Innovation is getting a lot of attention at the moment in development and humanitarian work. Many, including myself, see this as long overdue. But, according to an article in this weeks Economist, this attention may be misplaced. The piece makes a strong argument for the importance of imitation in business, and its advantages over innovation. [...]
Archive for the ‘Influence’ Category
The Limitations of Imitation
Posted in Biology, Evolution, Influence, Innovation, Knowledge and learning, Leadership, Reports and Studies, Strategy, Technology, Trade on May 18, 2012 | 1 Comment »
Taming fragility?
Posted in Conflict and peace building, Evolution, Influence, Innovation, Institutions, Knowledge and learning, Leadership, Networks, Strategy on March 12, 2012 | 6 Comments »
This is a guest post by Frauke de Weijer (pictured), policy and fragile states specialist at the excellent ECDPM think tank. In a previous post on this blog, Ben explored the potential of complex systems research for thinking about statebuilding and fragility. In this guest post, I would like to take this discussion one step [...]
Official Views, Doing the Wrong Thing ‘Righter’, and the World Bank Presidency
Posted in Accountability, Evaluation, Influence, Innovation, Knowledge and learning, Leadership, Public Policy, Strategy on March 5, 2012 | 12 Comments »
There’s been a lot of interest in the imminent vacancy of World Bank President, with numerous suggestions of qualified individuals who should be on the list. This post looks at one particular aspect of the role which seems to be missing from most of this debate, and which should be high on the list of criteria [...]
Facebook, social media and the complexity of influence
Posted in Campaigns, Communications, Evaluation, Influence, Knowledge and learning, Leadership, Networks, Strategy on February 20, 2012 | 5 Comments »
Influence is a complex process in the development sector. We have known this for some time – the work of the RAPID programme at ODI on understanding how evidence influences policy is very clear on this. But the wider socio-economic system within which development cooperation is embedded is no less difficult to influence. Many corporations, especially [...]
