“Data can empower vulnerable people by making their needs visible to decision-makers.” This is what many advocates for data for development have been saying for years.  The logic is that with visibility comes pressure for policies that respond to the needs, and a tool to elicit accountability for failure to deliver  on promises. After all, …

‘No more data “blah blah”. This is about empowerment.’ (World Data Forum) Read More »

Two things I remember about my job at the Police HQ in Timor Leste. First, a 25ft live crocodile in the middle of the building. “She’s called Maria: you can feed her if you want.”   Second, the Commander General: ramrod straight in a pale blue shirt, dark blue jacket, gold epaulettes and shiny buttons. …

Why I do “this M&E thing” Read More »

“In every voice.  In every language.  In every story, is the information we need for the world we want.”  Pleased with myself, I continued: “In them is truth, in them in wisdom, in them is a path to peace that we can build, word by word.”  That was me on a Sunday afternoon, searching for …

The limits of listening Read More »

Dear neighbour, You’ve spent so long in your apartment that you want to scratch your skin off. Fire-bomb folks still jack hammering and drilling in the construction site across the street, while you are holed up in your ‘cozy’ apartment with partner, pet and child—or just you, and your rage. You try to distract yourself …

Comfort and crisis – A letter to New York Read More »

Last night, two men tried to rape me.  I saved myself by yelling in broken Tetum:  “I work for the police!  Next to the Commander General of PNTL (Policia Nacional de Timor Leste)!” So I escaped.  Looking like I’d been visited by The Dementors.  Feeling upset, relieved, and furious.  And thinking, in the words of Ani DiFranco,“f*ck you”.   Timor Leste is …

Love will win Read More »

Dear fellow Scots, Greetings! My name is Lucy.  I am an international civil servant who returned to Scotland for the referendum. When divisions are so hardened that proponents do not listen to one another, facts and analysis don’t matter.  All that will be heard is what cannot be refuted: people’s experiences and beliefs.  Please allow me …

Unity or division – A letter to Scotland (Independent newspaper) Read More »

Reconciliation is the path that lies between the battlefield and a peaceful society in which freedom is possible.   Just fifteen years ago, fractured by war and institutionalised oppression, South Africa began its journey.  Today, it bears witness to a miracle: communities bitterly divided regionally, ethnically and linguistically have become a nation.   They did so by …

Battlefield – The David Rattray Memorial Prize (The Daily Telegraph newspaper) Read More »