Sisule F. Musungu - Development policies, whether designed by national, regional or international institutions, continue to fail or underachieve. A key systemic challenge remains the lack of robust information and analysis regarding on-the-ground problems and needs as well as lack of information and analysis that allows continuous lesson-learning. There are now credible new efforts to try and change this. One promising approach is embodied in The ThinkTank Initiative, an initiative of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) teaming up with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. The initiative is meant to be a long-term multi-donor commitment. A commitment of USD 90 million has been made for an initial 5-year period.  Read the rest of this entry »