Identifying trends in international development to 2020

Situation

The strategy group of a large International Finance Institution (IFI) wanted to know what development experts foresaw, to support scenario planning for the world in 2020.

Dalberg Approach

Dalberg organized a workshop to identify and explore possible trends that could impact international development objectives in order to define different scenarios for the organization and determine the best role for the client. The workshop brought together experts in global transportation, environment, energy and non-infectious diseases to present and discuss their ideas about possible trends and impacts.

Results

The resulting scenarios were used in strategic planning exercises throughout the IFI, and ensured that planning and readiness anticipated long-term challenges and avoided a focus on current activities and approaches.

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Developing a long-term vision for a government strategy

Situation

The president of a West African country sought external counsel on approaching the challenges of poverty reduction in a post-conflict environment. Through a partnership with a pan-African think tank, Dalberg was asked to provide strategic input to the president and her cabinet.

Dalberg Approach

Dalberg developed and facilitated a visioning workshop for the cabinet to feed into the ongoing planning for that country's post-war recovery. Dalberg Team members presented case studies of comparable countries in Africa and highlighted potential challenges and trade-offs that the country may face as it rebuilds.

Results

The engagement framed discussion among cabinet members around important elements of the country's post-conflict growth and reconciliation phase. The project's outcomes are now part the process for developing a national vision.

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Improving the internal functions of a major development bank

Situation

To maximize the impact of its scarce resources a development bank decided to redistribute resources from internal service functions such as human resources and administration into core business operations. The bank engaged Dalberg to lead the associated reform program.

Dalberg Approach

Working directly with a senior client team in charge of internal service functions, Dalberg identified opportunities for high-value reform using focus groups to review and refine key processes, targeting benchmarking to identify best practices in similar organizations and customized analytical frameworks to highlight opportunities to strengthen organizational structures.

Results

The reform will allow the client to shift approximately 30% of the human capacity previously engaged in internal service delivery to core operations, thereby strengthening its ability to deliver on its mission to reduce poverty in Africa.

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