Development disrupted: A conversation with Kristin Lord and George Ingram

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Guests: Kristin Lord, president and CEO, IREX; George Ingram, senior fellow for global economy and development, Brookings Institution

Host: Raj Kumar, CEO and editor-in-chief, Devex

The aid industry is in flux. Across the sector, myriad development efforts — to respond to refugee and migrant needs, stall dangerous climate change, and combat fragility, among them — outpace the financing and capacity they require to be assuaged.

A new report by the Brookings Institution points to a desire among development actors to innovate from within, but diminishing resources from traditional donors, difficulty in attracting skilled talent, changing partnership structures, and growing geopolitical concerns are presenting new challenges and unchartered waters.

Even so, the research showed that development leaders share an excitement for rapid advancements in areas such as technology and finance.

“In so many different ways, we found that development is being turned upside down,” said Kristin Lord, IREX chief and co-author of the Brookings report. “And in many ways, that’s a very good thing.”

Live from Washington, D.C., Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar hosted Kristin Lord of IREX and George Ingram of the Brookings Institution to discuss the major disruptors in global development. Drawing on Kumar’s debut book, “The Business of Changing the World,” they also touched on how the development sector must adapt to this next generation of aid.

Additional reading:
• Global development disrupted: Findings from a survey of 93 leaders
• Raj Kumar’s “The Business of Changing the World”
• Taking stock of global development: What’s working and what’s stuck
• The challenge of technology and human rights
• Q&A: Don't be satisfied with 'great progress,' former UNICEF official warns