SOS Children’s Villages has been experimenting with Civic Driven Change (CDC) and Social Business (SB) within their community participation activities under the scope of the MFS II grant of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 2009. These two novel approaches to pro-poor change processes are rooted in sustainability and community participation. In December 2015, a learning guide was developed [...]
Female condoms: perhaps not the first topic for small talk you may think of. That being said, they are at the centre of attention for a significant number of advocates, NGOs, UN agencies and other development stakeholders. Since 2009, Oxfam Novib, Rutgers, i+ solutions and the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been implementing the [...]
When looking at the social entrepreneurship movement, one may speak of a growing ecosystem of stakeholders that play a vital role in nurturing and developing the sector. Many of these stakeholders have entered the ecosystem in a supportive context; to help social enterprises scale their business models and improve their social and commercial performance. These [...]
ActionAid Netherlands is a member of the ActionAid federation, with forty-three offices in the global North and South, which aim to combat poverty and injustice. ActionAid Netherlands is a member of the Dutch Fair, green and global alliance (FGG), a program funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Context acted as the lead consultant [...]
Context is proud and excited to work with SNV on their novel Leadership Enhancement Programme, which is publically promoted as LEAP+. LEAP+ is a global programme that will be implemented in 2015 in 19 countries across three continents (Africa, Asia, Latin America). It is the first programme of its kind that is being promoted and [...]
Context has moved! After eight years on the Cornelis Hotmanstraat in Utrecht, the time has come to relocate our offices. Following weeks of sorting piles of reports, packing books and making sure that old furniture will find a good new home, the Context team rolled up its sleeves and moved to the Ramstraat; a beautiful [...]
In 2013, SNV commissioned an evaluation to provide insight into current practices of engagement with Local Capacity Builders [LCBs] as well as the achieved results of SNVs cooperation with LCBs. The evaluation aimed to provide building blocks for a future strategy on cooperation with LCBs. Country case studies were realised in Bolivia, Nepal and Tanzania. The evaluation was [...]
Naar aanleiding van de evaluatie van de NCDO door het IOB heeft het vakblad voor ontwikkelingssamenwerking Vice Versa een kritische reactie geplaatst van Fons van der Velden. Fons van der Velden: ‘Het heeft er alle schijn van dat de opdrachtgevers geen oog hebben gehad voor de bredere maatschappelijke context en de vraag hoe de organisatie [...]
The renowned Indian researcher Vishal Gaikwad of the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics has written a positive review of the publication 'Facilitating Organisational Change within Development Organisations' (Ed. Fons van der Velden, 2013). Read the review here! "The goal of this book is to provide practice-based introduction and guidance for policy-makers, practitioners, and students on the subject of capacity [...]
January 21th, during the Context MasterClass about Social entrepreneurship and Youth, Context's newest publication was presented: Leadership in social business. Titus van der Spek wrote this publication together with Anne-Marie Schreven and Fons van der Velden. Anne-Marie Schreven handed a first copy to five social entrepreneurs from Cambodia and the Netherlands who took part in the [...]