What I’m up to – podcasts, videos, speaking in UK, South Africa, US

We interrupt this blog for a brief commercial….. Been doing a lot of multimedia ranting recently, and have FP2P promo tours coming up in South Africa and the US, as well as UK. Here’s what I know is out there.

First up, I was subjected to a viva-like experience by Owen Barder, being grilled for an hour for his podcast Development Drums. The result is now out, either as an MP3 download, or as a transcript. Haven’t listened to it yet (there are limits, even to my self obsession), but I’ve heard good things about it and I certainly enjoyed it at the time – Owen had read the book carefully, and quickly got to the heart of some of the dilemmas it raises.

Then there’s been a spate of videos of different lengths. On Post2015, I’ve already linked to the IDS presentation, but there’s also a 3 minute pitch for schools. Filmed in a freezing Brixton cafe (so trendy it didn’t actually have a front wall), so I distracted myself by pulling silly faces. So of course they used it. Hey ho.

On the seemingly endless FP2P tour (c/o the hyperefficient Sarah Minty), here’s a typical presentation from last week at the University of East Anglia. IDS tomorrow, Sheffield on Thursday.

This weekend I’m off to South Africa. Details on Oxfam in South Africa’s Facebook page. Public events in Joburg (WITS Mind the Gap) and Cape Town (Stellenbosch).

Then at the end of April, it’s Boston (29 April-1 May), New York (2-3 May) and Washington DC (6-9 May). Various things confirmed, but some spaces still left, so if anyone is interested in hosting a lecture in those cities let me know.

Think that’s it – have I forgotten anything?

Update: And another – 3 minute talking head on development and justice, for UEA

Can you help promote ‘From Poverty to Power’? This won’t take long…..

OK, out of consideration for your sensitivities, I’m going to try and condense all the humiliating, grovelling self promotional authorial thing into a single post (OK, I’m lying, but the other promo will be less blatant). The second edition of From Poverty to Power is published on the 23^rd October, and as you doubtless know, there is nothing so craven as a writer desperate to promote their book. So let’s get it over with:

Presentations and lectures: Have Powerpoint, will travel. If you’re in the UK, I’m happy to add your organization to the launch roadshow, provided you can guarantee a reasonable turnout. Please contact chingley[at]Oxfam.org.uk to discuss dates etc. If you’re outside the UK, I’m still interested, but it may be more complicated (and expensive) – but please get in touch. The current list of launch events is here.

You can also follow event news on facebook and twitter

Buying it: You can order individual copies, or if you want to get a bunch of them, contact andrea.palmer[at]practicalaction.org.uk to discuss bulk discounts.

Reviewing it: Andrea is also the go-to woman for review copies

Translations: We’re keen to see translations, either of the whole thing, or in an abridged version. The first edition is already in Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Korean, so you can cut translation costs in those languages (we can provide track changes versions). Contact rcornford[at]Oxfam.org.uk.

Blogs: I am generally keen to repost stuff as a guest on other blogs. My ideal model is the World Bank’s People, Deliberation, Spaces site, which regularly reposts, and is really easy to work with (no demand to post before/at same time as me etc). Anyone else out there interested? You don’t have to ask permission to repost, but if you let me know, I can alert you when suitable subject matter is on the way.

Free access: If you want a taster of the new edition we’ve opened up the ‘Food and Financial Crises‘ chapter ahead of publication to clelebrate World Food Day and Oxfam’s GROW week – Look inside now

Finally, here’s a promotional video, featuring me reading an autocue for the first time, which induces a strange zombie-like party political broadcast tone. Felt like having a lobotomy.

Phew, glad that’s done.

What do readers think of this blog? Results of audience survey

Executive wonku (see below):
Lots of folk like it
but want fights, shorter posts and
more southern voices

Wow. As promised here are the results of the online survey of users of this blog, crunched by the amazing elves in Oxfam’s market research department. Just as well, as the response was far greater than I ever anticipated – 266 completed questionnaires, and a pile of really useful suggestions. In the spirit of transparency etc etc, here are the summary powerpoint and full collection of comments. Happy digging.

Here’s the headlines, plus my running commentary. And please remember throughout that this is a self-selecting sample of ‘people with time and willingness to fill in surveys’, and so may not fully represent the monumental indifference of the full range of readers. First, the stats

Who reads it (and answers surveys)? The top 3 types of blog reader are

‘Academic/students’ (28%), ‘other (i.e. non Oxfam) NGO staff’ (22%) and ‘other’ (18%). The ‘other’ responses were generally consultants and researchers. Oxfam staff make up 16% of the blog readership. The male/female split is 54/46, (more balanced than I feared, given heavy male bias of bloggers on development).

Main age range of respondents is 25-34.

Most of you read the blog 1-3 times a week (52%) or more than 4 times a week (34%).

78% of you describe the blog as ‘very useful’ or ‘slightly useful’. Why did the rest of you bother to take the survey? And as for the 1% who find it ‘not useful at all’, I think you three saddoes need to think about how you spend your time.

The majority of readers (81%) think that the amount I blog at the moment is ‘about right’ and (74%) think that it is successful in ‘provoking debate and conversation about development issues’.

You prefer ‘original articles’ (1.61), ‘summaries of other research’ (2.68) and ‘summaries of Oxfam research’ (3.5) more than other post topics. Thought so – the more work required from me, the more you like it. Sadists.

The other blogs you read are Chris Blattman, Aid Watch and Owen Barder. However 12.7% of YOU only read the FP2P blog (check out the blogroll to the right, guys – it’s worth it).

And some of the most useful comments?

1. The posts are too long! Sorry folks, will try and do some shorter ones, but also a very good suggestion to provide a one sentence summary of the main ‘takeaway’ at the top of the longer pieces. I might even do it as a wonku – see top of this post.

2. More voices and experiences from the South. Yep, you’re right. Except when I travel (and I’m off to Vietnam next week, so expect some stuff from there), it’s all a bit too DFID, World Bank, northern academic and Oxfam HQ in tone. Could readers please help by pointing me to the best alternative sources? And you NGO-ers, I’m looking to you for some help with this. Ditto for volunteers and suggestions for guest bloggers, especially from the South.

3. I should a) be more controversial and b) respond to comments. There are limits on my willingness to pick fights, however entertaining, partly due to my wimpy temperament and partly by this being an Oxfam-hosted blog (though not always an on-message one). Responding to comments is always a good idea, it’s just the time issue, but I will try and be more interactive in future (maybe I can use the time freed up by writing shorter posts).

4. Excavating the archive a bit more: people want to be able to explore past content, what’s been most popular etc. Will talk to blogmaster Eddy about that and a number of the other technical suggestions and beefs.

5. Translate it into Spanish? No need – my opposite number at Oxfam Intermon in Spain, Gonzalo Fanjul, is up and blogging (and is much cleverer and funnier than I could ever be)

As for the person who wants me to provide ‘more critical analysis of OGB material’ – nice try, but it ain’t gonna happen on this blog. Sorry.

An enormous thanks to everyone who took the time to fill it in – I will do my best to make it worth your while by listening to the suggestions. Starting with today’s executive wonku. But not the short post. Sorry.

Eight introductory powerpoints on development – please plunder

I recently gave a two week introduction to development (undergrad level) at the University of Notre Dame, consisting of eight 45 minute lectures – here are the powerpoints for anyone wanting to nick them. Each lecture includes a brief illustrative video clip of campaigns, social movements etc. Subjects covered are:

Risk and Vulnerability; The Global Economic Crisis; The International System; Climate Change; Poverty and Wealth; Power and Politics; NGOs and Advocacy; How Change Happens

All feedback welcome. If you have a Slideshare account you can download and share the presentations by clicking on the menu button in the Slideshare preview below. All From Poverty to Power presentations are also available to download here.

| Get your Presentation Pack

How did the book go down in Obamerica?

Just got back exhausted from an intense two week tour of the US organized by the hyper-efficient Kristen Prince at Oxfam America. Highlights included an afternoon on Capitol Hill in West Wing Wonderland discussing the book with Congressional staffers, big and enthusiastic turnouts at the Gates Foundation, Northeastern, Georgetown and Brandeis Universities and the World Bank (where we broke our sales record), a presentation to some Silicon Valley types at Stanford (I’ve never had valet parking outside one of my talks before…), and an enjoyable knockabout with Lant Pritchett at Harvard’s Kennedy School (Lant’s a climate change denier – he doesn’t deny it is happening, but thinks we shouldn’t spend any money on it. He was part of the misleadingly named ‘Copenhagen Consensus‘, which mercifully seems to have dropped off the map of late). So what emerged from this extended road test with about 1000 of the USA’s best and brightest? Read More …

Publication day

That was a long day. Oxfam launched the book on Monday, so I head off for BBC radio’s Today programme at 6.15 in the morning, and finish with Al Jazeera TV news at past 10pm. The interviews are interspersed with interminable debates with the London media’s wonderfully globalized (and opinionated) cab drivers: the BBC guy is from Ghana, has lived in London for 25 years but sends his kids back to Ghana because the schools are stricter there. He owns 5 acres of pineapple farm, and wants to expand into air freighted pawpaws – inevitably, we get onto food miles. Read More …