Understanding power in reform
What’s it aboutThis practical guide from Sida introduces a structured way to carry out power analysis in development settings. It explains how understanding formal and informal power structures can help reformers identify who holds influence, how decisions are made, and where resistance or opportunities for change might lie. The report emphasizes that power is not […]
Learning from failure in government
What’s it about This short talk makes a simple but powerful case: governments don’t need to be perfect to succeed — they need to learn. Justin Entzminger draws on his experience in local government to show how embracing small, safe failures can actually build stronger institutions and greater public trust. Instead of hiding mistakes, he […]
Leveraging results for sustainable development impact – The OECD’s playbook
What it’s about This OECD toolkit is a step-by-step playbook for governments and development partners that want to turn monitoring and evaluation into sharper decision-making. It explains how well-designed results frameworks map the path from money to measurable change, keep multiple actors pulling in the same direction, and build a culture of learning and accountability. […]
DIY Monitoring & Evaluation: Four cost-smart tips
What it’s about This IDinsight article speaks to organisations that want credible monitoring and evaluation (M&E) but lack big budgets. It distils field experience into four practical lessons: think long term and align M&E to the organisation’s learning priorities; start small with free or low-cost data tools; invest in the people who will run the […]
Shared Public Infrastructure – The OECD’s playbook on DPI
What it’s about This OECD policy paper explains how governments can treat core digital systems – such as digital identity, payments, data-sharing platforms, digital post and key data registries – as shared “public infrastructure.” When these building blocks are secure and interoperable, they let agencies and businesses plug in services quickly and give people seamless, […]
OECD Toolkit for water policies and governance
What it’s about This Toolkit turns the 2016 OECD Council Recommendation on Water into a hands-on guide for governments. It gathers real-world policies, financing models and governance arrangements that help manage water quantity, quality, risks and services in an integrated way. Users will find: a self-assessment framework and “traffic-light” indicators to spot gaps and set […]
OECD Toolkit for stronger policy evaluation systems
What it’s about This toolkit turns the 2022 OECD Recommendation on Public Policy Evaluation into practical steps for governments. It explains how to build or improve evaluation systems around three pillars: (1) Institutionalisation, (2) Quality and (3) Impact. Each pillar is broken into concrete dimensions (for example, clear mandates, quality standards, use in decision making) […]
Five ways to use open contracting data
What it’s about This guide from the Open Contracting Partnership shows how publishing procurement information in the Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) can solve common problems in public buying. It describes five concrete “use cases” – Market opportunities, Value for money, Public integrity, Service delivery and Internal efficiency – and explains what each goal means, […]
Guide to Coalition Building
What’s it aboutThis guide outlines four practical steps for building and running effective advocacy coalitions. It draws on lessons from E4A MamaYe coalitions in Kenya and Nigeria and emphasizes the need to adapt over time: Purpose, Membership & Governance – Define the problem, values, members, and decision rules. Include diverse voices and be mindful of […]
Building Digital Infrastructure That Works for Governments
What’s it really about This report presents a grounded, Africa-specific approach to building and scaling digital public infrastructure (DPI), like ID systems, payment platforms, and data exchanges. The authors argue that many current DPI efforts are overly focused on global blueprints and miss the political, institutional, and operational realities of implementation in African countries. Instead, […]