Listen carefully, tread lightly, adapt quickly

Author(s)
Janoch, E.
Publication language
English
Date published
10 Mar 2020
Type
Lessons papers
Keywords
Flexibility, Change, Development & humanitarian aid
Organisations
CARE International

The challenge is often that it’s easy to say we should do adaptive management, and it’s harder to actually do adaptive management. Change is hard. Rapid change of complex projects in a chaotic context is harder. So how do we make it possible for people who do adaptive management to articulate it effectively so that others can follow along? How do we make it easier for those who are learning to build in practical steps that make adaptation possible? How do we ensure that adaptations are based on the best possible evidence given the need and the timing?

To meet this need, CARE has just released "Listen carefully. Tread Lightly. Adapt quickly: CARE’s Approach to Adaptive Management". Drawing from learning and approaches in the CLA toolkit, academic research on experiential learning, and from DFID and Overseas Development Institute (ODI) on Adaptive Development, the document combines CARE’s Tips for Adaptive Management—a series of practical steps to build into a project cycle—with concrete case examples of how others have handled the work.

See also: https://usaidlearninglab.org/lab-notes/listen-carefully%2C-tread-lightly%2C-adapt-quickly-cares-approach-adaptive-management