Here is an image of the beautiful winter we are having in Tampere to accompany the articles and papers I enjoyed reading last week. Duncan Green published When does Tech → Innovation? Here’s what 178 projects tell us. The blog is about a study of the the results of 178 small grants to tech projects […]
Articles and papers I liked Read More »
The search for ways to design policies that help to solve societal problems is continuously evolving. The traditional evidence-based approach to policy making involves generating research results and using these to inform policy decisions. This blog post is based on an interview with Mikko Annala, Head of Governance Innovation at Demos Helsinki. It was originally posted on
A conversation about policy experiments Read More »
Last week I attended the Development Days Conference 2018 in Helsinki. This is a yearly event organised by the Finnish Society for Development Research. This year\’s topic was: The Politics of Sustainability: Re-thinking resources, values and justice. It is a nice and informal event which brings together researchers, activists, and practitioners from all over Finland
Looking at evidence-informed policymaking through the \’dissonance\’ lens Read More »
There is an interesting exchange mid-way through David Letterman’s interview to President Barack Obama on Netflix. Letterman asks President Obama about his reflection on policymaking and the role and power that the president actually has. Obama answer is quite illuminating in terms of the nature of policy change. Yes, he says, a lot of his time
Policy content change is one of the types of policy change, but not the only one Read More »
TED Talks by Chris Anderson is not only about providing useful suggestions for giving public speeches. it is also about the bigger theme of knowledge sharing. In all its forms. In all it areas. In all its aspects. Photo: Dian Lofton / TED I have no doubt (and Chris Anderson confirms that in the book)
Tips for public speaking Read More »
Being back in Finland and having to fix things in the house has given me an opportunity to listen again to the always very interesting LSE Public Lecture podcasts. The effects and implications of Brexit and the election of President Trump dominate the discussion at the moment but they are not the only themes. Here
LSE podcasts I liked Read More »
As I reread Duncan Green’s blog about an interesting conversation we had over a coffee few weeks ago in Brixton (How might a systems approach change the way aid supports the knowledge sector in Indonesia?), it occurred to me that I could add something. ‘Systems’, he writes, ‘evolve through the endless churn of variation, selection
The three components that can help system thinking in development programmes Read More »
by Tanty Nurhayati Djafar , Ni Wayan Suriastini , and Arnaldo Pellini Is it possible to calculate the return of investment on a research policy project? Well, the Indonesian think tank SurveyMETER and the Knowledge Sector Initiative have given it a go for a policy research project on services and infrastructure for the aging population in the Indonesian municipality of Balikpapan. Here is what
Estimating the return on investment of policy research and engagement Read More »