Embracing Failure

When you have a free moment, watch this inspiring talk: David Damberger: What happens when an NGO admits failure | Video on TED.com
Damberger shares his insights from well-meaning but poorly-designed work in developing countries. Generations of aid providers repeat the same old mistakes, over and over again. Admitting failure and telling others about lessons learned would be a first step out of this vicious cycle. That is rare among development organisations, eager to keep their donors happy. But some have started publishing regular "Failure Reports" - a big bravo to the brave ones.

Efficiency vs. Sustainability?

The recent months have been so busy with exhilarating complex work; I hardly find any time to share any of the many inspiring thoughts I keep coming across! Here is a beautiful one: is efficiency good for sustainable development? As Robert Lukesch, a regional development specialist, pointed out at a recent DeGEval conference (German Evaluation Association), redundancy, i.e. having more than one set of resources to perform a certain activity, is a vital feature in living organisms and ecosystems. For example, we have two kidneys so that we can continue to live if one of them fails.