I was in Manila last week to attend the practitioners’ forum organised by the Asia Foundation on Adaptive Programming and Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning. A really good workshop where to share of experiences about tailoring MEL systems to fit the accountability demands from funders and… Read More
All posts filed under “southeast asia”
The struggle of bringing research into climate change policy
I read a vey interesting article in the Guardian Weekly about the struggle of science research in the United States following the election of Donald Trump as president (The climate change battle dividing trump’s America). Funding for climate change research is being cut. A climate change sceptic has… Read More
On the Indonesian Knowledge Sector: two new working papers
At the Knowledge Sector Initiative we have just published two new working papers on various aspects of the Indonesian Knowledge Sector and on evidence to policy processes, systems, and experiences. I really enjoyed working on these papers. Is Measuring Policy Influence Like Measuring Thin Air? The Experience… Read More
Cycling to work in Jakarta: can we start to hope?
I wrote this a year or so ago. Being a bicycle commuter in Jakarta, make me think about the wicked hard problem of transportation in this city. Still hoping…. — Even though this is Jakarta, I cycle every day to work. Last week, I think it was Wednesday, I rode my… Read More
Ten years have passed since the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change: how are we doing?
Listening to a lecture of Nicholas Stern feels like being on the USS Enterprise travelling at warp speed, such is the scale of the consequences linked to climate change and global warming he describes. This is how I felt when listening to his LSE public… Read More
Tolkien’s words from the past are still today’s words.
In the evenings I am reading few pages of J.R.R. Tokien’s Lord of the Rings to my daughters. We are into Book I: The Fellowship of the Ring. Frodo and his friends have just arrived at the village of Bree and are spending the night at the Prancing Pony. Tonight… Read More
‘Are We Policy Analysts?’. Evidence, Policy Analysis and the Knowledge Sector in Indonesia
There are many ways for knowledge and research evidence to reach policy makers and inform policy decisions. One important channel is the analysis by policy analysts in government organizations. In January 2014, the Indonesian Parliament passed a landmark law to modernize the civil service on… Read More
Just published: Establishing Government Think Tanks
I contributed with Widya Sutiyo to this review written by Jessica Mackenzie of different models of government think tanks. Key points from the paper: Government think tanks have several benefits over external think tanks, including their strong understanding of government programs and priorities (which helps them to tailor advice to actual needs)… Read More