We have created a new USAID section on The Policy Practice online library to make accessible the most helpful USAID materials on political economy analysis and thinking&working politically. These documents and blogs used to be open access but are sadly no longer available since USAID was abolished. 

The Policy Practice is proud to be associated with the creation of a Swiss community of practice on thinking and working politically. 

Our launch event will be on Thursday 27 March from 1pm to 2:30pm. It will explore “How does political economy differ and complement other approaches?”.  In addition to case studies from Burkina Faso and Bosnia-Herzegovina, TPP Director Laure-Hélène Piron will share her insights on how PEA can be combined with other approaches.

If you would like to join the community and attend the event, please contact Andreas Weber, SDC PEA lead.

Trump’s rapid reversal of Biden’s climate agenda has shocked many. In one week, he dismantled decades of environmental progress by lifting oil and gas restrictions, scrapping decarbonization targets, and abandoning international commitments including the Paris Agreement. This blog explores how these moves threaten U.S. climate progress and global climate action.

In this month’s newsletter we discuss:

🔹The launch of the next Political Economy Analysis for Climate Action training course starting in May
🔹 Issues-Based Programming (IBP): A fresh look at mobilising stakeholders for change, with insights from TPP Director Gareth Williams.
🔹 New Work in the Francophone Sahel: Addressing governance, conflict, and development challenges in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Senegal.
🔹 Political Economy of Disaster Management & Climate Adaptation: A new collaboration with UNDP to assess governance and institutional responses to climate disasters.

Our Political Economy Analysis for Climate Action training course is an interactive 8-session online course (two sessions per week) running from 19 May - 19 June 2025. It focuses on how political economy analysis can maximise the effectiveness of action on climate change. See our flyer to register.

This Policy and Practice brief from TPP Director Gareth Williams discusses Issues-Based Programming (IBP), a development approach which mobilises stakeholders to drive change around locally defined issues. This paper examines its application in several countries through case studies of UK-funded projects and assesses IBP's effectiveness, highlighting successes and failures.

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. 

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.

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.