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 […]
International development
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
BSC Video 7: Understanding your Authorizing Environment
In the systems we operate within, who identifies problems? who identifies solutions? and how do these people mobilize the ones who have power and authority? In our research we find […]
BSC Video 6: Understanding your Eco-system
The process of building state capability involves people, who are the ultimate complex phenomena; embedded within organizations, which are complex; and organizations are embedded in rules systems (e.g. institutions, cultures, […]
BSC Video 5: Typology of Tasks by Capability Intensity needed for Implementation
It is important when thinking about building state capability, to first ask, what is the “type of problem” you are trying to solve? In this video, Lant Pritchett, provides a […]
BSC Video 4: Capability for Policy Implementation
Policy implementation requires agents of organizations who are responsible for implementation, to do the right thing, at the right time, and in the right place. In this video, Lant Pritchett, […]
BSC Video 3: Form ≠ Function
Development involves change, and change always happens within a context. The focus in development however, is on transplanting successes and adopting ambitious “best practice” modes of governance and public administration, […]