Investing for Sustainable Development

Frontiers in Development: June 13, 2012

DevTalk:
Joel Lamstein, Co-founder and President of John Snow, Inc.

Investing for Sustainable Development
Moderator: Donald Steinberg, Deputy Administrator, USAID
Emilia Pires, Minister of Finance of Timor-Leste
Amara Konneh, Minister of Planning and Economic Affairs of Liberia
Rakesh Rajani, Head and Founder of Twaweza
Paul O’Brien, Vice President for Policy and Campaigns for Oxfam America

One of the biggest challenges in development is sustaining progress and results over time. Sustainability involves a complex set of economic, cultural, technical, and environmental issues. What are the best strategies for sustaining results over time? How can beneficiaries be empowered to take ownership of development initiatives? How can programs be designed to build stronger capacity and strengthen local systems to achieve long-term goals?  How can policymakers address the tension between the need for achieving short-term progress with the imperative of reaching long-term goals? How can policymakers ensure results are broad-based and inclusive?