Seizing and Stretching Participatory Space: Civil Society Participation in Tanzania’s Policy Processes

Civil society participation in PRSP processes has become part and parcel of modern aid modities. Assumed benefits include stronger checks and balances, inclusion of marginalized interests, and a broader support base for implementation. This hints at transformative potential. Yet, where governments or donors drive the process, participation hardly ever surpasses a mere consultative role and risks of cooption loom large.

New Publication on Theory of Change

The Theory of Change approach applied to social change processes represents a thinking-action alternative to other more rigid planning approaches and logics. When living in complex and conflictive times, we need to count with more flexible instruments that allow us to plan and monitor our actions in uncertain, emergent, and complex contexts from a flexible and non-rigid logic. As known, this thinking-action approach is also applied to institutional coaching processes and to the design of soc...

Inclusive economy with a social agenda

This brief report looks at the key issues raised during the intergenerational debate in The Hague on how to place people at the centre of economics. The meeting focused on how to establish collective responsibility for sustainable livelihoods in wake of the crises. Building on an nalysis of the crises by keynote speaker Rick van der Ploeg the panel and the audience sketched out how to resituate themarket within society and how its regulation can be better placed in the hands of citizens. Th...

Beyond Economics - East Africa

This dialogue will be an occasion to bring together African networks involved in research and advocacy on African based network looking at the impact of the systemic crises on African development. The launch/dialogue will invite participants to reflect on the performance of Southern and East African economies in relation to the current multiple crises (financial, food, fuel, care). It will ask participants to look at the way the crises are playing out in Africa, specifically at the socio-eco...

Civic driven change in West Asia

What can an organisation like Hivos do in repressive regimes like Iran and Syria? Does Civic Driven Change (CDC) offer opportunities or new insights for developing strategies in those countries? These are the questions Maaike van Adrichem poses in her research paper on Hivos programme in Syria and Iran: From civil society building to civic driven change?

Join our discussion on ICT, Youth and Engagement

In 2009 Hivos and the Centre for Internet and Society started a mapping study Digital Natives with a Cause? What we found was that many people see the potential of Youth, ICT and development, but nowbody knows exactly who the Digital Natives are and how you can unleash this potential. Today we are starting at Fill the Gap an online and offline discussion. Join us!

ISS Seminar announcement: From phantom wealth to real wealth by David Korten

On 25 January, David Korten will lead a Special Development Research Seminar about the content if his most recent book "Agenda for a new economy; from phantom wealth to real wealth". In this book, Korten argues the case for a new community-based economy based on different values and new institutions beyond Wall Street and the Washington consensus.

Digital Natives in the News

Following the publication Digital Natives with a Cause? Fieke Jansen (Hivos) was interviewed by OneWorld (in Dutch). You can read the full article here.

LGBT research update

The LGBT movement in Peru slowly reveals some of its dynamics as Marten van den Berge and his Peruvian colleague Giancaro Cornejo facilitate conversations and workshops with organizations in Lima and in some of the provincial capitals, whilst participating in marches, protests and meetings.

Local democratic governance in fragile states

In late November, Jon Gaventa and Marjoke Oostrom from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) facilitated a PSO hosted workshop about local democratic governance in fragile settings. Dutch NGOs concentrate their discussions on how to adjust their bottom-up strategies to fragile settings to contribute to peace, security and democratic governance, and to reconciliation and justice, but more may be required to (re)build local democracy…