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.
TPP facilitation on "Model for tackling Lebanon's electricity crisis" webinar
TPP Director, Neil McCulloch moderated a webinar on “Model for tackling Lebanon’s electricity crisis”. The webinar featured a range of experts discussing alternative approaches which might be adopted to improve the Lebanon’s highly inefficient and unreliable electricity system. This included evidence from TPP’s recent paper on “From dysfunctional to functional corruption: the politics of reform in Lebanon’s electricity sector”. Over 180 people registered for the webinar which was livestreamed on Facebook and is available from the Youtube channel of the American University of Beirut here.
New Political Economy Analysis in Action training course launched in partnership with ODI
This latest course will equip advisers and programme managers with the tools and the confidence to undertake a political economy analysis, and to apply it to policy and programmes in a wide range of contexts. It will cover ten sessions over a seventeen-week period, requiring about 3-4 hours of study per week (with a mix of self-study, group work and webinars, supported by an inter-active platform).
Please email training@thepolicypractice.com for more information or see the flyer attached.
Working Paper - From dysfunctional to functional corruption: The politics of reform in Lebanon’s electricity sector
The SOAS-University of London Anti-Corruption Evidence Research Programme, together with The Policy Practice, has published a new report entitled: From dysfunctional to functional corruption: the politics of reform in Lebanon’s electricity sector. The study explores how it has been possible to establish Electricité de Zahlé’s functional, but problematic, electricity service provision within the complex sectarian political context of Lebanon.
James Keeley and William Kingsmill undertook a review of PNG agriculture for the Australian government, providing options and recommendations for the next phase of support, based on PNGs policies and priorities and Australia’s desire to increase the strategic impact of its programme.
The Policy Practice is facilitating a political economy analysis process for the Swiss Development Corporation in the Horn of Africa, focussed on governance, food security, health, migration and protection in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Somaliland.
With the Government of Uganda playing a leading role within the energy sector in the country, The Policy Practice is working with the Africa Clean Energy Technical Assistance Facility to undertake a political economy analysis of the Off-Grid Solar (OGS) sector, in order to better understand the power dynamics within the country.
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
Our next online training course will launch on 22nd February 2021. If you would like to register, please email training@thepolicypractice.com.
Participants on our interactive 17-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.
To apply online click here