How to set up and manage an adaptive programme: Lessons from the Action on Climate Today (ACT) programme
This document forms part of a series that illustrates how change happens in the Action on Climate Today (ACT) initiative. This note describes ACT’s methodology for operating adaptively within a complex and transient political environment, the parallel document focuses on ACT’s approach to understanding and engaging in the political change space.
This paper is structured as follows: first, it outlines the nature of the programme; then it briefly describes the key aspects of the management and decision-making processes that enable and support the adaptive approach of ACT the team.
Traditional aid design models usually comprise linear, largely pre-planned initiatives, whereby the outcomes and path to achieving them are known from the outset. Such rigid methods are poorly suited to complex problems and contexts, where specific results emerge over time in the course of implementation.
A flexible development assistance delivery model can allow reform areas not anticipated at the project design stage to be tackled as they emerge on the political agenda. Programmes must be geared towards continuous political engagement, which promotes economic and social reform through adaptation to political challenges and opportunities.
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