Want to change the aid industry? Here's how to do it | Global Development Professionals Network | The Guardian

Want to change the aid industry? Here's how to do it | Global Development Professionals Network | The Guardian: "A note, because this step is important: Process and follow-through are bureaucracy. They’re politics. They’re not fun, and they’re supremely unsexy. You’re not going to get many likes on Facebook for pictures of process. But make no mistake: this is where aid industry change actually happens. I encounter ideas for positive aid industry change on a weekly basis, more or less. But the vast majority of these good and sometimes even brilliant ideas will never exist beyond the pub, the coffee room, or the Skype chat window. Why? Because they very often lack the capacity to follow through."



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What the ‘Uber-isation’ of domestic work means for women | Overseas Development Institute (ODI)

What the ‘Uber-isation’ of domestic work means for women | Overseas Development Institute (ODI): "While Uber has grabbed many headlines, similar changes are afoot in other sectors – including those traditionally least regulated and most often associated with insecure and exploitative work. When it comes to jobs and work, it’s always a question of quality as well as quantity.

Which is why it matters that the gig economy apparently has both positive and negative impacts.

It offers quick access to convenient, flexible and cheap services for consumers, and some choice and flexibility over working hours for workers. But the workers also face real challenges: they have less economic security, predictability, and ability to organise to demand improved pay and conditions.

So will app-based services make things better or worse for those already on the margins?"



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EU hopes licensing system will help save Indonesian forests

EU hopes licensing system will help save Indonesian forests: "JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — The European Union has admitted Indonesia to a special licensing system it hopes will prevent the illegally felled tropical timber that makes up a substantial part of the country's wood production from being shipped to the 28-nation bloc.

The EU said Thursday that Indonesia is the first country to qualify for the licenses. It will mean that traders of goods such as wooden furniture, plywood and paper that earn the certification will find it easier to do business with Europe.

But some environmental and civil society groups are already concerned the licensing system could become a conduit for illegal timber from a country where tropical forests are being cut down at an epic rate.

The EU has been trying to implement its timber system internationally for over a decade and over the same time Indonesia has developed its own legal wood verification scheme that has become a key part of its admission to the EU's program."



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