What is good governance and why does it matter in the aid and development industry?

While we often like to talk about best practice as if it is just the logical consequence of evidence and research, we need to acknowledge that best practice is also shaped by our values - both our personal values and our cultural values. It is our values and assumptions that determine consciously or unconsciously, what evidence we are going to collect after all.

A guest blog post and an invitation to a new webinar opportunity

Today marks Ash Wednesday - the start of the period of Lent on the Christian calendar. Lent is a time of fasting, prayer and seeking forgiveness representing Jesus’ 40 days of temptation in the wilderness. As we watch the news this week with images from the war in the Ukraine, and the floods in the Eastern states of Australia, it may be easier to connect with the image of being alone and stuck in a wilderness, of being overwhelmed by the elements and the need for forgiveness on earth.

A number of faith-based Justice and Development based groups produce a series of 7 studies during Lent. Here’s a few you might want to connect with:

Rather than provide an exhaustive resource, I want to present a few questions to ask which bring together ideas, from faith-based, justice-oriented and good development knowledge bases. These questions are useful starting questions for evaluating the healthiness of a program or initiative.