written by Salimah Samji. Anyone who has ever worked in India knows how hard it is to implement programs. The sheer size of the country makes it impossible for anyone but the government, who is the only one with infrastructure and reach, to provide public services to its citizens. Currently, every district administers typically 100+…Continue Reading PMRDF: an Innovative State Capability Experiment in India
Rigorous Evidence Isn’t
written by Lant Pritchett Currently, there are many statements floating around in development about the use of “rigorous evidence” in formulating policies and programs. Nearly all of these claims are fatuous. The problem is, rigorous evidence isn’t. That is, suppose one generates some evidence about the impact of some programmatic or policy intervention in one…Continue Reading Rigorous Evidence Isn’t
BSC Video 13: Scaling through the Diffusion of Practice
Innovations and adaptations that occur in one place often need to be scaled in order to lead to system-level change. However, in development, the road from small to big is challenging and rife with pitfalls. In this last of the first BSC video series, Michael Woolcock, discusses our approach to building state capability, which is…Continue Reading BSC Video 13: Scaling through the Diffusion of Practice
BSC Video 12: Maintaining your Authorizing Environment
Maintaining your support through a change process is often a challenging task which requires time and effort. In this video, Matt Andrews, explains how one does not only have to maintain the initial authorization, but also expand the number of actors who provide authorization, thus increasing the legitimacy of the project or reform. You can…Continue Reading BSC Video 12: Maintaining your Authorizing Environment
BSC Video 11: Learn Iterate Adapt
Organizations have multiple objectives. In public organizations, the search for legitimacy often clashes with the search for functionality. This is mainly because rewards are geared around form and not function. In this video, Matt Andrews, talks about how you can get both legitimacy and functionality at the same time. You can watch the video below…Continue Reading BSC Video 11: Learn Iterate Adapt
BSC Video 10: Specifying the Design Space
The design space of actual development projects is complex, granular, and nuanced. In this video, Lant Pritchett, uses a simple example of a design space for teacher training to illustrate this point. You can watch the video below or on YouTube. If you are interested in learning more, read It’s All About MeE: Using Structured…Continue Reading BSC Video 10: Specifying the Design Space
PDIA and Obamacare
written by Matt Andrews Governments often face unenviable tasks that border on the impossible, given particularly thorny political and administrative complexities. Commentators typically deride governments when they fail in their initial attempts to address such tasks. They pen new laws that are less than many had hoped for, and call public agencies inefficient (or worse)…Continue Reading PDIA and Obamacare
BSC Video 9: Constructing Problems to Drive Change
Problems are key to driving change. In this video, Matt Andrews, uses two examples about HIV in Pakistan, to illustrate how constructing local problems using data can be used to mobilize stakeholders to search for solutions that ultimately drive change. You can watch the video below or on YouTube. If you are interested in learning…Continue Reading BSC Video 9: Constructing Problems to Drive Change
Tales (and Tells) of a Development Amateur
written by Lant Pritchett Nina Munk’s new book The Idealist: Jeffrey Sachs and the Quest to End Poverty is a great read. The book itself has been reviewed by development luminaries Bill Easterly, Angus Deaton, and Duncan Green and is on various “Best Book of 2013” lists. One of my children required extremely complicated heart…Continue Reading Tales (and Tells) of a Development Amateur
BSC Video 8: What is PDIA?
Problem Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA) is an approach we have developed to help escape capability traps. PDIA rests on four core principles: Local Solutions for Local Problems: Transitioning from promoting solutions (pre-determined by external experts) to allowing the local nomination and articulation of concrete problems to be solved. Pushing Problem Driven Positive Deviance: Creating environments…Continue Reading BSC Video 8: What is PDIA?