Capacity4dev Podcast Series

In the first episode of the new Capacity4dev Podcast Series, the team sat down with Francine Pickup, Deputy Director of the Bureau for Policy and Programme Support at UNDP, who shared insights from her field days and reflections on her work today.

Takeaways from the field: a candid interview with Francine Pickup, UNDP

In episode 2 of the Capacity4dev Podcast Series, we interview Isabella Olsson, Head of Global Advocacy at LM International, and discuss the importance of local and rooted advocacy and the challenges of operating in conflict zones like Sudan. In answering our questions, amongst other things, Isabella calls for the need to foster community ownership if we hope project achievements are sustainable and can be replicated even after the project's implementation has ended.

Rooted advocacy to foster community ownership: challenges and lessons learnt

In episode 3 of the Capacity4dev Podcast Series, we interview Sara Jazaeri, who has been working with different UN agencies in conflict and post-conflict contexts for almost nine years. Sara shares tips on how to implement projects whose impact is sustainable in the long run and really address local needs in a flexible and adaptable way.

Sustainable impact in project implementation: collaboration, adaptability and stakeholder engagement

In episode 4 of the Capacity4dev Podcast Series, we interview Franco Conzato, Senior Expert Sustainable Development Policy and Coordination at the European Commission's Directorate-General for International Partnerships. Franco gives us insights into the Financing Not Linked to Costs approach (also known as FNLC), according to which cost is not a key determinant of EU funding as, sometimes, it can be challenging to quantify how much money will be needed for a specific project action. The approach strongly incentivises a shift towards thinking about what needs to be achieved rather than how much will be spent.

From cost-based input to result-based output: the Financing Not Linked to Costs approach

In episode 5 of the Capacity4dev Podcast Series, we interview Stefan Schleuning, Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation in Kyiv, Ukraine and Sven Coppens, Director of Plan International’s Ukraine Crisis Response. Both give us insights into their work in Ukraine as representatives of two fundamental sides of crisis response, the so-called humanitarian-development nexus. The discussion then focusses on how to facilitate and support the inclusion of young people in finding solutions for the future of Ukraine.

Towards a more youth-inclusive approach in reconstruction efforts in Ukraine

In this podcast episode, we interview Thomas Eekhout, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist at the Center for Evaluation and Development (C4ED). Thomas explains how rigorous data collection and analysis help improve interventions. He highlights the distinction between standard monitoring evaluations and impact evaluations and outlines the primary challenges evaluators encounter. Thomas concludes by urging international development professionals to embrace digital data and foster early, ongoing collaboration between researchers, evaluators, and implementers.

Beyond result-oriented monitoring evaluations: the case for impact evaluations

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