Development innovation: Fad, silo or catalyst?
Innovation is all the rage in international development. From national economic growth to small-scale community development, from rapid disaster response to long-term climate change adaptation, innovation is seen as the answer to a dizzying range of development challenges…there has been some backlash, with an attendant rise in cynicism amongst jaded practitioners, all too used to the boom-and-bust of development fads
The premise of this blog is that the cynicism is not wholly misplaced, and that there is a sizeable risk that development innovation becomes a short-lived fad. There is also a good chance that it will become an institutionalised silo of activity, running in parallel to traditional aid activities.
Reading Development 