Political Economy and Adaptive management at the heart of DFID new operating framework

DFID is changing its approach to better address the underlying causes of poverty and conflict.

A very interesting Blog post from Tom Wingfield and Pete Vowles explains how DFID is driving this change and where DFID is trying to go:

"To really address the problem means creating space to understand and engage with local context and having the freedom (and capability) to design flexible and adaptive programmes. It means freeing up time for frontline staff to work on what matters most (not empty process, box ticking) and being honest about failure and learning from what goes wrong"

DFID, reform has been translated in a new operating framework (ie the rules and principles which govern the work), the Smart rules.

For DFID, the first technical consideration "to guide the design and delivery of adaptive operational plans and programmes" is Political Economy.

Understand the political and economic context and how DFID’s interventions will affect and/or be affected by them. Is the intervention realistic and feasible given the underlying political-economy dynamics? Do you understand which coalitions will or could support or prevent change? What are the key formal and informal institutions which will affect your intervention?