As of March 2026, this website is no longer being updated. I now work mainly on climate issues, especially in Brighton and Hove, and new work can be found on the website of Climate:Change, our independent think-tank on socially inclusive action in the City: www.climatechangebh.org.uk.
Meanwhile, however, this website has over 850 entries, mostly representing my work on international development from 2010-2025. Among much else, there are over 50 book reviews, more than 20 papers and training cases on bridging research and policy and on managing think-tanks, nearly 100 articles on climate change, and many papers on other topics, including aid, food security and nutrition, and the future of international development. See ‘Topics and Themes’ for more details. I can be reached at sm@simonmaxwell.net.
Harnessing the power of business for development impact: towards the fourth generation
Harnessing the power of business for development impact: towards the fourth generation,
Collectively, the speakers and participants in the BAA-DFID-ODI meetings series on business and development have made an inspiring and convincing case:
- First, that there are strong synergies between business and development – in other words, that there are ways of doing business that benefit local communities and national economies, that are also good for business profitability and sustainability.
- Second, that such benefits can be measured, using a mixture of quantitative and qualitative measures.
- And third, that governments and donors have a role to play in kick-starting and incentivising best practice.
In addition, however, the meetings have shown:
- Fourth, that scaling up remains a major challenge.
And, to my mind:
- Fifth, that the debate could benefit from stronger connections to other development topics.
I want to concentrate on the public policy implications of the wider debate, and on the action points which follow. By way of introduction, however, a word on the first four points..... for the full article click on the link above