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.
Why ideas matter for action on climate and environment. New blog from TPP Principal Niki Palmer
This blog from TPP Principal Niki Palmer considers the importance of ideas of nature for action on climate and environment. Unlike interests, ideas are not always fully considered in political economy analysis. Yet ideas help to define action in relation to the natural world, including through global negotiations at the COPs. This blog challenges us to consider ideas more closely, suggesting that through doing so more innovative pathways forward can be found that work with and for nature, not against it.
New Working Paper from Olly Owen and Sa'eed Husaini
Nigeria’s forest policy is at a turning point, with a growing domestic push for conservation amidst environmental degradation. This working paper by TPP Principal Olly Owen and Associate Sa'eed Husaini explores key trends, challenges, and opportunities in the sector, offering insights into how innovative, multi-level solutions can shape sustainable futures.
Latest Newsletter from TPP
We're pleased to share with you our latest newsletter. Read here to find out more about the projects we have been working on at TPP, and exciting news about the launch of our next Political Economy Analysis in Action and Political Economy Analysis for Climate Action online training courses starting spring 2025.
This issue celebrates the appointment of TPPs Associate Dr Suwaiba Ahmad as Nigeria’s Federal Minister of State Education, as well as sharing our new paper we have jointly published with the Thinking and Working Politically Community of Practice - Political Economy Analysis in Sudan.
Political economy analysis for climate action - new course launched starting May 2025
The Policy Practice is delighted to be re-running the popular online course on Political Economy Analysis for Climate Action. This course explains how political economy analysis can be used to understand the challenge of action on climate change and to design more effective interventions. The course will consist of eight, 2-hour online sessions from 19 May to 19 June 2025. For more information and to register please click below or see our flyer here.
TPP Associate appointed Education Minister in Nigeria
Congratulations to TPP Associate Dr Suwaiba Ahmad who has been appointed by Nigeria's President as the new Federal Minister of State Education.
Suwaiba is an education expert, gender advocate, and the Director of Bayero University's Centre for Gender Studies in Kano, Northern Nigeria. She has been working with TPP to provide advice to the UK's Partnership for Learning for All in Nigeria education programme.
We wish her all possible success. From our experience of working closely with her, we know that she will bring a combination of hard work, personal integrity, passion for education and political realism to her new role.
The politics of electric vehicles in Indonesia - latest blog from TPP Director Neil McCulloch
Photo credit: ANTARA / Mudaffar Fauzan
On Sunday 20 October, Prabowo Subianto was inaugurated as the President of Indonesia. This blog explores the implications for the drive for electric vehicles (EV). Indonesia has made bold strides in developing an EV value chain. But the sector now faces major constraints including: reputational damage due to the environmental harm of mining and processing; challenges in accessing major Western markets; fiscal constraints and competing priorities under the new government; and the active promotion of a different model by manufacturers. The blog suggests ways in which external partners could work with Indonesia to support the resolution of these issues.
Latest Political Economy Analysis in Action online training course launched
We are pleased to announce the launch of our next Political Economy Analysis in Action online training course, starting 3 February and running until 5 June 2025.
The course is designed to equip participants to identify the challenges arising from political economy features of the contexts in which they work, and to draw well-grounded conclusions for policy, strategy, or programme design and implementation.
If you or your colleagues are interested in participating in this course or a tailored one in the future, please see our course flyer or email training@thepolicypractice.com for further details.
New Sudan political economy case study out now
This paper examines the impact of Political Economy Analysis (PEA) training in Sudan, focusing on the Kullana Liltanmia Contextual Analysis course. It underscores three key lessons: the importance of deepening understanding of complex, unstable environments like Sudan for informed decision-making; the underutilised potential of PEA in supporting individuals and key political actors; and the need for adaptive, participant-driven PEA training, especially in fragile, conflict-affected settings, requiring creativity and courage from all involved.
TPP welcomes two new Associates
TPP are pleased to welcome Steve Fraser and Theodore Trefon as our two new Associates.
Steve Fraser has over 30 years of experience living, studying and working in Nigeria as a development practitioner, including as Technical Director for the Engaged Citizens pillar of the UK's flagship governance programme in Nigeria.
Theodore Trefon is a senior researcher at the Belgian Royal Museum for Central Africa. He has devoted his career to studying environmental governance in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and elsewhere in Central Africa.
Laure-Hélène Piron, TPP Director, is collaborating with political scientist Cheickna Yaranangoré to undertake a context analysis of Burkina Faso to inform the 2026-2031 country plan of the Swiss cooperation agency.
Laure-Hélène Piron, TPP Director, and Babacar Ndiaye, from the West African Think Tank WATHI, are undertaking a political economy analysis of democratic resilience in Senegal for the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
As part of the UK Partnership for Accelerated Climate Transitions programme, TPP Principal Olly Owen and Ochuko Obido are leading a scoping study on nature in Nigeria to prepare a list of projects that the programme could invest in.
TPP Director Laure-Hélène Piron continues her collaboration with the Swiss Development Cooperation office in Burundi by conducting a political economy analysis of the potential for forensic medicine and scientific policing. The new Swiss programme could contribute to reducing impunity and improve responses to gender-based violence.
Samantha Wade (TPP Principal) and Neil McCulloch (TPP Director) are working with The Elders staff to deliver three bespoke workshops and ongoing mentoring between August and October 2024. The aim is to develop a flexible, light-touch set of Political Economy Analysis guiding questions and to create space to discuss embedding politically-smart ways of thinking and working with the team.
Led by TPP Principal Olly Owen together with TPP Associates Suwaiba Ahmad and Sa'eed Hussaini, the project provided advice to the Children's Investment Fund Foundation's sexual reproduction and health rights team’s around the future direction of their funding linked to data and advocacy in Nigeria.
This political economy analysis focuses on the industrial and artisanal timber sectors in Central Africa. It was undertaken by TPP Principal Olly Owen and new TPP Associate Theodore Trefon, together with a local team.
TPP Director Neil McCulloch worked with the international climate change think tank E3G and the Indonesian think thank the Institute for Essential Services Reform to explore the political economy of the electric vehicle sector in Indonesia.
Andrii Biletskyi (TPP Associate) and Laure-Hélène Piron (TPP Director) are assessing the current state of judicial reforms in Ukraine in order to advise the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
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 45 times since 2008, training over 2,000 professionals. 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 The Elders, Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research, Save The Children, Saferworld, DAI, Palladium or Chemonics.
We also launched a new online course on the Political Economy for Climate Action in June 2023. The next course will run in the Spring of 2025 over a six weeks period.
Political economy analysis in action online training course
We will be running the next Political Economy Analysis in Action online training course in February 2025. If you would like further information on this course, or to apply, please see our flyer here.
Participants on this 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
See our course flyer for further information on the course, or email training@thepolicypractice.com if you have any questions.