Giving Compass' Take:

• This Brookings post describes the Lean Impact model in global development: starting from scratch with a clearly defined problem to solve or having flexible funders in it for the long haul.

• The trick is making a difference, even when the perfect circumstances for Lean Impact aren't in place. One key element in such an effort is measuring what really matters.

• Meet 10 solution makers turning local action into sustainable global dev.

Many of us working in global development are dissatisfied with the status quo. We fear that global development is not moving fast enough to address global poverty, booming youth populations, protracted crises, and other urgent development challenges. The return on investment for traditional global development projects could be higher and we need to continue to innovate. Aid budgets are under intense pressure worldwide, due to the combined effect of widespread need plus domestic politics, so it is imperative that aid become even more cost-effective and financially sustainable. Consequently, we ask ourselves: how can the global development community do better?

A new book by Ann Mei Chang, a nonresident fellow in the Global Economy and Development program, Lean Impact: How to Innovate for Radically Greater Social Good, offers a compelling answer and deserves study by anyone wrestling with the range of challenges facing global development. Chang essentially proposes to re-engineer standard approaches to development, recommending more time spent up front to truly understand the problem, small and fast iterated tests of potential solutions, rigorous efforts to measure what matters most and not fall in love with our own solutions, and a hockey-stick-shaped plan for scaling impact.

Read the full article about achieving better results in global development by Kristin M. Lord at Brookings.