This blog forms part of a series of internal Political Economy Analysis (PEA) updates compiled by Priya Chattier/Tara Davda, with general wisdom by Graham Teskey and Lavinia Tyrrel. Thanks to Leisa Gibson (and Priya) for GESI support. We will aim to publish these every fortnight or so. Watch this space. It’s all about the framing …
Continue reading PEA Update 2 : “Thinking politically” – PEA framing and tools
Credit: The Guardian Australia In July 2013, the distinguished British writer and philosopher, Julian Baggini, had a piece published in the Guardian newspaper entitled ‘In Praise of Cynicism’. The key excerpt is shown on the right. I have quoted this many times since in presentations, and it always raises eyebrows. Development practitioners consider themselves optimists. …
By Graham Teskey A remarkable book has just been published written by two remarkable blokes about a remarkable program. The book tells the story of an Australian-funded institutional reform initiative in the Philippines that did development differently well before the geeks at Harvard (sorry Matt) invented the term. The book is called “Thinking and Working …
Continue reading One book, two blokes, many small bets, and some spectacular outcomes
By Graham Teskey, Priya Chattier and Tara Davda Political economy analysis (PEA) refers to a body of theory and practice that was first identified by the great economists of the 18th and 19th centuries. Indeed, economics was originally termed ‘political economy’. It was only when mathematics intruded that the word ‘political’ was dropped. Political economy …
When: Wednesday 16 September 2020 4pm – 5.30pm AEST Where: via Zoom In a post COVID-19 world, budgets are tighter, grants and consultancies are (even) more competitive. The pressure to demonstrate ‘real-world impact’ and ‘reach’ is at odds with real-life time pressures and budget lines. In policy, the Partnerships for Recovery is committed to “monitoring, evaluation, research, learning and …
Continue reading Online networking event | Evidence-based practice: what’s next?
By Vishal Gadhavi and Lavinia Tyrrel The UK Government has a short window of opportunity to make the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Department for International Development (DFID) merger work. But this means learning from one key mistake made by its antipodean cousin (Australia): operational integration does not automatically lead to strategic integration. A …
The aim of this blog is to suggest ways in which the ‘governance discourse’ (what a grand term!) is changing – indeed has already changed - as a result of Covid-19. I know that blogs are supposed to be discursive and informal. Recently our office was privileged to have a session with that master-blogger, Duncan …
By Matilda Nash, Lavinia Tyrrel and Graham Teskey Over the past two years, Abt’s Governance and Development Practice (GDP) have worked with local partners in over 13 countries across the Pacific, Asia and Africa to apply Political Economy Analysis (PEA) approaches to sector programming (see briefing note for further detail). The aim? To help us …
In his blog of June 4, Stephen Howes said that there was a lot to about DFAT’s new ‘Partnerships for Recovery’ strategy. There was also a lot to like about Stephen’s blog. He ended by suggesting that the strategy was too tentative to be convincing. My concern is different – it is too short-term to …
Continue reading But what about Australian aid in five years’ time?
By Graham Teskey The only thing that surprised DFID staff regarding its recent absorption into the FCO was the timing of the decision. With Covid-19 at something of a global peak staff perhaps expected a temporary reprieve. Still, a crisis is always a good time to bury bad news. So DFID lasted 23 years. I …
Continue reading Thoughts on the demise of DFID – a governance adviser’s perspective
by Cecilia Reategui and Andrew Rowell COVID-19 is a health crisis with far-reaching social and economic consequences, both immediate and stretching into an unpredictable future. Investing in Women recently commissioned a rapid literature review to examine the impacts of COVID-19 and previous pandemics and recessions on the economic position of women. The study, conducted by Professor Marian Baird and Associate Professor …
Continue reading Women’s economic empowerment at a time of crisis: can COVID-19 be different?
By Aya Silva and Georgia Davis Equality in Asia: Across the ASEAN region, countries and companies have been engaging in the equality debate for several years. For some, a looming skills gap and the costs of not retaining good female staff have prompted their investment in policies and initiatives that promote more open and equal …
Continue reading Gender equality at work: Southeast Asia’s other hurdle
