General Background
Every once in a while I try to update this page for any newcomers who want to be brought up to speed on my work in Uganda. It’s an attempt to allow people to catch up on what I’m up to without scrolling through multiple pages of posts, many of which may no longer be relevant.
For a first-post background piece, from June 2010, see here.
January 2012:
As of June, 2011 I transitioned to a new position with IPA Uganda as the Project Associate on the new Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) Support project. This project is a bit of a one-off for IPA – it’s not a rigorous impact evaluation of any one project but rather an inquiry into what different NGOs can do to improve upon their own internal monitoring and evaluation systems. To this end we are partnering with a select group of NGOs in Uganda (for now) to provide technical assistance for evaluation strategies and all the nuts and bolts about managing proper social research. It’s a fascinating topic once you’re neck deep in it – it can sound completely pointless for the vast majority of folks who don’t find themselves in such a position.
I haven’t been consistent about posting recently. Kampala has a lot more amenities to distract me from my computer than Kamwenge and, frankly, the novelty of my surroundings has largely worn off which leaves me with less “wow cool” moments to write about. That said, there are still a number of fascinating issues and happenings in Uganda that I have not written about. We’ll see how many of them I get to before June. The best way to get me to write more is to ping me with a comment about something that you would be interested in learning more about – that I can promise I will respond to – if not immediately.
About me: I have been living and working in Uganda since June 2010 as a Project Associate for Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA). For the first year, my job involved managing the fieldwork for a randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluation of a novel rainwater storage device being introduced in Kamwenge (Western), Uganda. As mentioned above, I then transitioned to a new project in Kampala. Before joining IPA I attended Middlebury College where I studied Economics and Political Science. This blog is a simple forum for my reflections on life in Uganda, rural development, randomized evaluations, and any other happenings of interest. I do my best to post regularly, please feel free to comment regularly as well. Enjoy.
Contact: BrianDSwartz [at] gmail [dot] com
Snail Mail: Brian Swartz | IPA | PO Box 40260, Nakawa | Kampala, Uganda
Best of luck to you Brian. I just completed a J-PAL course last week here in Bogota. There were, of course, quite a few IPA folks present as well. I’m hoping to move the evaluation strategy of the organization I currently work for in the directly of real impact evaluation, including randomized evaluations. It will be good to follow your experience. I also blog, in case you’re interested, on topics related to good principles and practice of international development at http://www.staying4tea.wordpress.com.
(BTW, I noticed your link to Dani Rodrik. I had the pleasure of studying under him and even TA-ing a course for him at Harvard’s Kennedy School five years ago.)
Hello Brian,
Thank you for the sacrifices you make in order to realise development in the marginalised rural areas.
I always read your posts and one that caught my eyes most is that about URDT.
Those guys have a very nice project and at times i wonder how it is managed given all those many projects.
Thanks for keeping us posted!
Hey Brian,
My name is James Morrissey and I am friends with your cousin Alice. Your work over in Uganda is quite intriguing and I have recently began to read your blog. I recently visited South Africa and volunteered there with a non profit organization. I am now back in the States and I am trying to find a microfinacing agency who will aid my friend in establishing his business. Alice thought it may be a good idea to contact you to see if you have any suggestions on who I should contact. I am currently trying to get in contact with ACCION. Do you know of any other credible agencies? If you would like to contact me my email address is morri2jj@gmail.com.
I hope your work over in Uganda is going well! I will hear from you soon.
James Morrissey