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‘Appeasement Reporting’ in Development Projects: Satisfying Donors at the Expense of Beneficiaries
“Appeasement reporting” is a common practice among development organizations, says Richard Tinsley. The term refers to their tendency to slant donor reporting, making all projects appear successful and concealing any failures or lack of beneficiary interest. This appeases donors hoping for impactful projects – but it has a detrimental effect on beneficiaries, future projects and the organizations involved. Tinsley explores the causes and consequences of this practice, using the example of farmer co-ops for smallholders.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Impact Assessment
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After Rana Plaza – Do Consumers Care About Supply Chain Transparency? Our Research Shows They Do
The Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh killed over 1,100 people and revealed the horrific conditions that many garment workers endure. Yet it's difficult for apparel makers to create transparent supply chains, and the benefits to their bottom line are not always clear. Do customers really care – and are they willing to reward a company for socially responsible efforts? According to research from Tim Kraft and Yanchong Zheng at the Sloan School of Management, the answers are yes and yes.
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- Uncategorized
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From Iowa to India: The Importance of Entrepreneurship in Promoting Human Dignity
Farmers in both developed and emerging countries are facing similar challenges, from water shortages and climate change to stagnant crop prices. With many Indian farmers abandoning their rural communities in favor of growing urban centers, Chris Owen, a University of Michigan student and 2018 WDI Global Impact Fellow, asks how cities will meet their residents’ need for food, water and gainful employment. He explores the work of Poornatha, a Madurai-based social enterprise that’s tackling these issues through entrepreneurship education.
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- Agriculture, Social Enterprise
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Electricity is Just the Beginning: Why Off-Grid Solar Opens the Door to Value-Added Services
Lack of energy access is a much-discussed issue in rural households and businesses across the developing world. But according to Mansoor Hamayun, CEO of BBOXX, electricity is just the beginning: Solar home systems could lay the foundation for a host of related services that could transform the quality of life in off-grid communities. Hamayun discusses “Tomorrow’s Rural Home,” BBOXX’s vision for the off-grid home of the future, which shows how solar energy access could create new markets and power economic growth in Africa and beyond.
- Categories
- Energy, Social Enterprise, Technology
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Still White, Still Male: New Report Quantifies Impact Investing’s Diversity Problem
As interest and investments have grown, it’s time for an honest conversation about whether impact investing is perpetuating the inequalities it seeks to address, says Bonnie Chiu, managing director of the Social Investment Consultancy. She shares highlights from a new report that illuminates the challenges faced by women, ethnic minorities and others trying to break into leadership positions in the U.K.’s impact investing sector – and explores the broader implications of this research for the global industry.
- Categories
- Investing
- Tags
- impact investing, research
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Why the Social Impact Sector Needs a ‘Bizarro Davos’: A Modest Proposal That Nobody Will Like
It’s that time of year again: Time to talk about the true meaning of Davos. But among all the hot takes and well-earned snark at the expense of insufferable elites, it’s worth asking if the rest of us are so different. Even those of us who work in the social impact sector don’t seem to object to high-brow conferences, and few regular folks seem willing to make the kinds of sacrifices that may be necessary to tackle the generational challenges we face. NextBillion editor James Militzer discusses this dynamic, and makes a sure-to-be-unpopular proposal.
- Categories
- Environment, Social Enterprise
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Open the Spigot: The Way We Think About Impact Investing is Too Narrow
You hear about it all the time in impact investing reports, articles and blogs: The lack of deal flow. But Tanner Taddeo of ChangeSquare believes the industry's challenge isn't a lack of investible companies, but rather the industry’s narrow definition of impact and how it "blinds" investors to companies that are creating impact in other industries and geographies. Taking a more holistic, rather than plug-and-play approach, will contribute to a broadening definition of impact and subsequently open the spigot for deals, he argues.
- Categories
- Investing
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Stupid Stoves: Why Rebranding Won’t Solve the Clean Cooking Alliance’s Problems
In her recent interview with NextBillion, Clean Cooking Alliance CEO Dymphna van der Lans described the organization's ambitious new vision. But her words didn't sit well with Warm Heart Worldwide founder Michael Shafer, who raises a pointed question: After nearly 10 years of massive investment, hype and exposure, he asks, "Where is the Clean Cooking Alliance now? Getting rebranded and starting over!" Shafer argues that the Alliance's current efforts fail to address the major issues that have hampered it from the start – and proposes a different way forward – in this provocative post.
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- Energy, Environment, Social Enterprise, Technology