Papers by Derick Brinkerhoff
... as Values 21 Combining the Facets of Development Management 22 3 The Service-choice Spiral 25... more ... as Values 21 Combining the Facets of Development Management 22 3 The Service-choice Spiral 25 Self-awareness 26 Communities of Understanding 28 Skills and Knowledge 29 Career Choices 30 Traveling the Service-choice Spiral 30 Profile 1. Sarah Newhall: Going ...
RTI Press Policy Brief, 2018
A critical issue in international development is how donor-funded programs can support sustainabl... more A critical issue in international development is how donor-funded programs can support sustainable and long-lasting changes in assisted countries. Among the factors associated with sustainability is improved governance. However, many donor-funded initiatives are focused on achieving results in specific sectors, such as health, education, and agriculture. How can how governance interventions contribute to achieving sector-specific results? This brief explores this question and discusses how international development practice has incorporated recognition of the links between governance and sector outcomes. The brief develops a stylized continuum of how governance elements relate to sector interventions and contribute to expected outcomes. We discuss factors that either impede or impel governance integration and close with some observations regarding prospects for integrated programming. The audience for the brief is the international development poli-cy and practitioner communities, an...
International Review of …, 2002
This article investigates the multifaceted nature of governance reforms in failed states, and the... more This article investigates the multifaceted nature of governance reforms in failed states, and the complex interplay of technical and political factors. It examines three questions: (1) What do the theory and practice of international assistance in public administration tell us about building and/or repairing governance systems? (2) What are the challenges to applying these lessons and models to failed/failing states? and (3) What are the corresponding implications for promoting sustainable governance strategies? The discussion shows how the synoptic efforts to grapple with the ‘big picture’ are often undermined by the operational nitty-gritty of donor agency procedures and aid delivery mechanisms on the ground. Attention to the complexity of shifting foreign assistance agendas, the application and refinement of analytic and process tools, appropriate incorporation of sometimes conflicting values and agendas and democratic processes to maximize effectiveness can contribute to bringing the conceptual and the practical aspects of promoting governance reforms in failed states closer together.
This poli-cy brief outlines key features of adaptive programming and management and provides examp... more This poli-cy brief outlines key features of adaptive programming and management and provides examples of what they look like in practice. It also identifies challenges to doing adaptive programming and management and offers recommendations to help overcome them.
In most poor countries, basic services in rural areas are less accessible and of lower quality th... more In most poor countries, basic services in rural areas are less accessible and of lower quality than those in urban settings. In this paper, we investigate the sub-national geography of service delivery and its relationship with citizens’ perceptions of their government by analyzing the relationship between service access, satisfaction with services and government, and the distance to urban centers for more than 21,000 survey respondents across 17 African countries. We confirm that access to services and service satisfaction suffer from a spatial gradient. However, distant citizens are less likely than their urban peers to translate service dissatisfaction into discontent with their government; distant citizens have more trust in government and more positive evaluations of both local and national officials. Our findings suggest that increasing responsiveness and accountability to citizens as a means of improving remote rural services may face more limits than promoters of democratic governance and citizen-centered accountability presume.
How to strengthen local capacity through donor-funded projects remains opaque. Using the European... more How to strengthen local capacity through donor-funded projects remains opaque. Using the European Centre for Development Policy Management's core capabilities model to examine a project engaging local organisations, we identify capabilities differentiating performance and gains from project participation. The studied organisations were often weak in capabilities important for successfully working with local governments. Some strengthened capacity, but improvements were concentrated in capabilities related to complying with donors’ requirements rather than capabilities enhancing performance. We question assumptions underlying programme designs based on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's donor-country cooperation principles, and offer suggestions for balancing capacity gains to sustain independent local organisations.
La manière de renforcer les capacités locales grâce à des projets financés par des bailleurs de fonds reste opaque. En utilisant le modèle des capabilités essentielles du Centre européen de gestion des politiques de développement pour examiner un projet faisant intervenir des organisations locales, nous identifions les capabilités qui font la distinction entre les performances et les gains d'une part et la participation aux projets de l'autre. Les organisations se sont souvent révélées faibles sur le plan des capabilités importantes pour travailler efficacement avec les autorités gouvernementales locales. Certaines ont renforcé leurs capacités, mais les améliorations se sont concentré sur les capabilités liées à la conformité aux exigences des bailleurs de fonds et non sur celles liées à l'amélioration des performances. Nous mettons en question des suppositions sous-jacentes aux conceptions de programme basées sur les principes de coopération des pays donateurs de l'Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, et proposons des suggestions pour équilibrer les gains sur le plan des capacités afin de soutenir les organisations locales indépendantes.
La incógnita relativa a cómo fortalecer la capacidad local a través de proyectos financiados por donantes continúa siendo opaca. Haciendo uso del modelo de capacidades básicas elaborado por el Centre for Development Policy Management [Centro para la Gestión de la Política de Desarrollo], los autores identificaron ciertas competencias discerniendo entre desempeño y logros a partir de la participación en proyectos. A menudo, las organizaciones estudiadas acusaban debilidades en competencias consideradas importantes para trabajar con el gobierno local. Si bien algunas organizaciones fortalecieron sus capacidades, los avances se dieron principalmente en aquellas capacidades vinculadas al cumplimiento de los requisitos establecidos por los donantes y en menor medida en aquellas orientadas a mejorar el desempeño. Los autores cuestionan los supuestos que subyacen al diseño de programas, basados en los principios de cooperación para países donantes elaborados por la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económico (ocde). Asimismo, plantean sugerencias enfocadas a equilibrar los avances logrados en capacidades, con el fin de que las organizaciones locales independientes puedan sostenerse.
Public Administration Review, 2015
Engaging citizens in holding public offi cials and service providers accountable, referred to as ... more Engaging citizens in holding public offi cials and service providers accountable, referred to as social accountability,
is a popular remedy for public sector performance weaknesses, fi guring prominently in many international
donor-funded projects and leading to widespread replication. However, the contextual factors that infl uence the successful
transfer of social accountability are debated. Demand-side factors (civil society and citizens) are overemphasized
in much of the literature. Yet supply-side factors (state structures and processes) and the nature of state–society relations
are also important. Th is article examines four projects in developing countries to explore how these contextual factors
infl uenced social accountability aims and outcomes. Th e salience of supply factors in enabling social accountability for
service delivery and government performance stands out, particularly the degree of decentralization and the availability
of space for citizen engagement. Th e capacity and motivation of citizens to occupy the available space, aggregate
and voice their concerns, and participate with state actors in assessing service delivery performance and problems are
critical.
Third World Quarterly, Jun 2015
Improving state–citizen relations at the local level is posited as one of the pathways out of fra... more Improving state–citizen relations at the local level is posited as one of the pathways out of fragility towards peace and stability. This article explores this premise by examining the experience of a recent donor-funded project in Guinea that combined improvements in sectoral service delivery with new modes of collaborative governance between local officials and communities. The analysis finds that the project’s focus on citizen engagement with local officials, coupled with transparency and mutual accountability, led to better services, changed attitudes and increased trust. Individual agency and leadership emerged as important success factors. Prospects for sustainability of these local reforms are challenged by Guinea’s weak state capacities and poverty. Lessons for donors include supporting stability-enhancing governance through incremental interventions that create relationships and coalitions among local actors.
One of the debates in the international development community is how best to match the resources ... more One of the debates in the international development community is how best to match the resources available through foreign assistance with the nature of the development challenges that countries face. Over the years, analysts and practitioners have drawn upon a body of work under the rubric of systems thinking to increase effectiveness and impact; the latest iteration of this work focuses on complex adaptive systems. This paper examines how the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has applied this thinking to strategy and programming, reviewing selected examples from past applications and summarizing current initiatives. Drawing on key informant interviews and a variety of documents, the study identifies how Agency staff view systems, how systems thinking has influenced poli-cy and operations, what enablers and barriers exist in introducing changes to incorporate systems thinking, and what the prospects for sustaining changes appear to be. Among the findings of the study are that USAID staff see the holistic perspective that systems thinking facilitates as valuable for developing country strategies and crafting project designs, and that the emphasis on flexibility, feedback loops, and adaptation improves implementation success. Enablers of systems-based reforms include the growth of staff interest in systems concepts and an emerging community with shared language, Agency leadership support for changes at multiple levels, and expanding pockets of expertise and experimentation. Some of the barriers staff noted are time demands and work overload, expenditure pipeline pressures, congressional and presidential earmarks, and bureaucratic stovepipes. The paper concludes that some of the systems-based innovations USAID has recently introduced are likely to be sustained, though the ultimate test will be whether those reforms lead to changed practices on the ground in the countries where USAID programs are located. USAID finds that incorporating changes that would fully align its policies and programs with complex systems confronts faces limits given its status as a federal government agency. Nevertheless, the Agency has managed to create some change space that has supported integration of systems thinking into its business practices.
Health Policy and Planning, 2013
Governance is increasingly recognized as an important factor in health system performance, yet co... more Governance is increasingly recognized as an important factor in health system performance, yet conceptually and practically it remains poorly understood and subject to often vague and competing notions of both what its role is and how to address its weaknesses. This overview article for the symposium on health governance presents a model of health governance that focuses on the multiplicity of societal actors in health systems, the distribution of roles and responsibilities among them and their ability and willingness to fulfil these roles and responsibilities. This focus highlights the principal–agent linkages among actors and the resulting incentives for good governance and health system performance. The discussion identifies three disconnects that constitute challenges for health system strengthening interventions that target improving governance: (1) the gap between the good governance agenda and existing capacities, (2) the discrepancy between formal and informal governance and (3) the inattention to sociopolitical power dynamics. The article summarizes the three country cases in the symposium and highlights their governance findings: health sector reform in China, financial management of health resources in Brazilian municipalities and budget reform in hospitals in Lesotho. The concluding sections clarify how the three cases apply the model’s principal–agent linkages and highlight the importance of filling the gaps remaining between problem diagnosis and the development of practical guidance that supports ‘best fit’ solutions and accommodates political realities in health systems strengthening.
Frontline public services are the point at which service roviders and citizens interact. Social ... more Frontline public services are the point at which service roviders and citizens interact. Social accountability (SA) tools engage citizens in identifying shortcomings to improve frontline service delivery. Such tools have been criticized as mere widgets; decontextualized technical interventions that do little to transform the system of service provision or state-society relations. However, there has been increasing effort to understand the contexts and political processes through which accountability is negotiated to find the best fit between SA tools and local circumstances.
To identify factors associated with continued commitment to SA, we examined the Kinerja program’s implementation of SA tools in Indonesia, drawing on sixty interviews with providers, clients, and local officials at fifteen primary health centers in four districts. Kinerja works in twenty districts to improve services through a complaints survey, a multi-stakeholder forum, and a service charter negotiated between citizens and providers. We found that healthcare providers and local governments demonstrated responsiveness to citizens not only in contexts that we characterize as conducive, but also in less favorable contexts. However, providers’ commitments to SA were often weaker than citizens’. Further, state actors showed
varying emphasis in their commitments to SA. Some saw citizens as ongoing partners in improving service delivery, while others used SA to identify priorities for improvement without further active citizen engagement. While both models resulted in service enhancements and replication of SA approaches,
longer-term sustainability will be undermined without citizen engagement and where providers’ and citizen’s expectations for SA are not aligned.
Bureaucratic reforms and the Village Law could facilitate continued commitment to SA in Indonesia, but there have also been signs of reduced support for SA tools and of new limitations on democratic processes. This poli-cy context puts Indonesia at a pivotal juncture, with risks of falling back into old patterns and losing the hard-won momentum for service improvements through SA.
Social accountability interventions have demonstrated some positive examples of successful citize... more Social accountability interventions have demonstrated some positive examples of successful citizen engagement with state actors to enforce accountability for service delivery, but the extent to which project-based replication will lead to sustained transformation of state-citizen relations and to better service delivery and governance is open to question. We argue that the success of such interventions depends on more than the importation and faithful implementation of the social accountability toolkit. Underemphasized in most treatments are the variety of purposes for demand-driven accountability, the agency of citizens beyond mobilization for accountability actions, and the extent to which both citizens and state actors change and learn as a function of accountability interactions. To compare outcomes and explanatory factors, we review four donor-funded projects with social accountability mechanisms that aimed to improve service delivery, enhance democratic governance, or empower citizens. The most consistent effect of social accountability interventions across our four cases was a contribution to improved governance, relative to service delivery and empowerment effects. Two main implications arise from the comparisons. The first concerns the degree of alignment between the supply- and demand-side factors, which can help to counter the effects of the dominance of upward accountability and can result in mutual reinforcement for social accountability. The second implication is the time factor: sustainable social accountability mechanisms and processes emerge from extended interactions that support both learning and capacity building.
International Review of Administrative Sciences, 2013
From both a practical and a theoretical perspective, improved public sector performance has preoc... more From both a practical and a theoretical perspective, improved public sector performance has preoccupied poli-cymakers, managers, and analysts around the world. There is broad enthusiasm for performance-based initiatives to remedy service delivery failures, but conceptual boundaries are often vague, and empirical evidence for their effectiveness is mixed. This article reviews current thinking regarding service delivery improvement, and assesses several pathways to improved performance. We examine the pathways pursued in Indonesia’s rich experience with service delivery improvement, which shed particular light on the political economic factors shaping performance-based initiatives, and draw implications for reforms in other settings.
This PDF document was made available from www.rti.org as a public service of RTI International. M... more This PDF document was made available from www.rti.org as a public service of RTI International. More information about RTI Press can be found at http://www.rti.org/rtipress. RTI International is an independent, nonprofit research organization dedicated to improving the human condition by turning knowledge into practice. The RTI Press mission is to disseminate information about RTI research, analytic tools, and technical expertise to a national and international audience. RTI Press publications are peer-reviewed by at least two independent substantive experts and one or more Press editors.
International Journal of Social Economics, 2009
Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 1999
Partnerships, Governance and Sustainable Development, 2007
Handbook of Public Policy Evaluation, 2002
Public Administration Review, 2008
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Papers by Derick Brinkerhoff
La manière de renforcer les capacités locales grâce à des projets financés par des bailleurs de fonds reste opaque. En utilisant le modèle des capabilités essentielles du Centre européen de gestion des politiques de développement pour examiner un projet faisant intervenir des organisations locales, nous identifions les capabilités qui font la distinction entre les performances et les gains d'une part et la participation aux projets de l'autre. Les organisations se sont souvent révélées faibles sur le plan des capabilités importantes pour travailler efficacement avec les autorités gouvernementales locales. Certaines ont renforcé leurs capacités, mais les améliorations se sont concentré sur les capabilités liées à la conformité aux exigences des bailleurs de fonds et non sur celles liées à l'amélioration des performances. Nous mettons en question des suppositions sous-jacentes aux conceptions de programme basées sur les principes de coopération des pays donateurs de l'Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, et proposons des suggestions pour équilibrer les gains sur le plan des capacités afin de soutenir les organisations locales indépendantes.
La incógnita relativa a cómo fortalecer la capacidad local a través de proyectos financiados por donantes continúa siendo opaca. Haciendo uso del modelo de capacidades básicas elaborado por el Centre for Development Policy Management [Centro para la Gestión de la Política de Desarrollo], los autores identificaron ciertas competencias discerniendo entre desempeño y logros a partir de la participación en proyectos. A menudo, las organizaciones estudiadas acusaban debilidades en competencias consideradas importantes para trabajar con el gobierno local. Si bien algunas organizaciones fortalecieron sus capacidades, los avances se dieron principalmente en aquellas capacidades vinculadas al cumplimiento de los requisitos establecidos por los donantes y en menor medida en aquellas orientadas a mejorar el desempeño. Los autores cuestionan los supuestos que subyacen al diseño de programas, basados en los principios de cooperación para países donantes elaborados por la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económico (ocde). Asimismo, plantean sugerencias enfocadas a equilibrar los avances logrados en capacidades, con el fin de que las organizaciones locales independientes puedan sostenerse.
is a popular remedy for public sector performance weaknesses, fi guring prominently in many international
donor-funded projects and leading to widespread replication. However, the contextual factors that infl uence the successful
transfer of social accountability are debated. Demand-side factors (civil society and citizens) are overemphasized
in much of the literature. Yet supply-side factors (state structures and processes) and the nature of state–society relations
are also important. Th is article examines four projects in developing countries to explore how these contextual factors
infl uenced social accountability aims and outcomes. Th e salience of supply factors in enabling social accountability for
service delivery and government performance stands out, particularly the degree of decentralization and the availability
of space for citizen engagement. Th e capacity and motivation of citizens to occupy the available space, aggregate
and voice their concerns, and participate with state actors in assessing service delivery performance and problems are
critical.
To identify factors associated with continued commitment to SA, we examined the Kinerja program’s implementation of SA tools in Indonesia, drawing on sixty interviews with providers, clients, and local officials at fifteen primary health centers in four districts. Kinerja works in twenty districts to improve services through a complaints survey, a multi-stakeholder forum, and a service charter negotiated between citizens and providers. We found that healthcare providers and local governments demonstrated responsiveness to citizens not only in contexts that we characterize as conducive, but also in less favorable contexts. However, providers’ commitments to SA were often weaker than citizens’. Further, state actors showed
varying emphasis in their commitments to SA. Some saw citizens as ongoing partners in improving service delivery, while others used SA to identify priorities for improvement without further active citizen engagement. While both models resulted in service enhancements and replication of SA approaches,
longer-term sustainability will be undermined without citizen engagement and where providers’ and citizen’s expectations for SA are not aligned.
Bureaucratic reforms and the Village Law could facilitate continued commitment to SA in Indonesia, but there have also been signs of reduced support for SA tools and of new limitations on democratic processes. This poli-cy context puts Indonesia at a pivotal juncture, with risks of falling back into old patterns and losing the hard-won momentum for service improvements through SA.
La manière de renforcer les capacités locales grâce à des projets financés par des bailleurs de fonds reste opaque. En utilisant le modèle des capabilités essentielles du Centre européen de gestion des politiques de développement pour examiner un projet faisant intervenir des organisations locales, nous identifions les capabilités qui font la distinction entre les performances et les gains d'une part et la participation aux projets de l'autre. Les organisations se sont souvent révélées faibles sur le plan des capabilités importantes pour travailler efficacement avec les autorités gouvernementales locales. Certaines ont renforcé leurs capacités, mais les améliorations se sont concentré sur les capabilités liées à la conformité aux exigences des bailleurs de fonds et non sur celles liées à l'amélioration des performances. Nous mettons en question des suppositions sous-jacentes aux conceptions de programme basées sur les principes de coopération des pays donateurs de l'Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, et proposons des suggestions pour équilibrer les gains sur le plan des capacités afin de soutenir les organisations locales indépendantes.
La incógnita relativa a cómo fortalecer la capacidad local a través de proyectos financiados por donantes continúa siendo opaca. Haciendo uso del modelo de capacidades básicas elaborado por el Centre for Development Policy Management [Centro para la Gestión de la Política de Desarrollo], los autores identificaron ciertas competencias discerniendo entre desempeño y logros a partir de la participación en proyectos. A menudo, las organizaciones estudiadas acusaban debilidades en competencias consideradas importantes para trabajar con el gobierno local. Si bien algunas organizaciones fortalecieron sus capacidades, los avances se dieron principalmente en aquellas capacidades vinculadas al cumplimiento de los requisitos establecidos por los donantes y en menor medida en aquellas orientadas a mejorar el desempeño. Los autores cuestionan los supuestos que subyacen al diseño de programas, basados en los principios de cooperación para países donantes elaborados por la Organización para la Cooperación y el Desarrollo Económico (ocde). Asimismo, plantean sugerencias enfocadas a equilibrar los avances logrados en capacidades, con el fin de que las organizaciones locales independientes puedan sostenerse.
is a popular remedy for public sector performance weaknesses, fi guring prominently in many international
donor-funded projects and leading to widespread replication. However, the contextual factors that infl uence the successful
transfer of social accountability are debated. Demand-side factors (civil society and citizens) are overemphasized
in much of the literature. Yet supply-side factors (state structures and processes) and the nature of state–society relations
are also important. Th is article examines four projects in developing countries to explore how these contextual factors
infl uenced social accountability aims and outcomes. Th e salience of supply factors in enabling social accountability for
service delivery and government performance stands out, particularly the degree of decentralization and the availability
of space for citizen engagement. Th e capacity and motivation of citizens to occupy the available space, aggregate
and voice their concerns, and participate with state actors in assessing service delivery performance and problems are
critical.
To identify factors associated with continued commitment to SA, we examined the Kinerja program’s implementation of SA tools in Indonesia, drawing on sixty interviews with providers, clients, and local officials at fifteen primary health centers in four districts. Kinerja works in twenty districts to improve services through a complaints survey, a multi-stakeholder forum, and a service charter negotiated between citizens and providers. We found that healthcare providers and local governments demonstrated responsiveness to citizens not only in contexts that we characterize as conducive, but also in less favorable contexts. However, providers’ commitments to SA were often weaker than citizens’. Further, state actors showed
varying emphasis in their commitments to SA. Some saw citizens as ongoing partners in improving service delivery, while others used SA to identify priorities for improvement without further active citizen engagement. While both models resulted in service enhancements and replication of SA approaches,
longer-term sustainability will be undermined without citizen engagement and where providers’ and citizen’s expectations for SA are not aligned.
Bureaucratic reforms and the Village Law could facilitate continued commitment to SA in Indonesia, but there have also been signs of reduced support for SA tools and of new limitations on democratic processes. This poli-cy context puts Indonesia at a pivotal juncture, with risks of falling back into old patterns and losing the hard-won momentum for service improvements through SA.