Thinking and working politically Ed Laws (ODI) and Heather Marquette (University of Birmingham) Synthesis report presentation and discussion, 8th March 2018 e.laws@odi.org.uk @EWDLaws @TWP_Community

Why should we think and work politically? Change is inherently political Change involves renegotiation of power and resources. It creates winners and losers, so there will always be people or groups who want to keep the status quo, and those who will welcome change because they stand to gain from it. Change is complex and often unpredictable It is very hard to know with certainty how a given project or reform process will unfold at the outset because it will involve changes in behaviour, incentives and interactions.

TWP ‘success factors’ Politically smart and astute Locally-led Iterative problem-solving Relationships brokered with major interest groups Flexible funding A longer-term commitment Innovative M & E A supportive environment in the donor agency

Reviewing the TWP evidence base Many of the well-known case studies of TWP programmes: Have been written up as single case-study reports Tend to focus exclusively on programme successes Don’t incorporate counter-factual evidence or triangulation Don’t appear in academic journals

How can we test TWP assumptions with greater rigour? Systematically compare a broader range of programmes in different sectors and organisational contexts Use a wider range of research methods to evaluate and support findings NB – you need a good baseline to do this properly!

Where has the evidence been ‘clustered’ so far? The wider political context of development interventions – how does the prevailing political settlement in a given country affect development programmes? The sectoral level – how do the characteristics of specific sectors influence programme implementation and impact? The organisational level – how do features of the funding or implementing organisation support or hinder politically-informed programming?

Where has the evidence been ‘clustered’ so far? Sector

Where has the evidence been ‘clustered’ so far? Organisation

Challenges and ways forward The development landscape and the results agenda Donors’ bureaucratic incentives and disbursement pressure Pressures on implementing organisations

Links @TWP_Community linkedin.com/groups/12058062 twpcommunity.org