Drivers of Change

Drivers of Change (DoC) is an approach developed by DFID to address the lack of linkages between a country's political framework and the operations of development agencies. The approach focuses on 'the interplay of economic, social and political factors that support or impede' poverty reduction (OECD DAC, 2005). The evolution of this approach has gone hand-in-hand with an approach to development that emphasises that: i) the way development happens, or does not happen, is shaped by political context; and ii) to be effective, donors' country strategies must be based on a sound understanding of historical and political context. More specifically, DoC is rooted in a concern to better understand how to make change happen in specific country contexts:

Usually, we have a good idea about what needs to be done to achieve poverty reduction, but are much less clear about why it's not happening. All too often, we attribute slow or no progress to lack of political will … It's this black box of lack of political will that DOC analysis unpacks. 

DoC is not a highly standardised approach. The framework sets out broad guidelines, but it is designed to be led at the country level. There is enormous variation in the scope of the studies and reports, and the resources and time allocated for their completion.