Social Sciences

SOCIAL SCIENCES Delivery Science—In order to achieve measurable success, development practitioners must know how to strategically apply, implement and deliver prescribed interventions, including technological innovations. Drawing upon the lessons of past successes and failures, practitioners must be able to identify and design the most appropriate and effective means of delivering a given intervention. This requires a keen understanding of the economic, political and logistical factors that must be considered in order to successfully implement and later “scale-up” interventions. Economics—Microeconomics is essential for understanding the ground-level incentives and practicalities of economic policy design. Macroeconomics is crucial for understanding how programs interact with large-scale government decision-making and budgets, and the movement of goods, resources and services across countries. Education—A critical component of any long-term development strategy, formal education systems must ensure students acquire the knowledge and skills that will bring them improved quality of life, appropriate competencies to prepare them for the work force, and creative problem solving skills to pave the way for future innovations. Non-formal and community-based education programs are also vital as they catalyze the adoption of improved agricultural, health and sanitation, nutritional and vocational practices, and can play a vital role in peacebuilding and conflict resolution. Politics, Anthropology and Social Studies—To affect long-term structural change, interventions must be designed with careful consideration for the culture, local history, local and regional politics, and political and institutional structures of a given location. In addition, development efforts must take into account power and social relations at various levels: within households, within communities and across societal groups. Statistics—The collection and analysis of critical information is essential for project design, management, monitoring and evaluation. In addition, key decision-makers must be able to understand and interpret statistical fi ndings in order to make informed policy decisions and to design appropriate development strategies. Technology and Innovation Systems—Understanding the intricate network of actors involved in the research, design, development and diffusion of technology is essential in order to create supportive policies and mechanisms for the transfer and fl ow of knowledge and innovation.