Breakout 3A: Interpreting the rules: making space for adaptive management
Information
Every donor agency has its own set of rules and policies that govern critical aspects of PSD projects: procurement/grants, results measurement and expectations, budgeting and staffing. Opportunities for working systemically may be undermined, and valuable insights lost when narrow or risk-averse interpretations get codified as the only way of doing things. This interpretation process occurs not only within donor agencies at HQ and embassy/mission levels, but also among implementers themselves.
Most successful systemic programmes have had to find a way to push back on narrow interpretations. This requires support from management as well asa good working relationship between the donor programme manager and the programme team leader.
This session will feature facilitated small-group discussions on key interpretation ‘problems’. The focus will be on practical open conversations between donors and implementers on their strategies and tactics for making more space for adaptive management.
Group 1 - Adaptive partnerships with market actors (Gwendolyn)
Group 2 - Managing pressures for results (Ryan)
Group 3 - Budgeting and managing an inception phase (Mark)
Group 4 - Tendering and bidding for MSD projects (Mike)
Ryan Bourque, Mark Sevier, Gwendolyn Tweed and Mike Klassen will share some insights from working on related challenges within USAID projects. They will also become the table facilitators for breakout discussions on specific challenges / pain points noted above.
