Adaptive management: what it means for CSOs

Adaptive management is an approach to working on complex problems or contexts which focuses on acting, sensing and responding: it assumes solutions cannot be completely known in advance and, therefore, that interventions cannot be planned out in full ahead of time.

Adaptation requires constant learning and reflection, and making iterative course corrections to interventions. The paper argues working in adaptive ways at scale will require an enabling organisational culture and leadership, and conducive funding practices, and that allowing flexibility and dealing with risk and uncertainty is very different to current dominant approaches to programming.

The report will be useful to staff and leaders in organisations working on complex problems and in fragile or conflict-affected contexts, and to funders who support such CSO activities.

If you would like to stay up to date on thinking and experience on adaptive management, Bond members can join our Adaptive Development working group.