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This article makes a case for a reconceptualisation of aid and development programme design. Specifically, it questions the role of the international \"development expert\" in the design and implementation process. We argue that by employing \"design thinking\" as a guiding principle, the way in which aid programmes are envisaged and delivered can be radically overhauled, resulting in dramatically improved outcomes for the users of aid. We argue that practical improvements in delivery are achievable through locally rooted, \"user-driven\" development solutions that originate from the beneficiaries themselves. Design thinking as applied here goes significantly further than other programme design and implementation methodologies that champion locally owned, needs-driven assistance. Furthermore, we make a case for this approach addressing wider problems within the sector, namely the perception, in some quarters, that aid is intrinsically \"neo-imperialist\" in design and ideologically driven.

This article presents the findings of a re-evaluation of all 5,200 aid projects that OECD donors reported for 2012 as \"climate change adaptation\"-related, based on the \"Rio marker\" classification system. The findings confirm those from the academic and grey literature that the absence of independent quality control makes the adaptation Rio marker data almost entirely unreliable. This lack of credibility impedes meaningful assessments of progress toward the mainstreaming of adaptation in development cooperation activities. It also erodes trust in international climate negotiations, given that these data are frequently used in the financial reporting of developed countries to the UNFCCC.

This article analyzes the rise and fall of the aid effectiveness norm, using the lens of Finnemore and Sikkink’s norm ‘life cycle’. I argue that, although donors and recipients endorsed the founding principles, the norm was only feebly internalized: they were unwilling to overcome their reluctance—and important disincentives—to substantially change their practices on the ground. After the norm cascaded, the donor-led process sought to gain legitimacy and diffuse the norm more broadly by trying to bring in a wider range of actors through norm substitution. These changes failed to convince emerging donors to engage and caused the norm to decay to the point where it ceased to constitute a norm. This case highlights the importance of refining the life cycle model to take into account weak internalization and the potential existence of a second phase in which norms decline and potentially die.

This article offers a qualitative investigation of how human rights education sessions, embedded in a multi-faceted intervention, helped members of a rural community in West Africa challenge inequitable gender norms that hindered women's political participation. Results show a change in women's political participation and community members' descriptions of women's potential. Three features of the intervention contributed to this change: (1) its pedagogical approach; (2) its substantive content; and (3) the engagement of men and women together. The article calls for interventions that facilitate sustained dialogue between men and women to achieve greater gender equity.

Theory of Change (ToC) is an emerging methodology in the practice of development programmes, often contrasted with the dominant logical framework. This article reviews current debates around ToC before identifying five aspects that are appreciated in practice. It appears that these aspects mostly cover areas where the logical framework is not - or is no longer - meeting the needs of practitioners. Subsequently, the article analyses experiences in ToC training for NGO staff and concludes that ToC can address shortcomings of the logical framework - if only by going back to some of the roots of the logical framework.

Bilateral aid agencies often face implementation challenges in internal efforts to address long-standing aid fragmentation and effectiveness issues. This article introduces the organizational identity concept to understand better these challenges by examining how Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) frontline staff understand their role and organizational goals in light of shifting demands to coordinate and align Swedish government agencies' (SGA) aid engagements. SGAs implement 10-15% of Swedish bilateral aid annually. A recent government strategy prioritizes strengthening partner countries' public institutions and partnerships in line with the Agenda 2030 for sustainable development. Analysis of interviews and focus group data reveals a general shift among bureaucrats beyond the traditional us-them funder identity, to embrace a range of other identity orientations in the Sida-SGA relationship. The various orientations reflected Sida frontline bureaucrats' diverse interpretations of their individual authority and socialized sense-making of ambivalent organizational changes, as they grapple with questions of 'Who we should be?' and 'What we should do?' on the frontline. The study provides a fine-grained view of the essential attitudes, skills and behavior on the frontline that influence aid relationships and the implementation of aid effectiveness principles, adding nuance to the existing aid effectiveness literature.

More evidence is emerging about challenges many different types of civil society organisations around the world are facing relative to the sustainability of their organisations and functions. Valuable experiences and lessons are also emerging of how organisations are responding. This concluding article brings together themes from across the articles in this special issue, offering a broad understanding of civil society sustainability, exploring why this matters in the present geopolitical context, reviewing what has changed from previous analyses, and proposing ideas for what needs to change as we move forward.

How should non-state actors engage state-led development processes? This article uses the theological notion of \"religious bilinguality\" as a conceptual basis for identifying three roles in which religious communities can engage the state-led process of foreign aid distribution. The roles range from being granted to claiming the right of participation. As \"guests\", religious actors are able to reinvigorate existing dialogue platforms; as \"servants\", they are able to map motivations for foreign aid disbursement; and as \"prophets\", religious actors can identify and address discrepancies in the definition and distribution of foreign aid.

The Himalayan state of Sikkim, India was hit by an earthquake in 2011 that caused widespread devastation. This article reports on the housing reconstruction project in the state, focusing on three questions: what are the key planning decisions, what are the main implementation challenges, and what are the lessons learnt? The findings indicate that key planning decisions need to be taken on implementation mechanisms, financing strategies, beneficiary identification, housing design, and procurement. The main implementation challenges are enabling homeowner involvement, slow progress, timely procurement, and stalled house construction. The article also identifies useful lessons for other agencies involved in reconstruction.

It has been more than 10 years since the Paris Declaration was signed, yet critical questions remain about whether - and how - increased compliance at the national level has improved the overall effectiveness of Official Development Assistance. Previous studies have argued fundamental tensions arise between the principles of aid effectiveness as they are translated into practice. This article explores this argument using a case study of an Australian-Indonesian technical assistance project - the Poverty Reduction Support Facility - carried out between 2010 and 2015. It demonstrates that tensions do arise between the principles of aid effectiveness as they are translated into practice, but these can be resolved through political negotiation and compromise.