Applying a Political Economy Perspective to Development
We are a network of experienced development professionals who all take a political economy perspective to development. Our Directors, Principals and Associates have specialist knowledge of particular countries and sectors. They have strong connections to government, the private sector, civil society, media and research organisations. They bring to bear their own long working experience within official agencies, academia and the private sector.
The Policy Practice applies a political economy approach to supporting positive change in developing countries. We undertake strategic and policy work in developing countries, including political economy analysis, programme designs, reviews, and evaluations. We also run a flagship training course on political economy analysis and provide bespoke training for a wide variety of clients.
LEAP webinar series on lessons from 20 years of UK governance programming in Nigeria
Since 2019, LEAP, led by ODI, has undertaken research on Partnership to Engage, Research and Learn (PERL) and predecessor UK Government-funded programmes to strengthen the evidence base for governance reform in Nigeria. As part of end of programme activities, ODI in association with TPP are organising a series of public events to share lessons from 20 years of UK governance programmes in Nigeria including a webinar series detailed below;
- 5th October - How does governance reform happen? Lessons from Nigeria
- 12th October - Working politically in practice: lessons from Nigeria
- 19th October - Does better governance lead to improved health and education? Lessons from Nigeria
To register for the webinars please visit the event pages .
Latest Political Economy Analysis in Action online training course launched
We have kicked off our latest Political Economy Analysis in Action online training course which is running from 6 September – 17 December in partnership with ODI.
This course will equip participants with the tools and the confidence to undertake a PEA, and to apply it to policy and programmes in a wide range of contexts. It will cover ten sessions over a 15-week period, requiring about 4 hours of study per week (with a mix of self-study, online Study Group discussions and tasks and webinars, supported by an inter-active platform).
If you are interested in finding out about future courses, please contact us on training@thepolicypractice.com.
A New Approach to Energy Governance in Development Webinar - now available
For decades the development community has recognized the problem of poor energy governance, but approaches to improving it have been primarily technocratic. Recent work shows the importance of understanding the political economy of the energy sector when designing interventions and adapting our approach to managing energy sector projects. To tackle the climate crisis and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, we need new approaches for improving access to modern, affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy.
In tandem with the release of a white paper and technical brief on this topic, we undertook a webinar on 24th June where leading practitioners explored hurdles to energy reform and put forward a new approach to the design and management of energy sector reform programs.
Laure-Hélène Piron, TPP Director, and Aderito Soares, TPP Associate, have assisted The Asia Foundation Timor-Leste Tourism Team update their political economy analysis in order to adjust their programme to the 2021 circumstances. The Covid-19 restrictions on international travel and low level of vaccinations mean that tourists cannot travel to Timor-Leste. Through a remote and facilitated process, The Policy Practice team have, at the same time, enabled the Tourism team identify the main enablers and barriers, and refocus their strategy. The process also further developed the team’s own capacity to undertake political economy analysis and stakeholders mapping. This project built on the 2020 in-person support that The Policy Practice provided to facilitate a baseline political economy analysis.
The overall objective of this project is to produce a strategy for the Economic Policy and Research (EPR) Division of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) at the African Union Commission (AUC), as well as providing recommendations to the FCDO to inform their future engagement with the AU on tax matters. The team is lead by our TPP Principal, Olly Owen, with lead consultant Doris Akol undertaking fieldwork in Ethiopia, supported by Martin Hearson from IDS.
This study will include both desk based and field based research and consultation with key stakeholders to identify the opportunities and challenges for member states in relation to tax.
The aim of the project was to provide insights from a political economy perspective into factors affecting the prospects that the Berbera port and corridor development will contribute to inclusive development and stability. The focus was on dynamics within the immediate sub-region while also considering influences from the wider Red Sea maritime arena.
This historical and gender and conflict focused political economy analysis (PEA) was be led by Alex Duncan, supported by Nisar Majid and his team (CRP colleagues as well as other potential analysts), and wider thinkers covering the region, to provide a dynamic macro-level analysis as well as institutional and historical perspectives.
The Policy Practice is a lead provider of training on applied political economy analysis for development practitioners.
Political economy analysis provides a deeper understanding of the contexts in which development happens – whether international, national, sectoral or local. It explores how structural factors, institutions and incentives of the key actors shape the possibilities for change in any given context – and how development partners can influence this.
Our course is designed to equip advisers and programme managers to identify the main political and institutional challenges and opportunities in the contexts in which they work, and to draw well-grounded conclusions for strategy, programme design and approaches to implementation.
We have run our flagship course for development professionals over 40 times since 2008. We also offer tailored courses and bespoke advice to organisations that wish to deepen their capacity to undertake political economy analysis or manage their programmes more adaptively. Course participants come from bilateral and multilateral organisations, such as the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the US Agency for International Development, the Netherlands Foreign Ministry, Irish Aid, the Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia, the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission, or the United Nations Development Programme. Our clients also include research centres, non-governmental organisations and private companies, such as the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research, Save The Children, Saferworld, DAI, Palladium or Chemonics.
Political economy analysis in action online training course
We have just launched our new course, running from 6th September to 17th December. If you would like to register for this course, please email training@thepolicypractice.com.
Participants on our interactive 15-week online course:
- Learn what political economy analysis is and why it matters
- Explore political economy concepts and how to use them
- Interact with leading experts on political economy analysis and thinking and working politically on a weekly basis
- Work through real-life case studies applying political economy tools to development challenges
- Participate in regular webinars with other course participants
- Learn how to ‘think and work politically’ in their own work
- Participants work both independently and in small groups to complete weekly tasks
For further information, see our course flyer.