Episodes
Thursday Jan 02, 2020
Thursday Jan 02, 2020
"Fear of failure is the only thing that ensures your dreams won't come true." Hiba Tibi from CARE's Middle East and North Africa hub talks about what they're learning from programs that didn't work, and how they are using those lessons to improve sustainability and scale. A big lesson is that Women's Economic Empowerment programs have to focus on both gender equality AND solid business cases--but many programs only manage one or the other. You can check out more lessons in the recent paper: Bringing Gender Equality Closer to Women's Economic Empowerment.
Thursday Nov 21, 2019
What's Wrong With Happy Families?
Thursday Nov 21, 2019
Thursday Nov 21, 2019
How can using the phrase Happy Families actually hurt women and set feminism back? Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala and Zainab Ibrahim from Chrysalis--a CARE affiliate in Sri Lanka--tell us lessons learned from the EMERGE project engaging men and boys, and working with feminist groups. Some key lessons: let local groups take the lead, engage with respect and humility, and pay attention to your wording. Concepts need to translate not just in language, but also in ideology. Also check out the paper on working with social movements, and how we can improve women's rights by taking a back seat.
Thursday Aug 22, 2019
Be Bold and Realistic: Creating space for project plans that will work
Thursday Aug 22, 2019
Thursday Aug 22, 2019
Yawo Douvon and Barbara Jean-Claude from Haiti talk about the importance of being bold when it comes to admitting that something won't work. It takes courage to point out that goals and expectations are unrealistic, and that we might not get everything done. Getting good context analysis--even in emergencies--building solid donor relationships, carefully monitoring data, and being proactive in communications when something goes off track are all tips that can help you through a rocky project implementation. (French version will be coming the week of August 26th.)
Wednesday Apr 03, 2019
It's All About Backup: When Experimental Systems Go Wrong
Wednesday Apr 03, 2019
Wednesday Apr 03, 2019
In our first ever Francophone episode, Fanomezantsoa Randrianarisoa from CARE Madagascar talks about what happens when you launch an experimental monitoring system before partners are ready for it. Besides challenges getting the data you need, there are serious risks to sustainability. Investing in people's skills, creating back-up plans, and aligning with global systems are some of the solutions.
Dans notre premier épisode francophone, Fanomezantsoa Randrianarisoa du CARE Madagascar explique ce qui se passe si vous lancez un nouveau system d’évaluation avant que l’équipe ne soit prêt. Il n’y a pas seulement les difficultés de trouver l’information, mais aussi les risques pour pérenniser le system. Les leçons appris comprennent : un appui au personnel, l’appropriation du system, et l’harmonisation avec les autres systems.
Wednesday Jan 02, 2019
What makes dreams impossible: How we can miss the mark on creating programs that last
Wednesday Jan 02, 2019
Wednesday Jan 02, 2019
Hiba Tibi from Palestine talks about her favorite quote: "Fear of failure is the only thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve." Even in crisis and fragile settings, we must programs that create space for women's empowerment and will be economically viable in the long term. We can't let the changing environment prevent us from focusing on equality that will last. Check out the recent paper on how to do that with Women's Economic Empowerment programs, and the thinking on how to approach the Humanitarian and Development nexus for long term change.
Thursday Dec 13, 2018
Mistake Money, Premortems, and other ways to incentivize talking about failure
Thursday Dec 13, 2018
Thursday Dec 13, 2018
Susan Davis of Improve International talks about how we can incentivize talking about failure so we can make new mistakes rather than continuing to make the old ones. She also talks about how we can resolve problems as we find them in the Guidelines for Resolving Problems with Water Systems. Some tools she suggests are the Nakuru accord, pre-mortems, and innovative financing mechanisms—what she calls “Mistake Money”. What's the key? Getting communities involved in the conversation.
Wednesday Oct 31, 2018
Fourth Quarter Failure: How we got the FY18 budget wrong, and what we're doing now
Wednesday Oct 31, 2018
Wednesday Oct 31, 2018
Michelle Nunn discusses how CARE's FY18 budget missed the balance between audacious goals and operational excellence. She ends with a call to all staff to err on the side of candor and speak truth to power.
Wednesday Oct 10, 2018
A plan does not equal progress: Sri Lanka teaching us about new business models
Wednesday Oct 10, 2018
Wednesday Oct 10, 2018
In a moment of transformation and budget crisis, a consultant's plan from completely failed to move the needle. Instead, CARE Sri Lanka's determination and ingenuity built a whole new way of doing business. They call it Chrysalis.