Policy makers are good at thinking up policies for all sorts of development problems. But what happens to them in the process of implementation? Why is it that some policies are successful, while others simply fail? This new series will examine the daily practice of development, focusing on specific policies and projects in order to identify the real obstacles to improving the effectiveness of aid.

The stories in this series will illustrate important challenges faced by those working in the field of development. They will be more than just anecdotes. They will be empirically well grounded, based on serious research, and representative, providing an illustration of some general issue of significance. Each story will be followed by a comment written by an independent reviewer who will seek a middle ground between uncritical optimism and negative cynicism.
With these stories and comments, The Broker wishes to communicate what might be called ‘wisdom’ – the wealth of practical knowledge and experience accumulated over the years – in order to counter the generalizations that permeate most public and academic discussions on aid effectiveness.
Another aim of the series is to challenge the dominance of quantitative statistical information as the sole, authoritative source of knowledge. We hope to generate practical knowledge based on a different approach, in which ‘representative stories’ are treated on a par with representative samples. In place of ‘evidence-based decision making’, we are advocating what might be called ‘insight-based decision making’. We hope that the insights contained in these stories will contribute to a better understanding of Aidland – and to ways of improving the daily practice of aid.
Readers of The Broker are invited to suggest relevant subjects and issues that might be explored in future stories from Aidland. For further information, please contact editor@thebrokeronline.eu or the series editor, Desmond McNeill of the Centre for Development and the Environment, University of Oslo, Norway.