Twelve months ago, the world seemed to be entering an era of unprecedented uncertainty and risk. Those involved in international development were imagining what Brexit and a newly elected President Trump might mean for their work and for the world. 

As 2018 gets underway, the outlook seems mixed, with glimpses of hope to be found amongst the perils and risks carried over from last year.

In December, our friends over at IDEAS put together an engaging programme for the most recent meeting of the Scottish Parliament Cross Party Group on International Development.

A packed committee room at Holyrood considered the meaning and value of global citizenship education, how it encourages critical thinking and participation, and how it can change the world from the classroom.

If you didn't make it along to the meeting, fear not, there is plenty going on for you to engage with.

In recent years, there has been a drive towards research collaboration between academics and international non-governmental organisations (INGOs). 

Christian Aid and the Open University, two Alliance members, have developed a comprehensive new resource, drawing from a seminar series that brought together academics and NGO staff to reflect on their experiences of research partnerships. 

The resulting discussion guide and toolkit provides ideas and approaches to enable you to think through your research partnerships; to encourage you to critically engage with issues such as the roles different actors play in partnership; and what types of evidence are valued, used and produced. 

The Scottish Government’s Malawi Development Programme operates as a two stage application process for funding projects of up to 4.5 years.  The deadline for the first stage of the process is 26 January and requires interested organisations to submit a concept note which will provide a clear overview of the planned project and demonstrate the impact that the work will have.

From the assessment of the concept notes, successful organisations will be invited to complete a full application form which will require much more detail of the project plans.

On 7th February, the Scottish Parliament's International Development Cross Party Group (CPG) and its Malawi CPG are coming together for a joint meeting to explore Scotland's global health work and hear about actions taking place since the launch of the report: 'Global Citizenship in the Scottish Health Service: the value of international volunteering'. Book your place here!

On 28th February, the next meeting in the series with Dr Alasdair Allan MSP, Minister for International Develoipment and Europe, will take place in Edinburgh.  Contact Jane for more info.

Save the date for our next networking and training event for all members taking place in Edinburgh on 8th March.  Make sure you check our website for more details coming soon.

Thanks to improvements to the functionality of our website, it is now possible to upload photos and videos to your profile page, making sure that when people find you via our site,'they get the best, most vivid illustration of the work that you do. Check Link Community Development's profile page to see an example.

All you need to do is log in as your organisation's representative, go to your profile, and upload!

Can't remember your login? Unsure who your representative is? Get in touch and we can help!

Have you ever used our Effectiveness Toolkit?  If so, please spend a few minutes on our survey. Your feedback will be valuable in helping to improve it this year.