Development Partnerships


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.

Re-examining the Terms of Aid


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.

Preliminary Country Report and Ideas: Liberia

This paper assesses Liberia’s political and economic process since its civil war ended in 2003, and explains the convergence of factors that subsequently led to an ‘open moment’ with potential for constructive change. It identifies…

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An Agenda for State Building in the 21st Century

A state-building strategy must be precisely tailored to its context and the aspirations of the citizens in order to provide the ownership and momentum necessary to expand an open moment into a process of institution…

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Nepal: The Future in the Present

This paper explains how unstable dual power sharing defined Nepal’s predicament in May 2006. It explains why resulting structural uncertainty affects stakeholders and threatens further development – or even risks collapse. The paper then explains…

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Kosovo: Developing a Strategy for the Future

This paper describes the challenges facing Kosovo at a pivotal moment in its history, and explains why its institutions were short of capacity, legitimacy and trust. On the basis that EU accession was the country’s…

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Country Report: Sudan

This paper considers the prospects of peace for Southern Sudan and how it would enable major economic development. It examines the nature of the challenge, current assets, major stakeholders and urgent issues.  It then outlines…

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