Connect spend with delivery and increase impact
According to the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response (IDSR) report of September 2019, at the peak of the rainy season in South Sudan, malaria accounted for nearly 70% of morbidity and more than 50% of mortality. In South East Africa, the leading cause of death for girls aged 15 to 24 is HIV and AIDS. … Continue reading
Reducing unemployment – a simple blueprint
The UK’s Chancellor is forecasting unemployment will reach double digits (up from under 4% in March 2020), but what are his plans for reversing this social and economic catastrophe? Once we emerge from our shelters, it is entirely possible to help more people find jobs again more quickly (and speed recovery) and it is not … Continue reading
The time bomb of work distancing
The economic impact of Covid-19 will include a significant rise in unemployment. Recovery from the spike in unemployment will be slow, meaning the unemployment becomes long-term. One of the lessons from employment programmes around the world is that distance from work increases over time – the longer someone is unemployed, the harder it becomes to … Continue reading
Introducing an Outcomes-Based Migrant Welfare Fund
Jobs overseas are a huge opportunity for millions of people otherwise living in poverty. But current labor migration systems encourage migrants to take on debt and service providers (i.e. agents) to behave poorly, undermining the development impact of labor mobility and fuelling the numbers of refugees seeking alternative routes. We propose a Migrant Welfare Fund … Continue reading
Project Director wanted. To change the life chances of 6,000 people.
Project Director wanted for new social impact programme in North England: a rare opportunity for a leader and manager who has a passion for delivering real social outcomes. A local council spends about 50% of its money on 5% of its residents. The most vulnerable people cost the most. They also have the worst life … Continue reading
Kabul launch
(New business/tender opportunity?) As flagged in a recent post, I am working with the World Bank and MoLSAMD (Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyrs & Disabled) in Kabul on two employment pilots.The Notices of Prequalification for both pilots – called PLACED – have now been cleared for publication. These will shortly appear on the UNDB … Continue reading
Right Grayling, wrong crime
The UK parliament’s Justice Select Committee has finally confirmed what we predicted in our blogs and advised the Committee as early as 2013. The so-called ‘rehabilitation revolution’, or contracting out of probation services, by the then Justice Secretary, Chris Grayling, has been a complete failure. There has been a reduction in quality of service, “disappointing” … Continue reading
The Kabul model
The Ministry of Labour Social Affairs Martyrs & Disabled (MoLSAMD) in Afghanistan (the equivalent of DWP in the UK or DEEWR in Australia), with technical assistance from the World Bank, are about to begin the contracting of two pilot employment programmes. One aims to open up a formal migration channel for thousands of Afghanistan workers … Continue reading
Working options
This article appeared in the Autumn 2017 edition of the Fabian Review: ‘A Public Offer’ One of the defining moments of the 2017 general election was the prime minister’s evasive response to a question on nurses having to use food banks. The assertion that there are people who work and are paid wages, and … Continue reading
Incendiary Procurement
Whatever the enquiry finds, it is without doubt that Grenfell Tower went up like a dry stick because its refurbishment was procured at least in part on the basis of price. If the same fire had started in one of the gleaming new blocks in London’s docklands, it would not have spread. The people buying … Continue reading
Buying Quality Performance 