development
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News & Events
GTZ Brown Bag Lunch
22/03/2010
Adrian Leftwich gave a brown bag lunch at GTZ talking on: "Beyond Institutions: Leaders, Elites and Coalitions in the Politics of Development"
Political Dimensions of Development Programming
02/12/2010
A joint DLP-Asia Foundation workshop on the Political Dimensions of Development Programming was held in Canberra, Australia, on 2nd and 3rd December 2010 for staff of AusAID.
The Elephant in the Room: Politics and the Development Problem
13/12/2010
The Asia Research Centre, Murdoch University hosted a workshop on 13-14 December 2010 entitled "The Elephant in the Room: Politics and the Development Problem".
New papers on 'Political Settlements'
16/11/2010
We draw your attention to two recent papers, one by Dr Bill Cole and Tom Parks of the Asia Foundation (a partner organization of the DLP); and the other by Dr Edward Laws, a DLP Researcher.
New paper on 'Growth Alliances: Insights from Egypt'
05/01/2011
A recent paper in Business and Politics explores the emergence, evolution and forms of 'growth alliances' in Egypt. Professors Abla Abdel-Latif, of the American University in Cairo, and Hubert Schmitz, of the Institute of Development Studies, show how largely informal and politically-negotiated relations helped to shape alliances between some business sectors and key policy-makers without apparently becoming abused for private gain.
Workshop: Political dimensions of development programming
15/02/2011
The Developmental Leadership Program, in partnership with The Asia Foundation (TAF), ran the second in a series of workshops entitled 'Political Dimensions of Development Programming' in Manila, Philippines from 15-16 February 2011. The workshop brought together TAF Representatives working in the Philippines and the region, AusAID staff based in the Philippines, and selected non-government partners.
A new publication: Higher education and the formation of developmental elites
21/02/2011
Does higher education have a role in promoting the emergence of developmental leaders and elites? Could higher education play a vital role in producing a pool of people with the capacity and vision to constitute progressive development leadership across sectors? And does higher education contribute to the formation of networks that facilitate the emergence of developmental coalitions? As the first step in a longer program of work to collect the evidence, this research paper surveys the literature on this question and offers a preliminary data analysis.
A new publication: An analysis of leadership development programmes
21/02/2011
Do 'leadership development programmes' contribute to positive development outcomes or do they only enhance the careers of their participants? Could they do both and, if so, how? What criteria can donors use in deciding whether and how to support, fund, influence or design such programmes? This paper reviews the evidence about leadership development programmes as a tool for development policy. It argues that donor and recipient organisations need to be much more discriminating when choosing to support or design a programme, and that understanding the 'political' nature of leadership is the key to choosing or designing a good programme.
New Paper: Ethics and integrity in the politics of developmental leadership
09/03/2011
It is often argued (by the World Bank and other development organizations) that integrity and ethical leadership are critical components of good governance. But what is 'ethical leadership'? What is 'developmental integrity'? How is it achieved? And what are the conditions for sustaining it? This new study by Eduard Grebe and Minka Woermann - intended to help policy-makers think clearly about ethics and integrity in relation to developmental issues - develops a conceptual framework for thinking about integrity and leadership in developmental contexts, not only in terms of individual behaviour, but also in terms of institutions.
New book on 'Ownership and Political Steering in Developing Countries'
18/03/2011
Donors increasingly recognise the political dimension of development cooperation and that they themselves are political actors. But how can this 'political' role be aligned with the interests and ideas of partner countries, and with the principle of ownership? How are partnerships and mutual trust created and maintained through the ups and downs of daily cooperation? How does policy making take place in partner countries, and how can donor and supply driven cooperation be avoided? This collection of essays, published by GIZ, offers important practical insights for policy-makers and practitioners alike.
Examining the Drivers of Change in Yemen
08/06/2011
Dr Sarah Phillips, from the Centre for International Security Studies, Sydney University, presented her work on the crisis in Yemen to an audience of Australian officials from across government, and other interested parties, in AusAID on Wednesday, 8th June. Dr Phillips' presentation looked behind the scenes at the Yemeni regime's opaque internal politics and at the nature of the system entrenched by President Ali Abdullah Saleh over the past 32 years. It also discussed the implications of this for Western counter-terrorism policies in Yemen.
USAID Global Workshop on Education and Development: From Evidence to Action
22/08/2011
DLP Researcher Susy Ndaruhutse (CfBT) was a plenary speaker at this year's "USAID Global Workshop on Education and Development: From Evidence to Action" between the 22nd-25th August in Virginia, USA. The main purpose of the workshop was to demonstrate the strategic importance of education in achieving US government development goals, and to provide critical and cutting edge training and orientation to USAID education and capacity development sector staff and their present and potential partners. Susy Ndaruhutse's session was entitled 'Mobilizing Higher Education for Developmental Leadership'.
11th UKFIET International Conference on Education and Development
13/09/2011
DLP Researcher Laura Brannelly (CfBT) will be presenting the findings of the first phase of DLP's research on Higher Education and Development at the 11th UKFIET International Conference on Education and Development in Oxford between the 13th-15th September. The theme for the conference is "Global Challenges for Education: Economics, Environment & Emergency". The main aim of the conference is to move education to the centre of the debate on global challenges in the 21st Century.
Society for International Development World Congress 2011
29/07/2011
DLP's Director of Research, Adrian Leftwich, presented at one of the panels at the Triennial World Congress of the Society for International Development (SID), in Washington DC between the 29th-31st July 2011. The panel was entitled "Looking Forward: Pathways toward Inclusion through Political Change" and his presentation was on 'Beyond and below Institutions: organizations, politics and leadership'. The theme of this year's congress was "Our Common Challenge: A World Moving toward a Sustainable Future" and the event brought together professionals from diverse sectors and constituencies to debate critical ideas, policies and practices and to shape future development thinking and policy.
New Asia Foundation book on the politics of economic reform in the Philippines
21/11/2011
The Asia Foundation, supported by USAID and AusAID, today launches an important new book, documenting the politics of some significant economic reforms in the Philippines. Built on Dreams, Grounded in Reality: Economic Policy Reform in the Philippines is a collection of analytical essays by leading development analysts and some of the participants in each of the reform processes. The book has a foreword by Adrian Leftwich, the Director of Research for the DLP. The theme of the book is the role played by 'developmental entrepreneurs' in the politics of reform and it illustrates through a number of cases how and why difficult battles were fought and, in some cases won, in pursuit of reform.
The Effective States and Inclusive Development Research Centre
30/01/2012
An important new research centre, funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom, has recently completed its inception year and is about to commence its substantive research program. The Effective States and Inclusive Development Research Centre (ESID) is based at the University of Manchester in the UK, with research partners in Bangladesh, Ghana, India, Malawi, Uganda and the US. ESID shares with DLP a commitment to understand better the politics of development. DLP welcomes the formation of ESID and we look forward to close cooperation in sharing ideas, findings and policy messages over the coming years.
Coalitions in the Politics of Development - A Workshop Report
18/04/2012
'Coalitions' are part and parcel of everyday politics, everywhere, nationally and sub-nationally and in all sectors and issue areas. They are also central to the inner politics that shape political settlements and help solve collective action problems. Yet we know very little about what makes for successful coalitions, or what the international community can do to support the emergence of developmental coalitions. The workshop brought together practitioners, researchers and theorists from developed and developing societies and this report summarises the important continuities, generalizations and messages that we identified. It is the first in a series of papers that seek to clarify this pervasive feature of the politics of development.
Different Take on Africa - a joint statement
03/05/2012
The Danish Institute of International Studies (DIIS), recently brought together five major research groups, including the Developmental Leadership Program (DLP), to discuss and share their findings on the politics of development with special reference to Africa. While each of the research groups approach this key developmental question from different angles, they all explore the diverse ways in which political and policy choices, elites, leaders, informal institutions, incentive structures, coalitions and democratization processes have shaped development trajectories in different contexts. Their findings overlapped on enough common ground to enable the groups to agree a Joint Statement which can now be downloaded from the DLP website.
Governance, Politics and Development in the Pacific - A literature Survey
31/01/2013
The Australian Aid Program has a strong interest in development issues in the Pacific. Though traditionally it has taken a rather technical, administrative and managerial approach to such issues, its recent public literature (and that of other aid agencies) reflects the green shoots of important new thinking around the importance of political and governance processes that can decisively promote or restrain development - and hence a more effective use of aid resources. This DLP Background Paper provides a short survey of the literature in the field and an assessment of the extent to which such research and policy announcements have really helped to provide and institutionalise a more politically informed understanding of development.
New GIZ Publication: Triangular Cooperation
13/03/2013
DLP are pleased to present a new publication from GIZ entitled 'Triangular Cooperation: A guideline for working in practice', edited by Julia Langendorf, Nadine Piefer, Prof. Dr. Mich?le Knodt, Dr. Ulrich M?ller, and Lena L?zaro R?ther. Triangular cooperation is an interesting tool for development cooperation, linking North-South and South-South cooperation. However, there are still many open questions. In a joint approach of academia and practice, this publication attempts to give answers and presents illustrative cases to discuss the different aspects of triangular cooperation in practice.
Panel on primacy of politics in development at PSA 2014
15/04/2014
On 15 April 2014, DLP will host a panel on 'The Primacy of Politics in Development' at the Political Studies Association conference in Manchester, UK.
New book chapter: contribution to 'The Politics of Inclusive Development'
12/01/2015
Senior researcher Claire Mcloughlin is one of the contributors to 'The Politics of Inclusive Development', published this month by OUP. The book is dedicated to the memory of the late Adrian Leftwich, DLP's founding Director of Research.
Contribution to Guardian discussion on fragile states
06/11/2014
Research Fellow Suda Perera was among the expert panellists for a Guardian Development Professionals Network Q&A on 6 November. She drew on her recent research in the DRC to discuss the issue, 'After aid, how can development work in unstable states?'
Presentation at the International Parliamentary Conference on Growth for Development
12/11/2014
DLP's Deputy Director David Hudson will speak next week at the International Parliamentary Conference on Growth for Development in London.
Seminars by Duncan Green at La Trobe University
21/11/2014
On Monday 24 November, Dr Duncan Green will give two public seminars at La Trobe University in Melbourne.
Elites in fragile states: from predation to protection
01/12/2014
On 4 December, Research Fellow Suda Perera will present DLP findings at an expert meeting to help inform Dutch development policy on security and justice.
New evidence paper on corruption
05/03/2015
What conditions make corruption possible? What are the real costs of corruption and how can it be fought effectively? A new evidence paper that addresses these questions has been written for DFID by a research team led by DLP Senior Research Fellow Alina Rocha Menocal and Nils Taxell of the U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre.
Development journalism masterclass
16/03/2015
DLP Senior Research Partner Chris Roche was among a panel of development and media experts delivering the inaugural International Development Journalism Fellowship masterclass in Melbourne last week.
Thinking Beyond Sectors: new book
08/07/2015
DLP Deputy Director David Hudson is one of the contributors to the new open access book 'Thinking Beyond Sectors for Sustainable Development'.
Exploring the international political economy of development
15/05/2015
DLP research fellow Dr Niheer Dasandi was among the speakers at the New Directions in International Political Economy conference in Warwick this week. He and DLP's Dr David Hudson will be editing Edward Elgar's forthcoming 'Handbook of the International Political Economy of Development'.
2016 Adrian Leftwich Memorial Lecture
27/10/2016
The University of Manchester's annual lecture in memory of DLP's founding Director of Research, Adrian Leftwich, will be given this year by Nic van de Walle, Professor of International Studies at Cornell University, on Wednesday, 16 November.
Political settlements and public service performance
15/04/2016
A conference hosted by the UNDP Global Centre for Public Service Excellence, in partnership with DLP and the Centre for Public Impact, focused on the impact political settlements have on the efficiency of public services. Many of the presentations are now available online.
Research evidence on DRC presented to International Development Committee
25/10/2016
DLP Research Fellow Suda Perera has presented findings from her research into armed groups and political inclusion in the Democratic Republic of Congo to the UK Parliament's International Development Committee.
Power and systems, and their role in developmental change: Guest seminar with Duncan Green
21/02/2017
Seeing power and complex social systems clearly is the first step towards supporting positive developmental change, says Oxfam Strategic Director and DLP research partner Duncan Green. He discussed the themes of his latest book at a recent International Development Department guest seminar at the University of Birmingham.
Two exciting job vacancies in the DLP team
12/11/2018
DLP is looking for a Program Manager and a Communications Manager to help lead a new three-year phase of research on leadership in global development.
Publications
Governance, Politics and Development in the Pacific: A literature review
01/01/1970
This DLP Background Paper provides a short survey of the literature on development issues in the Pacific, and an assessment of the extent to which such research and policy announcements have really helped to provide and institutionalise a more politically informed understanding of development.
Leadership, Politics and Development: A Literature Survey
01/01/1970
This literature survey set out to discover the extent to which, if at all, the general literature on ‘leadership’ addressed the role of leadership in the promotion of economic growth and social development, with particular (but not exclusive) reference to developing countries.
Executive Summary - The Politics of Free Public Services in Decentralised Indonesia
01/01/1970
The purpose of this paper is to explain this cross-district variation in reponse to the issue of user fees for basic educaiton and health services, and assess the policy implications for donors and other development actors interested in improving citizens’ access to basic education and health services.
Coalitions in the Politics of Development
01/01/1970
This report of a DLP coalitions workshop represents the first of a series of papers and research findings from DLP that seek to clarify the concept of coalitions - a pervasive feature of the politics of development and change.
Politics, Leadership and Coalitions in Development - Policy Implications of the DLP Research Evidence
01/01/1970
This document has been prepared for the DLP Research Policy Workshop, held on 10-11 March, 2011 in Frankfurt. It consists of all the Executive Summaries from the first phase of research of the DLP, plus an introductory analysis by Adrian Leftwich.
From Political Economy to Political Analysis
01/01/1970
This paper argues that existing political economy approaches lack the analytical tools needed to grasp the inner politics of development. Political economy has come to be seen narrowly as the economics of politics – the way incentives shape behaviour.
Authoritarianism, Democracy and Development
01/01/1970
This 'State of the Art Paper' reviews the evidence on authoritarianism and development from the perspective of a policy-maker providing advice to an ostensibly developmental authoritarian regime.
State Legitimacy
01/01/1970
This Concept Brief offers a concise introduction to the core elements of 'state legitimacy'. It addresses four questions: How is the concept of legitimacy best understood? Why is it important? How do states accrue legitimacy? And what policy implications follow from this?
