International Development Work

We have worked with international funders for over twenty years to improve governance and democracy, providing strategic political analysis, project design, implementation, and evaluation.

Mētis combines academic research and analysis with project delivery and practical problem-solving. We work with philanthropic funders and international donor agencies to scope and design programmes, assessing the stakeholders, interests and incentives that shape the environment.

These projects have included decentralisation in Jordan, improved coordination between Prime Minister and Speaker in Iraq, develop new policymaking systems in Egypt and support political parties to prepare for government in Bangladesh.

Political economy and behavioural analysis

Our political economy analyses have been commissioned by numerous international agencies including FCDO, USAID, SIDA, UNDP and SDC, either as stand-alone exercises, or as an ongoing part of a long-term project.

For example, in Malawi we undertook an extensive PEA of the parliament, which provided the basis for a five-year USAID programme of support, and within which we were a key delivery partner.

In Tanzania, we provided the political analysis and delivery component of a DFID-funded programme designed to engage elected politicians in the process of economic development and improvement of public service provision.

We undertook similar work for DFID’s economic incubator programming in Nepal and for a DFID programme in Kyrgyzstan to promote inclusive economic growth.

Programme evaluation, guidance and benchmarking

In addition to project-specific analyses GPG has helped a number of donor agencies and INGOs evaluate projects and develop guidelines for their political support programmes. This includes:

DFID’s central guidance on support to parliaments and political parties

The first Global Parliamentary Report for the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) and UNDP

Advising the Danish Foreign Ministry to establish the Danish Institute for Parties and Democracy

Helping the IPU establish their self-assessment toolkit for parliaments, and

Advising the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association on their international benchmarking framework

We have worked in similar roles for Swedish International Development Agency, the Swiss Development Corporation, the GovNet of the OECD, the Global Organisation of Parliamentarians Against Corruption, the Parliamentary Network of the World Bank and the UNDP’s governance centre in Oslo.