News, Blogs and Events

Complex Adaptive Systems for Development

Professional Development Programme

8th-13th February 2015, Brighton, UK

An understanding that the world is made up of an interconnected web of complex systems is at last creeping into development thinking and challenging the simplistic linear models that have for so long underpinned aid programmes.  Ben Ramalingam’s book Aid on the Edge of Chaos, published last autumn, offers an in depth exploration of this whole new way of approaching aid and international cooperation.  In addition, Ben and colleagues have just announced a six day course on Complex Adaptive Systems in Development which will take place in February 2015 in Brighton, UK.  It has been developed to meet the needs of practitioners, researchers and policy makers working in development and humanitarian contexts.  It offers them the opportunity to deepen their skills in the approaches, methods and tools employed by leading complex systems researchers.

Organisations and Social Change Course

8th-12th September 2014, London, UKBarefoot guide logo

Organised by Partnership Matters, this is the first Barefoot course to be held in the UK. It will enable participants to improve their ability to listen deeply to others, understand their own behaviour and motivations and identify the stage their own organisations are at along with the most appropriate interventions to take.  It will support their ability to assess different kinds of change and how to support them, along with how to address resistance and improve facilitation.  It is an experiential and interactive course, encouraging participants to learn from each other and is open to people at all stages of their career in international development and social change.  It costs GBP500 and booking requests should be sent to maryannmhina@gmail.com by 15TH AUGUST LATEST.

INTRAC Participatory Proposal Development course

29 September – 3 October 2014INTRAC logo

Oxford, UK.

Donors need to know that proposals are rooted in the identified needs of the target community. This course covers how to define, plan, and appraise a project and how to develop a proposal with a strong budget that encourages ownership by key stakeholders. It will cover how to use the project cycle to develop a project proposal in a participatory way. Mango will deliver specific sessions on how to develop a budget in line with project objectives and activities. 

This is one of a programme of participation-related courses that INTRAC are running this autumn whose themes include: Monitoring and Evaluation, Theory

Knowledge from the Margins: An anthology from a global network on participatory practice and policy influence

An exciting new anthology from the Participate initiative. image of front coverThea Shahrokh and Joanna Wheeler (eds)

This book is an account of the activities carried out by the Participatory Research Group (PRG) within the Participate initiative between 2012 and 2014, and also a reflection on the methods and processes created and utilised during that time.  It aims to share the insights and lessons learnt to help promote thought and discussion about how to use participatory approaches to research poverty and influence policy at a variety of levels.  It is available as an Open Access publication.

Outcome Mapping Training Workshop

Outcome Mapping for Programme and Project Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation

 25th to  27th August 2014, and 17th to 19th November 2014.

Accra, Ghana

The Institute for Development Practice and Management (IDPM) of PDA Ghana is hosting two 3-day workshops to introduce the basic principles of Outcome Mapping, and how they can be applied to the planning, monitoring and evaluation of development projects and programmes.  The training is designed for programme managers, desk officers and field staff from CSO’s NGOs, funding agencies and national and international development organisations looking for effective ways to address the dynamics of change in the complex environments in which they work. Both workshops will be held at the Paloma Hotel, Kokomlemle, Accra, Ghana: for more information visit the IDPM website.

Women in Politics: gender, power and development

A new book from Mariz TadrosBook cover showing title

Women the world over are being prevented from engaging in politics. Women’s political leadership of any sort is a rarity and a career in politics rarer still. We have, however, begun to understand what it takes to create an enabling environment for women’s political participation.

In this pioneering collection, writers from Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East are brought together for the first time to talk explicitly about women’s participation in the political scene across the global South. Answering such questions as how women can get political apprenticeship opportunities, how these opportunities translate into the pursuit of a political career, and how these pursuits then influence the kind of political platform women advocate once in power, Women in Politics is essential reading for anyone interested in what it means to engage politically. Published by Zed Books and available from the IDS Bookshop.

Designing Inclusive Targets for a Post-2015 Agenda

A new IDS Policy Briefing by Danny Burns and Clare Gorman

After the MDGs logoTackling extreme poverty and marginalisation alongside rising and intersecting inequalities must be a priority for the post-2015 agenda.  As country representatives at the United Nations undertake the difficult task of agreeing the next steps towards a final framework, a focus on the three key areas including improving livelihoods and pro-poor infrastructure development; increasing opportunities for participation and citizen action and tackling discriminatory social norms is critical if the final targets are to be transformative for the poorest and most marginalised people. This Policy Briefing examines these focus areas and provides some policy recommendations.

Ndenzeni - What have I done?

A powerful digital story from South Africa

What is life like for a twelve-year old boy born HIV+ who loses his family members one by one, is stigmatised by his community and drops out of school?  “Ndenzeni - What have I done?” is a digital story about a boy left to fend for himself in a Cape Town township, told through the eyes of his neighbour Cebisa Fubesi.   As a participant of a Digital Storytelling workshop, Cebisa asked to tell her own story about her neighbour: in it she powerfully conveys the prevalence of discrimination alongside a lack of support and comfort available to children orphaned due to HIV/AIDS.

Making Development Inclusive: The Workshop 2014

Logo for the Workshop

The 18th Praxis International Commune On Participatory Development: The Workshop 2014, Bengaluru, India, 8-15 September 2014.

The commune is an annual residential workshop that brings together development workers, policy makers and proactive individuals from across the world to share information and experiences as well as keep themselves abreast of the latest in the field of participatory development. It provides a theoretical understanding of participatory methods and the opportunity to apply them in the field.
 
The modules on offer this year include: Advocacy, Campaign & Networking, Community Mobilisation,Corporate Social Responsibility and Community Development,Participatory Communication, Participatory Creation Of Urban Safe Spaces For Children,Participatory Methods and Approaches,Participatory Planning,Monitoring & Evaluation: Focus On Sustainability, Public Accountability. 

Visit www.theworkshop.in
Call Stanley at +91-44-26612876

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