BY ADRIAN TOVALIN, ATINUKE ADIGUN, ELISE GREEN, AND RAYZA OBLITAS
How can successfully implemented microfinance loans continue to provide loan recipients with long-term benefits? The SAIS Practicum team worked with Water.org, a non-profit specializing in microfinance in WASH sectors, to find solutions.
BY BEMNET TESFAYE, CAMILLE SACHS, AND XIER LI
DESPITE CONTINUED ISSUES IN THE MINDANAO REGION OF THE PHILIPPINES, THE MARAWI RESPONSE PROJECT HAS PRODUCED PROMISING RESULTS BY EMPOWERING LOCAL LEADERS, INCREASING COMMUNITY COHESION, AND REDUCING CONFLICT. THE SAIS IDEV PRACTICUM TEAM EXPLORES MORE WITH THEIR CONFLICT ASSESSMENT REPORT.
BY DAWALOLA SHONIBARE, EMILY LARKIN, HAYDEN HUBBARD, AND QIANRONG DING
HOW CAN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES STRIKE A BALANCE OF UTILIZING ITS NATURAL RESOURCES WITHOUT JEOPARDIZING PUTTING ITS OWN ENVIRONMENTAL AND FINANCIAL FUTURE AT RISK? THIS SAIS IDEV PRACTICUM EXPLORES THE NATURAL OF RECENT NATURAL RESOURCE FINANCIAL AGREEMENTS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA.
BY ALAYNA SUBLETTE, CHLOE ADCOCK, JOAN ABBOTT, AND SAM AMAN
By working with UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office's Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusinesses (CASA) program and its partner, Technoserve, the four recent SAIS graduates presented research on the importance of both financial and technical investment into smallholder farmers’ agribusinesses globally.
BY JEAN ZHOU, CHLOE HITE, JACK HOAGLAN, AND REID DOBELL
Reid Dobell, Chloe Hite, Jean Zhou, and Jack Hoagland worked with The United Nations Capital Development Fund to investigate the barriers to greater use of blended finance tools in LDCs. UNCDF is a member of the UN system which is dedicated to using innovative financing tools to support the eradication of poverty in the world's 46 LDCs. As part of their mandate, they are reviewing how they can help catalyze greater flows of capital to LDCs using blended finance.
BY IAN COCROFT, KAREN LEE, AND CONNOR MACKENZIE
Ian, Karen, and Connor worked with the Center for Digital Acceleration at DAI, a team at the international development consultancy that supports its clients to integrate digital tools and approaches across their portfolios through research, design, and implementation. The students conducted virtual research in Burma, Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam during the 2020-21 academic year to better understand how civil society organizations (CSOs) use digital technologies to support social accountability in public service delivery.
BY Ana Acosta, Aspasea Mckenna, Liz Sukhinenko, and McKenzie Horwitz
The Athena Infonomics practicum team traveled to India to develop a Data Quality Framework (DQF) which assesses India’s FSM data ecosystem.
BY LAURA SHELTON, SHAMAILA ASHRAF, SANNIDHI SRINIVASAN, AND CAROLINE HUI
MILK CONSUMPTION HAS DECLINED STEADILY IN BANGLADESH IN RECENT YEARS, DESPITE ITS POSITIVE EFFECT ON PUBLIC HEALTH. THE GAIN PRACTICUM TEAM TRAVELED TO BANGLADESH TO INVESTIGATE POTENTIAL ISSUES IN THE MILK SUPPLY CHAIN. READ ON TO FIND OUT WHAT THEY DISCOVERED.
BY YIFAN POWERS, MAI YER XIONG, CHARLIE (YACHUAN) CHEN, AND FREDRICK TOOHEY
THE TECHNOSERVE TEAM TRAVELLED TO THE EASTERN PROVINCE OF ZAMBIA, WHERE LOW AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY IS LIMITING SMALLHOLDER FARMER WELLBEING. THE TEAM HELPED THEIR CLIENT, A CHINESE-BACKED COTTON COMPANY, TO IDENTIFY ISSUES IN ZAMBIA’S COTTON INDUSTRY AND RELINE THEIR BUSINESS STRATEGY TOWARDS INCREASING COTTON YIELDS IN THE COUNTRY.
BY ADYASHA MOHANTY, JILL CARTER, MAXWELL JONES, AND TIANLANG GAO
Adyasha Mohanty, Jill Carter, Maxwell Jones, and Tianlang Gao are second-year International Development students who traveled to Ghana, Cameroon, and Brazil to gain a better understanding of the landscape of public-private partnerships for infrastructure financing and provision in these countries. The team is working with the World Bank’s Private-Public Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF).
BY ERIC HE, HENRY RAWLINGS, MINAJ RANJITA SINGH, AND KIMMY VO
DEVELOPING NATIONS OFTENTIMES STRUGGLE WITH IMPLEMENTING SOUND WATER, SANITATION, AND HYGIENE (WASH) POLICIES. BUT HOW DOES THIS HINDER A COUNTRY’S ABILITY TO DELIVER QUALITY HEALTHCARE? ONE IDEV PRACTICUM COHORT TRAVELED TO CAMBODIA TO FIND OUT.
BY ALEX BURNS, DANIELLE MINNETT, ALEX HARDIN AND NAYANTARA BHANDARI
ALEX BURNS, DANIELLE MINNETT, ALEX HARDIN AND NAYANTARA BHANDARI ARE SECOND-YEAR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT STUDENTS WHO TRAVELED TO INDIA TO CONDUCT ANALYSES ON THE TAKE-HOME RATIONS (THR) PROGRAM IN THE STATES OF GUJARAT AND RAJASTHAN. THE TEAM IS WORKING WITH SIGHT AND LIFE IN ORDER TO CREATE A POLICY AND STRATEGY COMPENDIUM ON THR FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA. THE COMPENDIUM WILL PROVIDE STATES WITH INSIGHTS ON MAKING THEIR THR IMPLEMENTATIONS MORE NUTRITIOUS, COST-EFFECTIVE AND SUSTAINABLE FOR CHILDREN AS WELL PREGNANT AND LACTATING WOMEN.
BY SAKSHAM KHOSLA, SARAH SASSOON, ROHAN SRINIVAS, AND SOPHIE WANG
Saksham Khosla, Sarah Sassoon, Rohan Srinivas, and Sophie Wang traveled to Indonesia and the Philippines this January to gain a better understanding of the ecosystem around digital financing for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The team is working with the International Finance Corporation (IFC)’s SME Finance Forum.
BY WILL BURCHELL, JAIYI MA, DYLAN PARKES AND HENRIQUE VICENTE
ANGOLA HAS RECEIVED 42 BILLION USD IN LOANS FROM CHINA SINCE 2005. WHILE THE TERMS OF INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL AGREEMENTS ARE CUSTOMARILY UNDISCLOSED IN NATURE, THE HEIGHTENED LEVEL OF SECRECY SURROUNDING CHINESE-ANGOLAN AGREEMENTS HAS RAISED INTERNATIONAL DOUBT THAT THIS DEBT IS SERVICEABLE AND SUSTAINABLE. FOUR IDEV STUDENTS TRAVELED TO ANGOLA FOR A CLOSER LOOK.
Dickson Effah, Don Shin, Milena Casabella, and Uyanga (Melody) Tsolmonkhuu travelled to India to identify new and scalable agricultural supply chain technologies for the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN).
BY MICHELLE LEMEUR, DEBOLEENA RAKSHIT, OLIVIA GAO AND JOHAN ZAMBRANO
IDEV STUDENTS traveled to Nepal to explore employment challenges in the country. The team was working with Winrock International.
BY Khamal Clayton, Alison Decker, Angela Mazimba AND SAVANNAH NEWMAN
Idev students traveled to Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Lucia, Grenada, and Trinidad and Tobago in January 2019 to better understand the cost drivers for scaling up treatment of HIV/AIDS across the Caribbean.
BY CHLOE HAUENSTEIN, JAMIE LEE, MAYA GAINER AND YADIAN CHEN
Many small farmers in Uttar Pradesh work hard, but sell their crops for prices so low, they barely earn a living. A team of IDEV students visited Uttar Pradesh to research how to increase their incomes through collective marketing.
