 2014)
The objective of this strategic framework is to mainstream citizen engagement in World Bank Group (WBG)-supported policies, programs, projects, and advisory services and analytics to improve their development results and within the scope of these operations, contribute to building sustainable national systems for citizen engagement with governments and the private sector. This framework will capture the diverse experiences, assess lessons learned, and outline methods and entry points to provide a more systematic and results-focused approach for the WBG. Progress toward this objective will be assessed using indicators included in program, project, and corporate results frameworks. The WBG strategy incorporates citizen engagement, including beneficiary feedback, specifically in its treatment of inclusion, which entails empowering citizens to participate in the development process and integrating citizen voice in development programs as key accelerators to achieving results. This framework builds on stocktaking and lessons learned from WBG-financed operations across regions and sectors. A key lesson is the importance of country context, government ownership, and clear objectives for citizen engagement. The approach to mainstreaming citizen engagement in WBG-supported operations is guided by five principles: 1) it is results-focused; 2) it involves engaging throughout the operational cycle; 3) it seeks to strengthen country systems; 4) it is context-specific; and 5) it is gradual. Under the right circumstances, citizen engagement can contribute to achieving development outcomes in support of the goals the WBG aims to support through all of the operations it funds: eradicating extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity in a sustainable manner.

Re-institute website - RE!NSTITUTE (Re!nstitute, 2023)
We are a dynamic non-profit organization with a unique approach to managing change and catalyzing innovation to support global systems transformation. We know that to achieve equal, just, and safe communities, we must collectively challenge and change the systems that people rely on — especially those most vulnerable. Together, we must RE!BUILD a system's resilience and capacity to take on our biggest generational challenges. Justice, housing, health, and other systems in every country are often struggling to come together, across institutions and organizations, to unite under a common vision for change, and implement those changes in effective and innovative ways. Our work and methodology — the 100-Day Challenge — are designed to support these systems to achieve extraordinary results. Our approach is rooted in the philosophy that frontline staff, supported by leadership, can unleash innovation and achieve incredible results by creating new relationships, experimenting with fresh ideas from across their system, and building authentic engagement with those with lived experience.

The Systems Work of Social Change: How to Harness Connection, Context, and Power to Cultivate Deep and Enduring Change - Rayner, Cynthia; Bonnici, François (OUP Oxford, 2021)
The issues of poverty, inequality, racial justice, and climate change have never been more pressing or paralyzing. Current approaches to social change, which rely on industrial models of production and power to "solve" social problems, are not helping. In fact, they are designed to entrench the status quo. In The Systems Work of Social Change, Cynthia Rayner and François Bonnici draw on two hundred years of history and a treasure trove of stories of committed social changemakers to uncover principles and practices for social change that radically depart from these approaches. Rather than delivering "solutions," these principles and practices focus on the process of change itself. Through rich storytelling and lucid analysis, Rayner and Bonnici show that connection, context, and power sit at the heart of the change process, ensuring broader agency for people and communities to create social systems that are responsive and representative in a rapidly changing world. Simple yet profound, this book distills a timely set of lessons for practitioners, leaders, scholars, and policymakers.

Retrospective ‘Outcome Harvesting’: Generating robust insights about a global voluntary environmental network - Rassmann, Kornelia; Smith, Richard; Mauremootoo, John; Wilson-Grau, Ricardo (Better Evaluation, 2013)

Adapting lean thinking to market systems development: Principles and practices for donors/funders - Rasmussen, Leanne (Engineers without borders, 2014)
The purpose of this paper is to provide funders and implementers of market systems development (MSD) projects with principles, practices, and structures that enables these projects to thrive. It is based on a book that has sold millions of copies worldwide, and a school of thought taught at institutions such as Harvard Business School and practiced in companies ranging from giants such as Toyota to the most successful tech start-ups in Silicon Valley. Published in 2011, Eric Ries wrote the Lean Startup as a remedy to the countless start-ups that create their own demises by getting started with the wrong goals, the wrong structures, and the wrong processes. He outlines an approach that enables the startup to navigate ambiguity and risk while using resources effectively. The conditions a MSD project faces are remarkably similar to those which a startup business faces; it needs structures and processes that are matched to the unpredictable, complex environment which it is attempting to influence. MSD projects can thus benefit from private-sector thought leadership on how start-ups can situate themselves for success. This paper starts with an overview of lean thinking, a concept that derives from lean manufacturing which is widely accepted as the leading approach to modern manufacturing. It explains how Ries’s Lean Startup adapts these principles, and then it in turn adapts these ideas for market systems development. The following three sections provide an overview of Lean Startup concepts, applying them to the development sector as appropriate. The final section summarizes and makes suggestions on next steps for funders who wish to set MSD projects up for success using a lean approach. Overall, the paper builds a case for how the Lean Startup’s approach can enable MSD projects to work successfully in ambiguity and increase their potential for achieving robust and sustainable results, all while using donor resources more efficiently.
Keywords: Adaptive Development; Lean

Problem-driven iterative approaches and wider governance reform - Rao, Sumedh (GSDRC, University of Birmingham, 2014)
Identify evidence which suggests that problem-driven, iterative approaches to public sector reform can deliver more substantial, wider, long-term governance reform.

Accounting for a changing and uncertain climate in planning and policymaking today: lessons for developing countries - Ranger, Nicola; Garbett-Shiels, Su-Lin (Climate and Development, 2012)
Climate change is increasingly altering the pattern of climate-related risks. Developing countries and in particular least developed countries will be among the most severely impacted by climate change. These risks can seem remote in comparison with more immediate threats and needs, but if climate change is not considered upfront in existing planning and policymaking processes today, decision makers risk locking-in future impacts that may prove irreversible or much more costly and difficult to rectify than is necessary. The challenge for planners and policymakers, explored in this paper, is that future climate conditions are deeply uncertain. Decision methods are available to tackle these problems; however, these tend to be data- and resource-intensive and therefore, difficult to routinely apply. Further, a gap in currently available guidance is the explicit link to the adaptation needs of a developing country. We discuss the implications of this development context for the priorities for adaptation and the relative allocation of efforts in adaptation. This paper focuses on the identification of adaptation options and strategies that are robust to the deep uncertainties in future climate risk, culminating in a framework of six building blocks. It takes the perspective of exploring how decisions today might be adjusted to account for uncertain and changing long-term climate risks. We suggest a core principle is to focus on promoting climate-resilient development and increasing long-term adaptive capacity while, crucially, avoiding inflexible decisions that could lock-in future climate risk or foreclose adaptation options.
Keywords: Adaptation; Climate change; Development; Planning; robustness; uncertainty

Utilization focused evaluation: a primer for evaluators - Ramirez, Ricardo; Brodhead, Dal (Southbound, 2013)
Ramírez, R., & Brodhead, D. (2013). Utilization focused evaluation: A primer for evaluators. Penang, Malaysia: Southbound. Retrieved from http://evaluationinpractice.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/ufeenglishprimer... This book, authored by Ricardo Ramírez and Dal Brodhead, is designed to support evaluators and program managers implement Utilization-focused evaluation (UFE). It includes detailed discussion of the 12 steps for implementing UFE and also provides a number of case studies to guide the user. Excerpt "Throughout this Primer we refer to the value of having a mentor to assist an evaluator who is using UFE for the first time. Our collective experiences with UFE indicated having a mentor was, for many UFE participants, an essential support and it reflects how we learned and mentored UFE. Evaluators may use elements of a UFE in their work naturally, for example by engaging users in planning the process or in assisting them in the utilization of findings. This Primer, however, walks the reader through UFE by systematically covering all of the 12 steps. It reflects deeply on the UFE evaluation practice and builds from it." (Ramírez & Brodhead 2013) Contents What is Utilization Focused Evaluation? 1 The UFE Framework Summarized in Steps 3 The DECI Project 6 The UFE Steps Illustrated with Project Examples 9 Step 1 Assessing Program Readiness 10 Step 2 Assessing Evaluators’ Readiness 18 Step 3 Identifying Primary Intended Users 24 Step 4 Situational Analysis 31 Step 5 Identification of Primary Intended Users 38 Step 6 Focusing the Evaluation 44 Step 7 Evaluation Design 54 Step 8 Simulation of Use 58 Step 9 Data Collection 62 Step 10 Data Analysis 65 Step 11 Facilitation of Use 68 Step 12 Meta Evaluation 72 Summary About What Each Step Entails 76 What Benefit Does UFE Bring to Commissioners of Evaluation? 81 Take Away Lessons 83 Postscript 87 The UFE Checklist 89 Case Studies 103 Recommended Reading 110
OCLC: 856648540

Adaptive leadership in the coronavirus response - Ramalingam, Ben; Wild, Leni; Ferrari, Matt (ODI, 2020)
The coronavirus pandemic poses unprecedented challenges to science, policy and the interface between the two. How – and how quickly – policy-makers, practitioners and researchers react to this emerging and complex crisis is making a profound difference to people’s lives and livelihoods (WHO, 2020). But how can we ensure effective collective decision-making on the basis of emerging evidence, changing trends and shifting scientific understanding, all in the face of considerable uncertainty? Recent experience highlights the need for adaptive leadership in national and global responses to the outbreak. This briefing paper sets out key principles for what this might look like, and proposes a roadmap for policy-makers, practitioners and researchers to move towards such an approach as they tackle the unfolding crisis. Key messages Tackling the coronavirus outbreak requires adaptation at operational and leadership levels. Operationally, there is scope to strengthen evidence-based adaptive management practices, to adjust the mix and type of interventions being implemented and learn as we go so as to achieve shared goals. This requires adaptive leadership capacities, being open and transparent about learning, using collective decision-making processes and building trust with communities and individuals.

Making adaptive rigour work - Principles and practices for strenghening monitoring, evaluation and learning for adaptive management - Ramalingam, Ben; Wild, Leni; Buffardi, Anne L (ODI/GLAM, 2019)
Adaptive programmes can be accountable, rigorous and high quality in how they use evidence by taking an ’adaptive rigour’ approach. Core development and humanitarian challenges are complex, and require processes of testing, learning and iteration to find solutions – adaptive management offers one approach for this. Yet large bureaucracies and development organisations can have low tolerance for experimentation and learning, and adaptive management can be viewed as an excuse for ‘making things up as you go along’. This briefing from the Global Learning for Adaptive Management (GLAM) initiative argues that adaptive programmes can be accountable, rigorous and high quality in how they use evidence – but this requires rethinking some key assumptions about how they are practised. The paper sets out three key elements of an ‘adaptive rigour’ approach: - Strengthening the quality of monitoring, evaluation and learning data and systems. - Ensuring appropriate investment in monitoring, evaluation and learning across the programme cycle. - Strengthening capacities and incentives to ensure the effective use of evidence and learning as part of decision-making, leading ultimately to improved effectiveness.

Innovations in international humanitarian action - Ramalingam, Ben; Scriven, Kim; Foley, Conor (8th review of humanitarian action, 2009)

Strengthening the Humanitarian Innovation Ecosystem - Ramalingam, Ben; Rush, Howard; Bessant, John; Marshall, Nicholas; Gray, Bill; Hoffman, Kurt; Bayley, Simon; Warren, Kim (University of Brighton, 2015)

5 Principles to Guide Adaptive Leadership - Ramalingam, Ben; Nabarro, David; Oqubuy, Arkebe; Carnall, Dame Ruth; Wild, Leni (Harvard Business Review, 2020)
How you respond to a crisis will have repercussions for years to come. The Covid-19 pandemic is constantly evolving, with leaders facing unpredictability, imperfect information, multiple unknowns, and the need to identify responses quickly — all while recognizing the multi-dimensional (health-related, economic, social, political, cultural) nature of the crisis. Responding to the crisis requires adaptive leadership, which involves what we refer to as the 4 A’s: Anticipation of likely future needs, trends and options. Articulation of these needs to build collective understanding and support for action. Adaptation so that there is continuous learning and the adjustment of responses as necessary. Accountability, including maximum transparency in decision-making processes and openness to challenges and feedback.
Keywords: Crisis management; Leadership

Learning to change: The case for systemic learning strategies in the humanitarian sector - Ramalingam, Ben; Mitchell, John (ALNAP/ODI, 2022)
This paper presents the case for systemic organisational change in the humanitarian system. The paper firstly shows that that organisational learning has tended to reinforce existing ways of working and has not been able to shift a culture that values action over reflection. As a result, the rest of the paper asks about the most significant changes in the humanitarian sector

Strengthening humanitarian networks: Applying the network functions approach - Ramalingam, Ben; Mendizabal, Enrique; Schenkenberg van Mierop, Ed (ODI, 2008)
This note offers a simple, flexible and powerful methodology — the network functions approach (NFA) — that can be applied to analyse and strengthen humanitarian and development networks. Based on research undertaken at ODI and elsewhere, the NFA suggests there are six overlapping functions that different networks perform in varying combinations. Through reflection on a network’s current activities and how they relate to each of these functions, the NFA helps those facilitating, acting within or supporting networks to work towards an ‘ideal’ functional mix. The aim is for network strategies to be honed, thinking clarified, activities sharpened and ultimately, humanitarian performance improved.

From best practice to best fit: understanding and navigating wicked problems in international development - Ramalingam, Ben; Laric, Miguel; Primrose, John (ODI, 2014)

Exploring the science of complexity: Ideas and implications for development and humanitarian efforts - Ramalingam, Ben; Jones, Harry; Reba, Toussaint; Young, John (ODI, 2008)
This paper draws on the science of complexity to outline alternative approaches to analysing and understanding problems faced in humanitarian and development work.

Ten Frontier Technologies for International Development - Ramalingam, Ben; Hernandez, Kevin; Prieto Martin, Pedro; Faith, Becky (IDS, 2016)
As new technologies and digital business models reshape economies and disrupt incumbencies, interest has surged in the potential of novel frontier technologies to also contribute to positive changes in international development and humanitarian contexts. Widespread adoption of new technologies is acknowledged as centrally important to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. But while frontier technologies can rapidly address large-scale economic, social or political challenges, they can also involve the displacement of existing technologies and carry considerable uncertainty and risk. Although there have been significant wins bringing the benefits of new technologies to poor consumers through examples such as mobile money or off-grid solar energy, there are many other areas where the applications may not yet have been developed into viable market solutions, or where opportunities have not yet been taken up in development practice.

Innovation for International Development: Navigating the Paths and Pitfalls - Ramalingam, Ben; Bound, Kirsten (NESTA, 2016)
Experiences, insights and practical advice from over 20 leading practitioners in innovation for international development, brought together in one collection.

Bridging Real-Time Data and Adaptive Management in International Devepment - Case Study Report - Ramalingam, Ben; Barnett, Inka; Valters, Craig; Oppenheimer, Carrie; Levy, Anna; Hernandez, Kevin (IDS, 2017)

Aid on the Edge of Chaos: Rethinking International Cooperation in a Complex World - Ramalingam, Ben (Oxford University Press, 2014)
It is widely recognised that the foreign aid system - of which every country in the world is a part - is in need of drastic overhaul. There are conflicting opinions as to what should be done. Some call for dramatic increases to achieve longstanding promises. Others bang the drum for cutting it altogether, and suggest putting the fate of poor and vulnerable people in the hands of markets or business. A few argue that what is needed is creative, innovative transformation. The arguments in Aid on the Edge of Chaos are firmly in the third of these categories. In this ground-breaking book, Ben Ramalingam shows that the linear, mechanistic models and assumptions that foreign aid is built on are more at home in early twentieth century industry than in the dynamic, complex world we face today. The reality is that economies and societies are less like machines and more like ecosystems. Aid on the Edge of Chaos explores how thinkers and practitioners in economics, business, and public policy have started to embrace new, ecologically literate approaches to thinking and acting, informed by the ideas of complex adaptive systems research. It showcases insights, experiences, and dramatic results of a growing network of practitioners, researchers, and policy makers who are applying a complexity-informed approach to aid challenges. From transforming approaches to child malnutrition, to rethinking process of macroeconomic growth, from rural Vietnam to urban Columbia, Aid on the Edge of Chaos shows how embracing the ideas of complex systems thinking can help make foreign aid more relevant, more appropriate, more innovative, and more catalytic. It argues that taking on these ideas will be a vital part of the transformation of aid, from a post-WW2 mechanism of resource transfer, to a truly innovative and dynamic form of global cooperation fit for the twenty-first century.

Development innovation: Fad, silo or catalyst? - Ramalingam, Ben (Nesta, 2015)
In the first of a two-part blog piece, Ben Ramalingam, affiliate of the Overseas Development Institute / Institute of Development Studies, discusses the challenges of implementing innovation in to the development sector - from keeping expectations realistic to managing the innovation process and assessing impact and value.

Development innovation: Taking the high road - Ramalingam, Ben (Nesta, 2015)
In part two of his blog on the challenges facing development innovation, Ben Ramalingam suggests how we might take the ‘high road’ to bring about long-lasting and meaningful innovation in the sector.

Herramientas de Conocimiento y Aprendizaje: Una Guía para Organizaciones Humanitarias y de Desarrollo - Ramalingam, Ben (ODI, 2006)
This toolkit presents entry points and references to the wide range of tools and methods that have been used to facilitate improved knowledge and learning in the development and humanitarian sectors.
Keywords: spanish

Learning how to learn: eight lessons for impact evaluations that make a difference - Ramalingam, Ben (ODI, 2011)
This Background Note outlines key lessons on impact evaluations, utilisation-focused evaluations and evidence-based policy. While methodological pluralism is the key to effective impact evaluation in development, the focus here is on the factors that need to be considered for impact evaluations to be used in policy and practice – regardless of the method employed.

Learning to Adapt: Building Adaptive Management as a Core Competency in Development Practice - Ramalingam, Ben (Institute of Development Studies, 2016)
Key messages 1. Development policies and programs increasingly operate in situations of high complexity and uncertainty. 2. There are growing efforts across the sector to design, plan and implement more adaptive responses that are more relevant and appropriate in such contexts 3. At the heart of effective adaptive programming is the capability to gather, interpret and use knowledge, information and data in real-time 4. Strengthening this capability requires a positive enabling environment—including tools and methods, structures and processes, leadership and management and culture and mindsets. 5. For adaptive development to succeed, there needs to be greater attention and investment in both knowledge, information and data systems and in appropriate enabling environments
Keywords: IMPORTANT

Manifesto for Half-Arsed Development Reforms - Ramalingam, Ben (Aid on the Edge of Chaos, 2014)
Keywords: IMPORTANT

Tools for Knowledge and Learning: A Guide for Development and Humanitarian Organisations - Ramalingam, Ben (ODI, 2006)
This toolkit presents entry points and references to the wide range of tools and methods that have been used to facilitate improved knowledge and learning in the development and humanitarian sectors.

Getting Practical With Causal Mechanisms: The application of Process-Tracing Under Real-World Evaluation Constraints - Raimondo, Estelle (New Directions for Evaluation, 2020)
Over the past decade, the field of development evaluation has seen a renewed interest in methodological approaches that can answer compelling causal questions about what works, for whom, and why. Development evaluators have notably started to experiment with Bayesian Process Tracing to unpack, test, and enhance their comprehension of causal mechanisms triggered by development interventions. This chapter conveys one such experience of applying Bayesian Process Tracing to the study of citizen engagement interventions within a conditional cash transfer program under real-world evaluation conditions. The chapter builds on this experience to discuss the benefits, challenges, and potential for the applicability of this approach under real-world evaluation conditions of time, money, and political constraints.

What Is a Case?: Exploring the Foundations of Social Inquiry - Ragin, Charles (Cambridge University Press, 2010)
The concept of the case is a basic feature of social science research and yet many questions about how a case should be defined, selected, and judged are far from settled. The contributors to this volume probe the nature of the case and the ways in which different understandings of the concept affect the conduct and the results of research. The contributions demonstrate that the work of any given researcher is often characterised by some hybrid of these basic approaches, and it is important to understand that most research involves multiple definitions and uses of cases, as both specific empirical phenomena and as general theoretical categories.

Emerging Opportunities: Monitoring and Evaluation in a Tech-Enabled World - Raftree, Linda; Bamberger, Michael (ITAD & Rockefeller Foundation, 2014)
Monitoring and evaluation practice is using information and communication technologies for more timely data, and more inclusive voice and feedback.

MERL Tech State of the Field - The evolution of MERL Tech - Raftree, Linda (MERL Tech, 2020)

What are you afraid of: Collective leadership and its learning implications - Raelin, Joseph A (Management Learning, 2018)
In this provocation, the author attempts to cite the advantages of collective leadership while acknowledging the objections and fears of challengers. Collective leadership is seen as remote because it defies the traditional view of leadership as an individualistic attractive quality that not only protects us but is efficient when applied. Nevertheless, the collective alternative may not only be advisable but required in a connected world featuring a networked economy. The contemporary socio-politico-economic environment requires the contribution of, creativity from, and collaboration among multiple agents providing a dynamic concentration of management and knowledge. If we are to accept and recognize the contribution of a collective leadership, its development would require an entirely different learning model. In particular, collective leadership development occurs as an acute immersion into the practices that are embedded within in situ material–discursive relations—in other words, among people, objects, and their institutions.

A Call for Innovation in International Development - R4D (Results for Development, 2015)

Agile on steroids through the RenDanHeYi - Quintarelli, Emanuele (Boundaryless, 2023)
This article offers initial insights into the overlap, positioning, shared values, and convergences between RenDanHeYi compared to agile practices.

Use of environmental sensors and sensor networks to develop water and salinity budgets for seasonal wetland real-time water quality management - Quinn, Nigel W. T.; Ortega, Ricardo; Rahilly, Patrick J. A.; Royer, Caleb W. (Environmental Modelling & Software, 2010)
Management of river salt loads in a complex and highly regulated river basin such as the San Joaquin River Basin of California presents significant challenges for current Information Technology. Computer-based numerical models are used as a means of simulating hydrologic processes and water quality within the basin and can be useful tools for organizing Basin data in a structured and readily accessible manner. These models can also be used to extend information derived from environmental sensors within existing monitoring networks to areas outside these systems based on similarity factors – since it would be cost prohibitive to collect data for every channel or pollutant source within the Basin. A common feature of all hydrologic and water quality models is the ability to perform mass balances. This paper describes the use of a number of state-of-the-art sensor technologies that have been deployed to obtain water and salinity mass balances for a 60,000ha tract of seasonally managed wetlands in the San Joaquin River Basin of California. These sensor technologies are being combined with more traditional environmental monitoring techniques to support real-time salinity management (RTSM) in the River Basin. Two of these new technology applications: YSI-Econet (which supports continuous flow and salinity monitoring of surface water deliveries and seasonal wetland drainage); and electromagnetic salinity mapping (a remote sensing technology for mapping soil salinity in the surface soils) – have not previously been reported in the literature. Continuous sensor deployments that experience more widespread use include: weather station sensor arrays – used to estimate wetland pond evaporation and moist soil plant evapotranspiration; high resolution multi-spectral imagery – used to discriminate between and estimate the area of wetland moist soil plant vegetation; and groundwater level sensors – used primarily to estimate seepage losses beneath a wetland pond during flood-up. Important issues associated with quality assurance of continuous data are discussed and the application of a state-of-the-art software product AQUARIUS, which streamlines the process of data error correction and dissemination, is described as an essential element of ensuring successful RTSM implementation in the San Joaquin River Basin.
Keywords: Environmental decision support; Forecasting; Sensor networks; Sensors; Water quality

Snapshot of Adaptive Management in Peacebuilding Programs - Queen, Emily Forsyth; Baumgardner-Zuzik, Jessica; Hume, Elizabeth; Greenberg, Melanie (Alliance for Peacebuilding, 2018)
The Alliance for Peacebuilding developed the report Snapshot of Adaptive Management in Peacebuilding Programs with support from Humanity United. This report examines how existing organizational programs are designing and learning from adaptive management in a conflict effected and fragile states. It further provides practical recommendations for applying adaptive management to peacebuilding programs based on synthesis … Continue reading "Snapshot of Adaptive Management in Peacebuilding Programs"
Keywords: KEY

Connect. Learn. Adapt. Repeat - Practicing adaptive management in complex, conflict-affected environments: barriers and promising practices - Queen, Emily Forsyth (2018)
To shift aid culture toward adaptive management, we can: - Stay humble, empathetic, and build skills in facilitation and listening. - Focus on working with more flexible foundations or individual donors. Or, work for more rigid donors and help make their policies more flexible. - Get clearer about goals and processes while finding ways to be less specific and more committed to local leadership about pathways to get to the goal. - Resist looking for a magic adaptive management tool and instead get clearer about when teams make what kinds of decisions and matching to tools that support that decision-making. - Validate that everyone’s perspective is a form of data and try out simple ways to document how teams learns and changes. - Broaden and ground the idea of expertise – remembering that, especially when working with folx on the margins, people are the only experts on their own life. Practitioners must also examine how dominant patriarchal, white supremacist, colonial ideas have pushed us toward wanting more control, less flexibility, and less space for equitable decision making.

Fall in love with the solution, not the problem - Quaggiotto, Giulio; Leurs, Bas; Hazeldine, Shaun (Nesta, 2016)
Three strategies for international development organisations to solve problems without defining them.

Innovation at UNDP: from weekend sport to daily practice - Quaggiotto, Giulio; Begovic, Mellie (Nesta, 2016)
The experience of working to embed innovation approaches in everyday practice at UNDP's country offices
Keywords: IMPORTANT

Building elevators for development mutants - Quaggiotto, Giulio (Disrupt & Innovate, 2016)
I recently had the opportunity to learn about General Mill’s (the US food giant) “emerging brands elevator” program (also known as 301 Inc). Traditionally, General Mills has grown either through mergers and acquisitions, or by building new businesses from the ground up. Increasingly, however, it found that small brands were much faster at innovation, so … Continue reading Building elevators for development mutants

Profiling the international development mutants - Quaggiotto, Giulio (Development Impact and You, 2017)
As part of a new series, we talk to Giulio Quaggiotto about the development ‘mutants’ – innovators working at the edge of the field.

The era of development mutants - Quaggiotto, Giulio (Nesta, 2016)
If you were looking for the cutting edge of the development sector, where would you go these days?

Innovation teams and labs. A Practice Guide - Puttick, Ruth (Nesta, 2014)

Engines of Change: What Civic Tech can learn from Social Movements - Purpose; Omidyar Network (Omidyar Network and Purpose, 2016)

Straws-in-the-wind, Hoops and Smoking Guns: What can Process Tracing Offer to Impact Evaluation? - Punton, Melanie; Welle, Katharina (Centre for Development Impact, 2015)
This CDI Practice Paper by Melanie Punton and Katharina Welle explains the methodological and theoretical foundations of process tracing, and discusses its potential application in international development impact evaluations. It draws on two early applications of process tracing for assessing impact in international development interventions: Oxfam Great Britain (GB)’s contribution to advancing universal health care in Ghana, and the impact of the Hunger and Nutrition Commitment Index (HANCI) on policy change in Tanzania. In a companion to this paper, Practice Paper 10 Annex describes the main steps in applying process tracing and provides some examples of how these steps might be applied in practice.
Pages: 8

Reflections from a Realist Evaluation in Progress: Scaling Ladders and Stitching Theory - Punton, Melanie; Vogel, Isabel; Lloyd, Rob (IDS, 2016)
Realist evaluation provides valuable insights into how and why programmes lead to change, and can generate transferable lessons to help practitioners roll out or scale up an intervention. However, as ...

Keeping it Real: Using Mechanisms to Promote Use in the Realist Evaluation of the Building Capacity to Use Research Evidence Program - Punton, Melanie; Vogel, Isabel (New Directions for Evaluation, 2020)
This chapter explores the use of mechanisms within the realist evaluation of the Building Capacity to Use Research Evidence (BCURE) program, a £15.7 million initiative aiming to improve the use of evidence in decision-making in low and middle-income countries. The evaluation was commissioned to establish not just whether BCURE worked but also how and why capacity building can contribute to increased use of evidence in policymaking in the very different contexts in which the program operated. This chapter argues that using mechanisms helped provide nuanced and robust insights into these questions, while also strengthening the usefulness and policy relevance of the evaluation. Drawing primarily on qualitative data, including interviews with more than 500 stakeholders over 3 years, the evaluation explored the mechanisms that promote capacities to use evidence in decision-making, through developing and testing realist context-intervention-mechanism-outcome configurations (CIMOs). Uncovering the value of mechanisms for policy and program learning was not easy, and the chapter sets out some of the thorny challenges faced and how the BCURE evaluation navigated these. Ultimately, the use of mechanisms in the BCURE evaluation helped to generate practical and nuanced insights that fed directly into the design of a £17 million follow-up program. The seven mechanisms uncovered are continuing to inform our own and others’ work on institutional capacity change in a wide range of fields.

Adaptive Programming in Fragile, Conflict and Violence-Affected Settings, What Works and Under What Conditions?: The Case of PERL, Nigeria - Punton, Melanie; Burge, Richard (Itad, Oxfam and IDS, 2018)
This paper examines adaptive approaches to aid programming in Nigeria. Through field research and desk reviews, we have investigated some of the assertions around the ‘adaptive management and programming’ approach, which has arisen in recent years as a response to critiques of overly rigid, pre-designed, blueprint and linear project plans. This is the second of three case studies in a series which explore if and how adaptive approaches, including rapid learning and planning responses, are particularly relevant and useful for promoting empowerment and accountability in fragile, conflict and violence-affected settings (FCVAS). This case study focuses on PERL (Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn) in Nigeria, a five-year governance programme (2016-21) with a total budget of £100 million. It aims to promote better service delivery through bringing together government and citizens groups to collectively address governance challenges. PERL is viewed by DFID as the final stage of a 20-year investment, building on learning, experience and partnerships from 15 years of DFID-funded governance programming in Nigeria. It was designed to incorporate learning and adaptation through a ‘living’ theory of change, continuous political economy analysis at different levels, adaptive implementation by location-based delivery teams who are encouraged to be flexible and let partners take the lead, regular learning and reflection, and adaptive resourcing, HR and administrative systems. The case study draws on a conceptual framework (the ‘adaptive triangle’) that looks at three types of adaptation – adaptive management, adaptive programming and adaptive delivery – and the interconnections and tensions between them.
Keywords: A4EA; Adaptive Development; Economy; Fishery

Procuring and Managing Adaptively: 5 Case Studies of Adaptive Mechanisms - Pryor, Tony (USAID Learning Lab, USAID, 2018)
Flexibility in program management is essential in all of the countries where USAID works. This is especially true in non-permissive environments (NPEs), where the ability to learn and adapt quickly to changing circumstances can help USAID staff members achieve their desired outcomes.

Berkana Two Loop Model: A quick introduction to an accessible model for systems change - Proud, Emma (LinkedIn - Emma Proud, 2023)
A model I've been using a lot recently, to bring systems thinking to life, is the Berkana Two Loop model. It doesn't describe complexity or systems thinking. But it does describe systems change in a way that's simple and oriented to action.

Managing uncertainty when your brain doesn’t like it - Proud, Emma (LearnAdapt, 2020)
Over lockdown there were a lot of tantrums in our household. The tears and tussles were at a dramatic high when the schools closed, and…

Physically distanced adaptive management - Proud, Emma (LearnAdapt, 2020)
Opportunities and challenges for local leadership

Principles for managing in complexity - Proud, Emma (LearnAdapt, 2020)
Written by Toby Lowe and Shaheen Warren (Centre for Public Impact) and Sam Sharp (Overseas Development Institute), with input from Jamie…

It's All About MeE: Using Structured Experiential Learning (“e”) to Crawl the Design Space - Pritchett, Lant; Samji, Salimah; Hammer, Jeffrey (Center for Global Development, 2013)
This paper argues that within-project variations in design can serve as their own counterfactual, reducing the incremental cost of evaluation and increasing the direct usefulness of evaluation to implementing agencies. It suggests combining monitoring (‘M’), structured experiential learning (‘e’), and evaluation (‘E’) so as to facilitate innovation and organisational capability building while also providing accountability …

How did China create “Directed Improvisation”? - Pritchett, Lant (Building State Capability, 2017)
written by Lant Pritchett Yuen-Yuen Ang, a Professor of Political Science at University of Michigan came to speak at Harvard the other day and I was lucky enough to hear her presentation. Her most…
Keywords: IMPORTANT

Let’s Take the Con Out of Randomized Control Trials in Development - Pritchett, Lant (Center for International Development, Harvard University, 2021)
The enthusiasm for the potential of RCTs in development rests in part on the assumption that the use of the rigorous evidence that emerges from an RCT (or from a small set of studies identified as rigorous in a “systematic” review) leads to the adoption of more effective policies, programs or projects. However, the supposed benefits of using rigorous evidence for “evidence based” policy making depend critically on the extent to which there is external validity. If estimates of causal impact or treatment effects that have internal validity (are unbiased) in one context (where the relevant “context” could be country, region, implementing organization, complementary policies, initial conditions, etc.) cannot be applied to another context then applying evidence that is rigorous in one context may actually reduce predictive accuracy in other contexts relative to simple evidence from that context—even if that evidence is biased (Pritchett and Sandefur 2015). Using empirical estimates from a large number of developing countries of the difference in student learning in public and private schools (just as one potential policy application) I show that commonly made assumptions about external validity are, in the face of the actual observed heterogeneity across contexts, both logically incoherent and empirically unhelpful. Logically incoherent, in that it is impossible to reconcile general claims about external validity of rigorous estimates of causal impact and the heterogeneity of the raw facts about differentials. Empirically unhelpful in that using a single (or small set) of rigorous estimates to apply to all other actually leads to a larger root mean square error of prediction of the “true” causal impact across contexts than just using the estimates from non-experimental data from each country. In the data about private and public schools, under plausible assumptions, an exclusive reliance on the rigorous evidence has RMSE three times worse than using the biased OLS result from each context. In making policy decisions one needs to rely on an understanding of the relevant phenomena that encompasses all of the available evidence.

The Debate about RCTs in Development is over. We won. They lost. - Pritchett, Lant (2018)
There has been a debate in development economics over the last 20 years as some claimed the use of RCTs as a tool for independent impact evaluation would significantly improve development practice and hence development. While right about the methodological claims about the superiority of randomization to produce cleaner estimates of the LATE (local average treatment effect) of projects and programs, this, in and of itself, does not change development practice. All of the five claims needed to sustain a positive model in which RCT/IIE has a major positive impact are demonstrably false. The proponents of RCTs have responded to losing the first round decisively by changing significantly both their claims and their practice.

Between logframes and theory of change: reviewing debates and a practical experience - Prinsen, Gerard; Nijhof, Saskia (Development in Practice, 2015)
Theory of Change (ToC) is an emerging methodology in the practice of development programmes, often contrasted with the dominant logical framework. This article reviews current debates around ToC before identifying five aspects that are appreciated in practice. It appears that these aspects mostly cover areas where the logical framework is not – or is no longer – meeting the needs of practitioners. Subsequently, the article analyses experiences in ToC training for NGO staff and concludes that ToC can address shortcomings of the logical framework – if only by going back to some of the roots of the logical framework.
Publisher: Routledge _eprint: https://doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2015.1003532

Caracterizando la participación ciudadana en el marco del Gobierno Abierto - Prieto-Martín, Pedro; Ramírez-Alujas, Álvaro V. (Revista del CLAD. Reforma y Democracia, 2014)
Este artículo profundiza conceptualmente en las dimensiones del Gobierno Abierto, centrándose en el análisis y caracterización de su dimensión participativa. Se propone, en primer lugar, una tipología de actos participativos que muestra el efecto potenciador que las TIC ejercen sobre las distintas formas de participación. En segundo lugar, se presentan los denominados “Esquemas de participación” (EdP), un instrumento conceptual que facilita el análisis y la representación estandarizada de las dimensiones más importantes de la participación. Los EdP proporcionan así, por un lado, un modelo de categorización que extiende nuestra comprensión crítica de la participación y, por otro lado, una herramienta potente y flexible para la comunicación, el diseño y la evaluación de diversos tipos de iniciativas participativas.

Doing Digital Development Differently: Lessons in adaptive management from technology for governance initiatives in Kenya - Prieto Martin, Pedro; Hernandez, Kevin; Faith, Becky; Ramalingam, Ben (IDS, 2017)
Development projects don’t always work as planned. This has long been acknowledged by those in the sector, and has led to several approaches that seek to solve complex development problems through enabling and encouraging greater adaptiveness and learning within projects (e.g. Doing Development Differently and Problem-Driven Iterative Adaptation). Digital development projects experience many of these issues. Using technology for transparency and accountability (Tech4T&A) projects in Kenya as case studies, our research analysed the many different theoretical approaches to learning and adaptation, and then tested how these play out in reality. Firstly, we conducted an extensive review of the literature on the spectrum of approaches to adaptive learning. The findings were used to develop a framework through which to analyse adaptiveness at the different layers of complexity in projects (e.g. software design and development, programme design and management). The second part of the research consisted of interviews and focus group discussions with participants in Tech4T&A projects in Kenya. Respondents helped us identify the main characteristics of adaptiveness in their projects (e.g. who needs to adapt, and how and when) and the challenges and issues that inhibit projects’ abilities to be adaptive. This process also revealed how accountability interplays with adaptiveness, and considered how better collaboration flows can enable adaptiveness. From our literature review and empirical study, we draw several conclusions for increasing adaptiveness in digital development projects. These include simplifying the many adaptive theories that abound, increasing responsiveness to project beneficiaries and stakeholders, and for stakeholders to keep on experimenting, networking and advocating.
Keywords: IMPORTANT

Interview protocol: Most significant turning points - Prieto Martin, Pedro; Faith, Becky (Institute of Development Studies, 2017)
This interview protocol was used for a research project on adaptiveness in technology for governance initiatives in Kenya. For more information, please read the research report at: Prieto Martin, P.; Hernandez, K.; Faith, B. and Ramalingam, B. (2017) Doing Digital Development Differently: Lessons in adaptive management from technology for governance initiatives in Kenya, MAVC Research Report, Brighton: Institute of Development Studies, ids.ac.uk/project/making-all-voices-count
Keywords: IMPORTANT

Adaptive Management in SDC: Challenges and Opportunities - Prieto Martin, Pedro; Apgar, Marina; Hernandez, Kevin (IDS, 2020)
Adaptive management (AM) is a programme management approach that helps international development organisations to become more learning-oriented and more effective in addressing complex development challenges. AM practices have been applied for decades within other sectors as varied as logistics, manufacturing, product design, military strategy, software development and lean enterprise. At its core, AM is not much more than common sense, as it essentially recognises that the solutions to complex and dynamic problems cannot be identified at the outset of a programme but need to emerge throughout the process of implementation as a result of systematic and intentional monitoring and learning. The generic AM process typically involves an iterative cycle of design, implementation, reflection and adaptation activities, supported both by system monitoring and stakeholder involvement to obtain a better understanding of the evolving system and improve how the intervention is managed. A favourable context for AM in development. During recent decades, the international development sector has aimed to increase its results and impact orientation. As a result, a growing number of development organisations and governments have become increasingly aware of the limitations of traditional ‘linear and prescriptive’ programming approaches. They are now recognising the need to handle complexity better, and have begun to adapt their policies and practices to facilitate adaptive approaches. The World Bank, for example, now acknowledges that aid agencies need to increase flexibility of implementation, tolerate greater risk and ambiguity, devolve power from aid providers to aid partners, and avoid simplistic linear schemes for measuring results. Multilateral and bilateral organisations such as the World Bank, the United Kingdom’s (UK) Department for International Development (DFID) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) are currently experimenting with adaptive approaches. A multitude of adaptive approaches and communities of practice have emerged that aim to improve the effectiveness of aid, including Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting, Thinking and Working Politically, Doing Development Differently, Market Systems Development, Conflict-Sensitive Programme Management, and Science of Delivery. Since generic AM approaches have existed for decades in other sectors, AM has the potential to act as a neutral ‘bridge language’ that facilitates exchange and learning among the different communities and donors. This report is the result of a learning partnership between the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Institute of Development Studies (IDS). It assesses the relevance of AM to SDC, how it relates to working practices across SDC, and the key challenges and opportunities for SDC. Its process of elaboration involved a literature review on AM, an exploration of AM approaches from several bilateral donors, a series of 6 interviews with SDC staff and partners working in different countries and thematic domains, and a learning workshop at SDC headquarters (HQ), where staff from several SDC divisions reflected on AM and on how to advance the organisation’s capacity for adaptive programming and learning.

Adaptiveness through ‘simplest tools and practices’ - Prieto Martin, Pedro (Institute of Development Studies, 2017)
In recent years, more and more influential development organisations have been openly recognising the central role that adaptive management capacities – the ability to keep improving strategies and actions as programmes unfold – play for the success of complex interventions. As a result, there has been a rich exchange of ideas and experiences on how to promote adaptiveness in development. But development organisations and professionals are having a hard time translating the many adaptive theories and recommendations into improved practices and outcomes. They are generally failing to adjust the design and operation of programmes to accommodate incipient lessons learnt and the unexpected changes in the context. Nowadays, most programme adaptations still take the form of a change of direction once it is clear that things have gone really wrong. Why is so difficult to put what we know about adaptiveness into practice? And more importantly: what can be done to improve this situation?

How to develop capacity in the international development sector - Prieto Martín, Pedro (CLARISSA, 2022)
In her acclaimed study of effective cross-organizational teamwork, Harvard Business School Professor Amy C. Edmonson concluded that “trying things that...

Participation Schemas: a tool to characterize collaborative participation - Prieto-Martín, Pedro (PDD2014, Contemporary difficulties and future prospects for Participatory and Deliberative Democracy, NewCastle, 2014)

READ ME - HOW TO USE THIS AM LIBRARY - Prieto Martin, Pedro (Institute of Development Studies, 2019)

How Does Developing Enforcement Capacity Reduce Wildlife Crime? Increasing program effectiveness by understanding common assumptions - Price, Claire; Buff, Jesse; Peabody, Shawn; Present, Tess; Lauck, Liz (USAID, 2018)
"How Does Developing Enforcement Capacity Reduce Wildlife Crime?" summarizes findings from the literature around four key assumptions about capacity building for enforcement and prosecution. Using the experiences and evidence summarized in this brief, program designers and implementing partners should be able to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of their capacity building efforts.

A trainer's guide for participatory learning and action - Pretty, Jules; Guijt, Irene (2002)

Putting vulnerability to climate change on the map: a review of approaches, benefits, and risks - Preston, Benjamin L.; Yuen, Emma J.; Westaway, Richard M. (Sustainability Science; Dordrecht, 2011)
There is growing demand among stakeholders across public and private institutions for spatially-explicit information regarding vulnerability to climate change at the local scale. However, the challenges associated with mapping the geography of climate change vulnerability are non-trivial, both conceptually and technically, suggesting the need for more critical evaluation of this practice. Here, we review climate change vulnerability mapping in the context of four key questions that are fundamental to assessment design. First, what are the goals of the assessment? A review of published assessments yields a range of objective statements that emphasize problem orientation or decision-making about adaptation actions. Second, how is the assessment of vulnerability framed? Assessments vary with respect to what values are assessed (vulnerability of what) and the underlying determinants of vulnerability that are considered (vulnerability to what). The selected frame ultimately influences perceptions of the primary driving forces of vulnerability as well as preferences regarding management alternatives. Third, what are the technical methods by which an assessment is conducted? The integration of vulnerability determinants into a common map remains an emergent and subjective practice associated with a number of methodological challenges. Fourth, who participates in the assessment and how will it be used to facilitate change? Assessments are often conducted under the auspices of benefiting stakeholders, yet many lack direct engagement with stakeholders. Each of these questions is reviewed in turn by drawing on an illustrative set of 45 vulnerability mapping studies appearing in the literature. A number of pathways for placing vulnerability mapping on a more robust footing are also identified. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
Keywords: Climate change; Mapping; Risk assessment; Sustainable development

Redefining Rigor: Describing Quality Evaluation in Complex, Adaptive Settings - Preskill, Hallie; Lynn, Jewlya (FSG, 2016)
Traditionally, evaluation has focused on understanding whether a program is making progress against pre-determined indicators. In this context, the quality of the evaluation is often measured in part by the “rigor” of the methods and scientific inquiry.

Evaluating Complexity. Propositions for improving practice - Preskill, Hallie; Gopal, Srik (FSG, 2014)
9 propositions can help evaluators measure progress on complex social problems.
Keywords: IMPORTANT

Combating Wildlife Trafficking Cross-Mission Learning Agenda - Present, Teresa; Peabody, Shawn (USAID, 2017)

Identifying general trends and patterns in complex systems research: An overview of theoretical and practical implications - Preiser, Rika (Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 2019)
Research on complex systems is becoming more prolific, and there is a need to provide some point of orientation to researchers and practitioners that are drawing on the body of literature that informs the field of complexity research. In this paper, I aim to give an overview of the development of the field and offer some overarching trends and patterns that are recognizable in research on complex systems. The paper then draws on the work to provide six organizing principles of complex systems to inform practical implications and methods for studying and understanding complex systems.
Keywords: complex systems; heuristics; trends and patterns

Engaging scientists through institutional histories - Prasad, Shambu; Hall, Andrew; Thummuru, Laxmi (CGIAR, 2006)
An institutional history is a narrative that records key points about how institutional arrangements – new ways of working – evolve over time creating more effective ways to achieve goals. It can be used to document institutional innovations in projects and to highlight barriers to change. An institutional history draws out and synthesizes lessons for research organizations and partners as well as for others in similar circumstances.

All about behaviour: KAPE, Adaptation and ' Sticky' Institutional Change - Power, Greg (Global Partners Governance, 2016)
This paper describes Global Partners Governance’s (GPG’s) approach to institutional reform and political change. Developed over the last decade of working in some of the most complex and sensitive political environments with politicians and officials in parliaments, political parties, ministries and local government, it describes the KAPE® (knowledge-application-practice-effect) methodology that we adopt to get ‘sticky’ institutional and behavioural change. Contents 1) Two dimensions of ‘adaptive programmes’: Flexible delivery and getting behaviour change 2) Enabling Change: KAPE and The Logic of Institutional Reform (Knowledge-Application-Practice-Effect) - K: Knowledge – Defining the problem and what to do about it - A: Application – Making Systems Work in Practice - P: Practice – Pockets of good practice and establishing ‘the new normal’ - E: Effect – Improved performance and the ‘Ripple Effect’ 3) Measuring Impact: Monitoring and Evolving 4) Conclusion: Behavioural insights, adaptive management and sticky change

Causal mapping for evaluators - Powell, Steve; Copestake, James; Remnant, Fiona (Evaluation, 2023)
Evaluators are interested in capturing how things causally influence one another. They are also interested in capturing how stakeholders think things causally i...
Publisher: SAGE PublicationsSage UK: London, England

Decision-Making and Data Use Landscaping [at DFID] - Powell, Josh; Orton-Vipond, Sarah; Bhatia, Vinisha; Kilroy, Annie (Development Gateway, 2018)
As DFID aims to harness the Data Revolution, ensuring that data1 drive decision-making, public accountability, and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ensuring that systems, processes, and skills for data are aligned with these objectives is paramount. Across sector policy teams, country offices, and various analytical and technical cadres, different strengths and weaknesses, as well as needs and ambitions exist. To inform a strategic approach to data, as framed in its forthcoming Data Roadmap, DFID collaborated with Development Gateway to perform a Decision and Data Use Landscaping study. This report details lessons learned from approximately 60 interviews across 4 DFID country offices, all sector policy teams, senior managers, and various analytical and technical cadres and offices.

Poverty Stoplight - povertystoplight.org (2018)
What is the Poverty Stoplight? The Stoplight is a tool that seeks to activate the potential of families and communities to lift themselves out of poverty. Using a technology platform, it offers a self-assessment survey and intervention model that enables people to develop practical solutions to overcome their specific needs. We work with organizations from different sectors around the world and bring together a network of powerful actors with one clear mission: eliminate poverty worldwide. The Stoplight Community is comprised of government agencies, private companies, small and medium-sized enterprises, non-profits, cooperatives, microfinance organizations, academic institutions, and sports clubs, among others.

Critical agency and development: applying Freire and Sen to ICT4D in Zambia and Brazil - Poveda, Sammia; Roberts, Tony (Information Technology for Development, 2017)
(2017). Critical agency and development: applying Freire and Sen to ICT4D in Zambia and Brazil. Information Technology for Development. Ahead of Print. doi: 10.1080/02681102.2017.1328656

Information needs and policy change - Potter, Stephen; Subrahumanian, Ramya (Sage, 2007)

A Pragmatic Approach to Assessing System Change - Posthumus, Hans; Shah, Rachel; Miehlbradt, Alexandra; Kessler, Adam (DCED, 2020)
Planning for and assessing system change is a strategic management issue. It is critical for everything from developing a strategy and designing interventions, to adapting strategy, improving implementation and reporting impact. But many programmes get stuck when it comes to assessing system change. The private sector development field has struggled to agree on an approach that programmes can implement and stakeholders can understand. However some mature programmes are starting to assess system change more effectively. Building on these emerging practices, this paper outlines a process that programmes can use to assess system changes regularly and practically. Two complementary papers: Overview and How to put it into practice The Overview summarises the approach and How to put it into practice provides more detailed implementation guidance, worked examples, and useful tips. The Overview explores how to: develop a system change strategy and intervention plans that lay the groundwork for system change assessment, including how to set system boundaries and how to identify the system changes a programme aims to catalyse assess system changes using both: - an intervention lens focused on changes introduced by specific interventions - a helicopter lens that provides a whole system view By analysing findings from both lenses, programmes can improve their strategy and report on their contribution to system change. How to put it into practice uses two case examples for illustration throughout the paper - PRISMA’s work in the maize system in East Java and Indonesia and S4J’s work in the Vocational Education and Training (VET) system in Albania. It targets practitioners responsible for facilitating and/or assessing system change. The paper explains how to: articulate the system changes that a programme aims to catalyse assess those changes use the results to inform decision making and reporting The approach described in the paper builds on the practices outlined in the DCED Results Measurement Standard. The guidance provided has been designed to be useful to programmes that aim to catalyse system changes whether or not they apply the DCED Standard.

Positive Deviance Initiative - Positive Deviance Initiative (2018)

A new bird's eye view on the agile forest - Portman, Henny (PM World Journal, 2020)

A new bird's eye view on the agile forest (2022 update) - Portman, Henny (PM World Journal, 2020)
Some years ago, you could say “Scrum is agile” and ask “is Agile Scrum?” Now we know there is much more flesh on the bones. At this moment there are more than fifty known and less known agile approaches, frameworks or methods available. To get a first impression of the different approaches, I try to bring some structure in the jungle to approaches, methods and frameworks. In Figure 1, I position the best-known agile approaches in a structure. The approaches, frameworks or methods are positioned within the 'One-time programs / projects' sections or within 'Business as usual’ / indefinite, or both. On the other side the approaches, frameworks or methods are clustered around team, product or programme and portfolio level. In the dark blue boxes in Figure 1 we see agile approaches that are only applicable in IT-focused organizations. All other approaches can be used within IT and non-IT-oriented organizations (light blue coloured). I haven’t mapped all the known approaches, frameworks and methods in this figure, and to be honest, I think there is a lot of duplication and probably commercial drivers play a role too to ‘develop’ the next kid on the block without added value in comparison with the existing approaches, frameworks or methods. The team level, including Scrum and Kanban, is applicable in both IT-oriented and non-IT-oriented products and services development and operations. The engineering level focuses specifically on IT-oriented product development. The one-time, temporary projects and programme frameworks and methods are suitable for both IT and non-IT. The permanent umbrella frameworks (both product-targeted and team-targeted) focus specifically on IT and product development and the Culture-targeted approaches help organisations to increase their agility.

Winners and Losers in the Global App Economy - Pon, Bryan (2016)

Illogical Framework: The Importance of Monitoring and Evaluation in International Development Studies - Pomerantz, Jessica R. (Cornell Policy Review, 2011)
In my brief experience with monitoring and evaluation, I have become convinced that it is critically important both as an international development project component and as a field of academic study. Throughout my academic career at Cornell University, I have, at times, argued that monitoring and evaluation has actually impeded development efforts, but here I wish to amend my opinion. Bad monitoring and evaluation can sabotage development projects and our meaningful interpretation of development impacts; failures can appear to be successes and vice-versa. As a student and practitioner of monitoring and evaluation, I have drawn the conclusions listed below and I submit them for your consideration. • Monitoring and evaluation is a key element of the international development industry applicable to many areas of public administration, domestic and international. • International development failures could be discovered and averted or corrected given proper monitoring and evaluation activities. • Anecdotal evidence from development activities in Afghanistan provides one example of the international community’s lack of attention to monitoring and evaluation concerning an ongoing development catastrophe. • Higher education ought to be filling the monitoring and evaluation knowledge gap but to date is failing to do so.

Measuring Governance, Advocacy and Power: A Database of Existing Indicators, Tools and Indices - Poirrier, Caroline; Tolmie, Courtney (R4D, 2020)
Measuring Governance, Advocacy, and Power is an excel sheet that brings together existing indicators, tools, and indices that may be useful to practitioners responsible for the measurement of outcomes in the field of governance, advocacy, and power in an easily accessible and filterable format.

Seeing (from) Digital Peripheries: Technology and Transparency in Kenya’s Silicon Savannah - Poggiali, Lisa (Cultural Anthropology, 2016)

Design thinking: understand - improve - apply - Plattner, Hasso; Meinel, Christoph; Leifer, Larry (Springer, 2011)
"In this book, the researchers take a system's view that begins with a demand for deep, evidence-based understanding of design thinking phenomena. They continue with an exploration of tools which can help improve the adaptive expertise needed for design thinking. The final part of the book concerns design thinking in information technology and its relevance for business process modeling and agile software development, i.e. real world creation and deployment of products, services, and enterprise systems"–Cover
Keywords: Creative ability in business; Creative thinking; Designer; Industrial management; Innovation; Organizational change; Product development; System design; Technological innovations

PLA Notes 32: Participation, Literacy and Empowerment - PLA (IIED, 1998)

What Startups Can Learn from General McChrystal about Combining Strategy and Execution - Pisoni, Adam (First Round, 2015)
Yammer Co-founder Adam Pisoni speaks with General Stanley McChrystal about the lessons technology companies might take away from his new book Team of Teams.

Twenty years of UK governance programmes in Nigeria - Piron, Laure-Hélène; Cummings, Clare; Williams, Gareth; Derbyshire, Helen; Hadley, Sierd (ODI, 2021)
This Flagship report analyses 20 years of governance programmes in Nigeria funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in the North-western states of Jigawa (since 2001), Kano (since 2005) and Kaduna (since 2006), as well as the North-eastern state of Yobe (since 2011). The report’s main research question is whether, how, under what conditions and for whom UK-funded state-level governance programmes in Nigeria have contributed to sustained changes in governance, and related changes in health and education. ... The report concludes with the following recommendations: To international development partners: 1. Invest for the long term – 10 to 20 years – combining support for both state and nonstate actors. 2. Ensure programmes have the strategic-level mandate, managerial capacity and frontline staff skills to pursue politically savvy opportunities. 3. Take PEA to the next level by unpacking causal mechanisms, understanding incentives and designing interventions to make change happen. 4. Give governance programmes the ability to flex between core governance and service delivery issues. 5. Incentivise greater collaboration between governance and sector programmes. 6. Incentivise greater attention to gender, and to social inclusion beyond disability issues, in governance programming. To FCDO: 7. Empower and resource FCDO teams to enable TWP programmes, ensuring decision-making by country teams to respond to local priorities. 8. Re-imagine TWP for FCDO Nigeria, giving implementers the space to operate in TWP ways. 9. Incentivise stronger collaboration between PERL, Lafiya (health programme) and the Partnership for Learning for All in Nigerian Education. 10. Invest in impact data analysis. To partner governments in Nigeria and beyond: 11. Explicitly set out the objectives for which you would like to receive assistance. 12. Use TWP principles to decide how development partners can support your political objectives and the scope for politically-feasible and mutually-beneficial collaboration. 13. Invest in the coordination of development partners. To non-state partners in Nigeria and beyond: 14. Join coalitions to achieve your priorities. 15. Select development partners which can strengthen your skills, not just fund your activities.

Is DFID Getting Real About Politics?A stocktake of how DFID has adopted a politically-informed approach (2010-2015) - Piron, Laure-Hélène; Baker, Aislin; Savage, Laura; Wiseman, Katie (DFID, 2016)
1. Background This internal stocktake assesses whether DFID is “getting real about politics” - how it is taking power and politics into account in all its operations. Country Poverty Reduction Diagnostics undertaken by DFID teams identify politics as the most frequent barrier to poverty reduction and growth. The UK 2015 Aid Strategy has committed DFID to spending 50% of Official Development Assistance (ODA) in fragile states. This requires a “patient, long-term approach” to addressing barriers to peace and stability which are fundamentally political, rather than purely financial or technical. The stocktake is based on three DFID offices case studies (Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pakistan and Malawi) as well as extensive internal and external consultations between June and December 2015. It provides illustrations of how DFID is evolving but does not systematically offer evidence of development impacts or non-country work, as this would have required a different methodology. 2. What does it mean to take politics into account? Politically-informed approaches are based on a large body of evidence that confirms the importance of institutions and politics for sustainable development. External assistance needs to support locally-led change. Success depends on timing, context, political processes and local actors. Desirable outcomes are hard to achieve and difficult to predict. Politically-informed approaches improve development effectiveness through:  The ‘what’: political goals, using development assistance to shift how power is distributed in the economy and society. The two main elements are: aiming for long term transformation of institutions; and supporting locally-led change processes more likely to be sustainable and successful: locallyowned (i.e. with local salience) and locally-negotiated.  The ‘how’: politically-smart methods, with greater realism and feasibility. The three main elements are: understanding power and politics in a specific context in order to identify opportunities and barriers for change; influencing and stakeholder management skills; and proactive risk management. To influence DFID operations, a politically-informed approach needs to be iterative, not one-off. The explicit understanding of context, whether formal setpiece studies or more routine analysis, should inform policy and programme decisions, from high level strategic choices, to day-to-day implementation, for both international policy and country support. This is a dynamic process: as the context evolves and lessons are learned about what works, analyses and decisions are updated. These are the principles behind the ‘flexible and adaptive’ agenda.