sdclan

During a 4 days-training, Dave Snowden, the founder of Cognitive Edge, introduced his audience to the challenges, risks and opportunities of working in complex environments. With the Cynefin-framework he proposes a tool to get a better understanding of the working environment and the appropriate strategies in order to be effective. Collecting stories from all the involved stakeholders is in his view the only way for making sense.

By Charlotte Nager, SDC (more…)

It sounds wonderful: gaining real insight into the impact of a project from the point of view of intended beneficiaries! But can it satisfy the needs of development organisations to assess and report on the work they support? The answer is yes. A Beneficiary Assessment  isn’t always going to be the right thing to do, but it can provide valuable evidence relating to project outcomes and impact.

By Riff Fullan, Helvetas

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Participatory project assessment (also known as Beneficiary Assessment) holds the promise of moving evaluation closer to primary stakeholders: the individuals, communities and organisations in the local project context. Is it an effective tool to do this? (more…)

The new e-learning platform Project Cycle Management interactive (PCMi) is online. It’s a flexible platform for blended and self-directed learning. Rate your competencies for an individual study plan or access the material for further reading. (more…)

Black and white, water and fire, ying and yang, Outcome Mapping and Logical Framework – is it really like this? Corinne Sprecher from the International Team at AGRIDEA discusses in her blog post the attitude of individuals towards two opposing concepts. With the example of Outcome Mapping and Logical Framework Approach she shows, how the process of dealing with the polarities could look like. And how the eagerness to see the positive aspects of two poles could enhance (an unexpected) learning, of searching for complementarities, combined with the great potential for creating new ideas and new solutions. (more…)

Reorganisation in SDC brought fourth a set of new or adapted tools aiming to optimize the impact of SDC’s work. From his personal perspective, a  former SDC colleague casts a critical eye on these tools and the capacity of  field offices to put them into practice and suggests a series of measures to tackle the related challenges. (more…)

Tenders and offers seen through the lenses of learning and sustainability

by Ernst Bolliger Agridea / Team international

Preface: Preparing for an evaluation mission of SDC’s Mongolia Green Gold project (three key words: the Tragedy of the Commons – pasture management – herder associations) I have pictures of overgrazed pastureland, herds of cattle, goat, sheep, camels and horses in front of my eyes. In this vast landscape with generally scarce pastures there are some green spots, attractive for all herders to drive their herds for grazing.
Cut.
Change of the scene.

Some two years ago, a parliamentary audit made it clear: SDC does not follow the rules about public tendering of their mandates. (more…)