Managing for Results in International Development

Among the panellists were Tim Harford, senior economist at the Financial Times, whose recent book Adapt: Why Success Always Starts with Failure argues that today’s complex challenges must be addressed by trying new solutions, measuring their effectiveness and replicating the successes. In the world of development, this approach promotes local solutions for local problems, and allows for adaptation to changing circumstances.

Tim Harford was joined on the panel by Bernard Jenkin, Member of Parliament and chair of the House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee; Peter Davis, private sector specialist and author of Corporations, Global Governance and Post-Conflict Reconstruction; Dominik Zaum, lecturer in International Relations at the University of Reading; Simon Griffiths, Coffey International Development’s monitoring and evaluation expert, and Larry Cooley, President of Coffey’s US-based subsidiary MSI.

In addition to the need for flexibility in development interventions, seminar participants discussed the importance of reporting development results transparently in a period of increasing public scepticism, the dynamism that the private sector can bring to development on a large scale, and the moral conflict that can arise between immediately saving lives and promoting sustainable institutions.

“The seminar brought together people with a wide range of backgrounds and skills to consider the thorny problem of how to deliver development in a flexible, responsive way that prioritises the needs of citizens in developing countries,” explained Peter Wilson, COO of Coffey International Development Europe.

“It is crucial that we solve this problem if donors are to spend taxpayers’ money effectively. Coffey International Development will continue to actively contribute by providing evidence from the field and through sponsoring debate and research.”