Organizational learning in development assistance: a comparative analysis of six tree-planting projects in Kenya

Most community-level development assistance projects fail to achieve their stated objectives. With frustrating regularity, new projects repeat the mistakes that defeated their predecessors. If development assistance organizations are to become effective, they must develop the capacity to learn from their experiences and the experiences of others. There is evidence that community-level forestry projects sponsored by several national and international organisations in Kenya have begun to develop this capacity. I propose to undertake a comparative analysis of six Kenyan efforts (Kenya Wood fuel Development Program, Kenya Renewable Energy Development Project, Rural Afforestation Extension Scheme, CARE Agro-forestry Extension Project, the Greenbelt Movement, and the Kenya Energy Non-Governmental Organization Association), to determine what, these organizations have learned about the design and implementation of sustainable projects and how they learned it

Cross-pollination: inter-organizational learning in Kenyan tree-planting programs

Development assistance organizations working on the same problems in the same region have much to learn from each other's experiences. This preliminary analysis examines inter-organizational learning, as part of a larger study of organizational learning in development assistance. A comparative analysis of tree-planting programs in Kenya found that most formal mechanisms to foster inter-organizational learning achieved only limited success. It is argued that the failures of these mechanisms can be ascribed to their reliance on the participation of program managers, who lack the time, resources, or incentives to participate beyond a superficial level. However, the analysis also reveals that a great deal of information and expertise is shared among these organizations in informal ways, through collegial networks and cooperation among extension staffs. It is recommended that formal mechanisms for inter-organizational learning be adjusted to reflect their limitations, and that informal mechanisms be recognized and encouraged

Every Turtle Counts

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Sustainable Structural and Energy System Design and Analysis in Bahia, Brazil

This project encompassed a site layout design using structural analysis methods for the Reserva Alto Esperanca in Bahia, Brazil. Collaboration with the project sponsors and research allowed the team to produce architectural designs, structural calculations, and a cost estimate for the reserve. The generated building designs, influenced heavily by sustainable building techniques, are powered by a renewable onsite energy system. The Revit and RISA-3D deliverables will aid in fundraising for the proposed facilities

The role of international organizations in equitable and just planned relocation

Since 2010, States party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change have recognized planned relocation as a viable adaptation to climate change. Planned relocation has been attempted in many communities globally and has raised serious issues of equity in some cases. Implementation driven by principles of equity is crucial in ensuring successful planned relocations that decrease loss and damage. In this Policy Analysis, we put forth a framework for equitable planned relocation rooted in theories of justice as a basis for implementation. The framework centers around three principles: comprehensive recognition of affected stakeholders in decision-making, consideration of socio-cultural risk factors relevant to relocation, and evaluation of multiple measures of well-being. There are many actors involved in planned relocation. Unique features and abilities of international organizations lend themselves to promoting equitable planned relocation in partnership with other stakeholders. Through the exploration of case studies, we identify best practices that international organizations have available to influence the design, implementation, and evaluation of planned relocation processes. These practices are relevant when striving for equity for all affected individuals and communities. Points of intervention include agenda-setting and advocacy, funding and implementation standards, and facilitation of international cooperation. International organizations also face barriers to supporting equitable planned relocation. Limitations include lack of enforcement mechanisms, limited resources, and fundamental dependence on existing governance structures and global collaboration. As the necessity of planned relocations grows, the need for leadership from international organizations in implementation is magnified, underscoring the importance of developing and evaluating approaches to just implementation

The Center Must Not Hold White Women Philosophers on the Whiteness of Philosophy

In this collection, white women philosophers engage boldly in critical acts of exploring ways of naming and disrupting whiteness in terms of how it has defined the conceptual field of philosophy. Focuses on the whiteness of the epistemic and value-laden norms within philosophy itself, the text dares to identify the proverbial elephant in the room known as white supremacy and how that supremacy functions as the measure of reason, knowledge, and philosophical intelligibilit