Foreign aid and international development frequently bring with it a range of unintended consequences, both negative and positive. This episode of the IDS Between the Lines podcast delves into these consequences, providing a fresh and comprehensive guide to understanding and addressing them.
Listen now
In the podcast, IDS Research Fellow Peter Taylor, interviews Dirk-Jan Koch Chief Science Officer of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and author of the book: Foreign Aid and Its Unintended Consequences. They provide a clear overview of what side effects to anticipate when planning, executing, and evaluating aid.
The podcast also looks at how we need a transformed international development sector to make headway in dealing with global challenges. One that isn’t based on 20th-century top-down linear thinking, smelling of colonialist practices, but one that is ready for the 21st century: based on complexity thinking, evidence-based decision-making, and equal partnership.
Indeed, a recent opinion piece by Peter Taylor co-written with IDS Director Melissa Leach argues that aid as acts of human-human and political solidarity remains hugely important, especially when dealing with humanitarian challenges, but there is also a need for international funding mechanisms for collective international action on longer-term issues and to fund the global governance institutions and services we rely on such as the WHO.
This podcast is an important listen for students new to development and particularly for development practitioners and policymakers alike as they embark on future aid strategies that are meant to benefit in-country recipients.
About the interviewee
Dirk-Jan Koch is Chief Science Officer of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is Special Professor of International Trade & Development Cooperation at Radboud University, the Netherlands.
About the interviewer
Peter Taylor is Director of Research at the Institute of Development Studies (IDS). Previously he was Director, Strategic Development, at the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Ottawa, Canada where he was responsible for leading IDRC’s strategic planning processes.
About the podcast
This podcast series explores ground-breaking ideas in development for positive social and environmental change. Each month we feature an interview with an expert in international development who will talk about their latest research and ideas.
Episodes content could feature authors of new books, IDS research or interviews with special guest stars.
The discussions give an insight on the themes covered, exploring the challenges and discoveries, and why the issues matter for progressive and sustainable development globally.
Send your comments and episode suggestions to [email protected]
Key contacts
