Comments

Thanks (times two) Terence, for your welcome for-and-against comments. Having been involved with foreign aid lobbying since 1986, I always shuddered when single examples of aid "failure" were brought up (rather too frequently). This more than often morphed into allegations that "all aid is wasted", or "why give aid to corrupt governments". Not having read "Being Good in a World of Need", my first observation was in the title - not starting with "Doing" as an active verb. My next thought was in the proportions of aid that "failed" versus that which "succeeded/was demonstrably effective". As I've commented elsewhere, Australian Foreign Ministers (and elsewhere) do not seem inclined to highlight positive aid stories. So that anyone interested in such outcomes has really to go hunting to find the evidence. Stories about the amount of money in the aid budget or being given to particular recipients are neglectfully inadequate. Examples of microfinance lending to rural women in Bangladesh by the Grameen Bank, (especially under the leadership of Professor Yunus) are largely unknown in Australia. Small amounts of $50-100 were shown to transform their lives. Arguments about local governments needing to raise sufficient taxes in the place of foreign aid seem to reek a little of condescension about the realities of political life overseas. I support Medecins San Frontiere precisiely because in too many places it provides the only local health services. Instead of bemoaning self-described "aid failures", I'd prefer balance with stories of aid that works and not so much generalisation, either.

Thank you Terence. I think you have just strengthened the case for evaluating NGOs, particularly locally based ones and supporting good models of development to create greater impact.

A thoroughly collected information beneficial for local, national and international political analysts. Job well done by Thomas and Steve.

It's strange but a consistent record that people in bureaucracies somehow are incompatible with enterprise. In some ways the same thing happened with the early initially successful model of community-based micro-finance projects operating within the aid sector. Really different mindsets are needed with less risk aversion. Mind you the first flushes of enthusiasm for tech solutions to all kinds of development problems did throw up some absurdities. My favourite was the rice farmer, smartphone and app on one hand, being guided in where and how to plant his rice. It was almost as absurd as a the counter HIV/AIDs initiative that provided African men with condoms too small for their ... equipment.

So many labs and pilots in Asia. A lot have questionable practices, many use local participation as a token, to tick a box, and many mistaken innovations with bright, shiny new tech products. The list goes on. You can count so many apps and portals created as "innovation" and have very little utility. Love this article.

Hi Pete, Interesting question. Sorry I don't know of any research that has been done on that. Tamas

Thanks Annabel!

What an enjoyable blog post to read - examining some important questions!

Interesting piece. One thing I have often wondered about is the objective evaluation of any innovation lab's long run ability to pick winners when using competitive processes, particularly 'dragons' den' style pitching which risk rewarding 'sexy' and 'hype'. Ideally this would include a comparison of the success of those funded vs. those not funded. Do you know of such research?

Thank you Paul and Nik, Good interesting comments. Sorry, I'm travelling so can't engage more right now. Nik, one thing I'll note though, is that, particularly for humanitarian work, some NGO funding for Pacific work does come from donations. The phenomenon you describe is real, but is not the whole story. Terence

Haha, thanks Julian. Love the Yes Minister reference. That didn't explicitly come up in our research, but I am sure that might be a key part of the story of some labs.

Thanks, Peter. Strengthening the approach to and use of evaluations is certainly a prerequisite to making DFAT a "world class development agency".