The success of building self-reliant states is directly tied to the effective management of complex development partnerships. ISE’s work on development and foreign aid focuses on how those partnerships can be maximized, taking into account lessons from past cases. ISE’s work draws on the experiences of practitioners in the field as well as policy experts to redefine development partnerships that build capacity, leverage existing assets, foster context-specific policies, and support country-led strategies. Additionally, our Development Practice Note series presents new and innovative practitioner-focused ideas across a variety of fields in development.
Over the past twenty years, the international community has agreed again and again that traditional aid effectiveness practices – which often drain local capacity, fragment projects, and spurn national strategies – are not working, but have made little progress at improvements. ISE’s Re-examining the Terms of Aid (RTOA) project is reviewing components to develop an operating model to more effectively implement these commitments. ISE is taking stock of its own experience and research, conducting interviews in Rwanda, Colombia, Afghanistan, and Somalia, along with engaging host governments, donor agencies, civil society, and the security sector to examine best practices, analyze incentive structures, and bridge the gap between country-level implementation and international frameworks. Read the full report here.
We explain why Karnataka is an instructive case study, containing both positive and negative lessons. In the last decade income growth has been spectacular; self-interested policy making have led it to be branded India’s most…
Foreign policy magazine invited five experts on nation building, economic development and emergency aid – including ISE’s Clare Lockhart – to share lessons and advice for Haiti, whose multibillion dollar fund set up in the…
This paper considers how to resolve Nepalese political stalemate. It argues that progress on constitution-making requires agreement on core constitutional principles to underpin it. It then sets out recommendations to catalyze positive change, overcoming narrow…
In 2001, the African Development Bank recognized the unique challenges that fragile and post-conflict states face in their quest for reform. Its response since then has been commendable. This paper offers further recommendations for the…
Why is Chile now considered a model of good governance and free-market reform? How has it moved to an open, prosperous and stable democracy and how successful has it been in moving beyond the faction…