Unstuck Field Notes

Observations:
Questions
The office was hell today: notifications kept flashing up, deadlines have already been missed, procrastination seemed to be the only option left. Is it actually that difficult to get work done, properly and meaningfully? What are we missing?

Observations:
Portfolio Approach
In development, there’s a strong shared feeling that business as usual doesn’t work anymore. More often than not, our solutions miss targets and break things further instead of fixing them. Baffled by the complexity of global challenges, development doers are left in despair.

Observations:
Contexts
How do we use contexts to interpret the world in a different way? How do we make sense of messy, tangled-up systems? How do we understand problems in the development sector and frame challenges that communities – and humanity as a whole – are facing?

Financing systems change
Portfolios help changemakers to shift from a logic of single-point interventions to one of interlinked, meaningful actions for communities – easing the path to long-term transformation. However, the appropriate funding needs to be granted, as a change in development processes is all but impossible if financing schemes remain conventional.

Financing system change
Most development finance is biased towards single-point interventions and project-based finance. Read insights on why this approach is putting the brakes on real change, and why funding that supports systemic change is needed.

What makes tourism sustainable?
The pandemic stopped tourism in its tracks across the world. Now that it’s getting back on its feet, learn the options for starting over in a more invigorating and conscious way.