Scott Gilmore

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    • Death of James Rogers

    19 Oct 2014 | Building Markets
    It is with profound sadness that I must announce the death of one our Liberian colleagues, James Rogers.... More
    liberia book

    March Quarterly Update

    13 Mar 2013 | Building Markets
    ... More
    The Anatomy Lesson

    Testing a hunch - online.

    28 Aug 2012 | Building Markets
    My hunch is that poverty is being beat by markets. Increased trade, expanded entrepreneurial classes, liberalized trade. In other words, the greatest alleviation of extreme po... More
    Building Markets Logo

    Our New Name Is...

    28 Mar 2012 | Building Markets
    In which we announce our new name.... More
    ...but not this.

    Best. Fellowship. Ever.

    10 Nov 2011 | Building Markets
    We are looking for a video journalism fellow. If you want to travel around the world (we're not kidding) and tell PDT's stories, apply now. We like to be objective as possible... More
    The Indonesian Army's "nation building" in action - 90% of buildings burned down

    The Diaspora Mirage

    28 Oct 2011 | Building Markets
    That was one of many low points of my time working for him, but what made this one particularly galling is he ended up being right. The Timorese diaspora did not return except... More
    Timor_www_CMYK

    An Open Letter to Haiti’s President Martelly

    29 Sep 2011 | Building Markets
    In Haiti’s and elsewhere, again and again, the international community responds to war, tsunami, and earthquake the same way. Billions are pledged. Less is disbursed. And al... More
    "...everything looks like a nail."

    Look out Libya, the airport’s about to get crowded

    22 Aug 2011 | Building Markets
    The one thing the international community is good at is helping to hold elections. The next best thing they can do is build up police forces. After that, its utility per doll... More
    Take this job and shove it.

    You Should Probably Quit Your Job

    12 Jul 2011 | Building Markets
    Unrequested career advice wherein I exhort you to quit your job to chase rainbows and unicorns. ... More

    Celebrating Tax Day with Transparency

    15 Apr 2011 | Building Markets
    At the PDT offices we're celebrating Tax Day by showing you where our money goes and what it does when it gets there.... More
    admittingfailure

    Move Fast, Break Things

    24 Mar 2011 | Building Markets
    The aid industry needs to move faster, break more things. Don't believe me? Listen to Warren Buffet.... More
    Thou Shalt Volunteer Wisely Or Risk the Holy Wrath of Chuck Heston (and various bloggers)

    Volunteers vs Interns - Getting it Right

    14 Feb 2011 | Building Markets
    I still dislike volunteers, but I'm willing to concede a couple of points (grudgingly and without grace).... More
    Steve Jobs? Geoffrey Canada? Same guy.

    Arguing in Public - A Three Act Play

    12 Jan 2011 | Building Markets
    Wherein I greet our new Communications Director Elmira Bayrasli by publicly disagreeing with her.... More
    42nd St. from the PDT office. Not the best place for a debate.

    Aids vs Cancer. You choose.

    07 Dec 2010 | Building Markets
    Can the social benefit of condom distribution be gauged accurately enough that you could say “If we distribute 200,000 condoms in the Nyanza province of Kenya, it will preve... More
    Speechless, frankly

    Big Day in Seoul (we won)

    12 Nov 2010 | Building Markets
    PDT was named a People’s Choice winner in the G20 SME Finance Challenge. Our winning idea? Factor Finance for Procurement, which will provide line of credits using soverei... More
    Henry Theil: Econometrician and measurer of UN dysfunction

    Pareto Principle and the United Nations

    18 Oct 2010 | Building Markets
    They say 90% of the work at the United Nations is done by 10% of the people? Turns out this is a commonly observed phenomena and it even has a name.... More
    Afghan_www-large

    Hope & Progress on a Tuesday Morning

    21 Sep 2010 | Building Markets
    Norway is challenging aid orthodoxy. Melinda Gates fails to ask an important question. Berkeley is full of smart people. And there are some Afghan female entrepreneurs feeli... More
    Count Schools, Not Vodka Bottles

    Overhead: Money to cause trouble

    23 Aug 2010 | Building Markets
    Investors and consumers don't buy Apple stock and Apple iPods because Steve Jobs spends very little on rent and salaries. They do so because Steve Jobs produces the best mp3 ... More
    Yes, we have no transparency today.

    Transparent, yes. But transparent what?

    18 Aug 2010 | Building Markets
    I find myself in the awkward position of disagreeing with Bill Easterly. Awkward, because a) he is very smart, b) he is very popular in the aid world, and c) I am a big fan.... More
    Screen shot 2010-08-09 at 5.16.49 PM

    Who gives more aid: Liberals or Conservatives?

    09 Aug 2010 | Building Markets
    Kavya-the-intern has dug up some interesting data on ODA spending patterns for conservative and liberal governments in Canada and the US since the 1960s. It is not what you w... More
    Note the unmistakeable lack of a bottle

    When donor cuts are a good thing

    23 Jul 2010 | Building Markets
    I think it’s great that CIDA has untied aid. This is one step closer to creating an aid industry where the best ideas get funded, not the coziest partners. And I think it... More
    Poster 112

    We told you buying local would work

    05 Jul 2010 | Building Markets
    About ten years ago, a group of aid workers and UN staff sat around a legendary bar called the Dili Club (it’s gone now, alas) and complained. Our gripes were many, but one... More
    Screen shot 2010-06-24 at 5.29.11 PM

    Unexpected Good News

    24 Jun 2010 | Building Markets
    Ban Ki Moon drops a (good) bombshell in Toronto: the world is on target to actually meet one of it's Millennium Development Goals, halving the number of people living in extre... More
    The Reality [CLICK ON GRAPH TO PLAY WITH VARIABLES]

    Are Poor Countries Better at Football?

    14 Jun 2010 | Building Markets
    If the conventional wisdom is correct, poor uneducated people are better at football, then the nations with the lowest GDP and literacy rates would have the best odds for winn... More
    Change is afoot. We can feel it...

    Great things in the pipeline

    02 Jun 2010 | Building Markets
    There’s a bounce in my step these days, and the entire office is even more chipper than usual. Even the over-worked under-loved interns are twittering about (metaphorically... More
    Famous? Need to save the world? Start here!

    Celebrity? Need to save the world? Start here.

    21 May 2010 | Building Markets
    There are unwritten rules to Celebrity Aid. For example, if Tina Fey showed up in Haiti cursing about the slow UN deployment, it just wouldn’t be right. Or if Kim Kardashi... More
    Partners in Health

    Send us the money or the kid gets it

    13 May 2010 | Building Markets
    Meet “Abdul”. That’s not his real name. I don’t know his real name. We never met. But I saw his photo every day for a year or so on the front page of PDT’s websi... More

    Donald Rumsfeld, Naked Joe, and Aid Data

    06 May 2010 | Building Markets
    In the bustling world of epistemology, however, Donald’s ramblings were not dementia, but a good summary of an important element of decision theory (which can be applied dir... More
    Hand Relief International

    Mystery man who is so funny, you cry

    30 Apr 2010 | Building Markets
    The staff at PDT have a new hero. His name is Dr. Kurtz, and every time he uploads a new blog post or tweets a new tweet, there is a buzz of joy that goes around the office. ... More

    PDT wins Skoll Award

    15 Dec 2009 | Timor
    ... More

    Yangon Hip Hop

    02 Dec 2013 | Building Markets
    ... More
    Rees

    δῶς μοι πᾶ στῶ καὶ τὰν γᾶν κινάσω*

    27 Oct 2012 | Building Markets
    Sitting in a roadside warung deep in Central Kalimantan this morning, debating project design with my long-time co-conspirators and close friends Jennifer Holt and Edward Rees... More
    ned_breslin

    Free markets and labour and us.

    11 Jul 2012 | Building Markets
    A new post went up this morning from a guest blogger, Anthony DeMattee on wage levels among NGOs and other local employers. Less than a minute later, I got an email calling it... More
    “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, unless that rose is named Peace Dividend Trust.“

    A Rose by Any Other Name

    27 Mar 2012 | Building Markets
    “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, unless that rose is named Peace Dividend Trust.“... More
    Screen shot 2011-11-07 at 7.36.31 AM

    A Minor Modern Greek Tragedy

    07 Nov 2011 | Building Markets
    We used to say “Everyone has one great novel inside of them.” I think now all we can hope for is one good tweet. Unfortunately, mine was last week.... More
    Screen shot 2011-10-27 at 9.55.40 AM

    It's all relative

    27 Oct 2011 | Building Markets
    Your life is pretty good. Skip and whistle all day. ... More
    This is how you take meeting notes.

    The Seven Coolest Things About The Young Global Leaders Summit

    14 Sep 2011 | Building Markets
    I’m in Dalian China right now, participating in the “Summer Davos”. I was very fortunate to be able to spend the first few days with the Young Global Leader community. A... More
    Buy Local Build Afghanistan

    US government success touted as failure in Afghanistan

    17 Aug 2011 | Building Markets
    Some amazing good news was wrapped up in what appeared to be some shocking bad news today. Politico, AP, ABC, and others are reporting that a jaw dropping $360m of US govt mon... More
    Charles Darwin was not an aid worker.

    In Defence of Duplication, Waste, and Ineffeciency

    30 Jun 2011 | Building Markets
    The structure of the non-profit sector is fundamentally flawed. More competition among NGOs can only make things better.... More
    One Acre Fund. One cool idea.

    Top 10 Coolest Things at the Skoll World Forum

    31 Mar 2011 | Building Markets
    The title says it all.... More
    "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man." -George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman (1903)

    Being a Good Boss versus Being a Great Social Entrepreneur

    15 Mar 2011 | Building Markets
    Google has data crunched what it takes to be a good boss. But they haven't figured out what it takes to be a great social entrepreneur.... More

    Down with people

    10 Feb 2011 | Building Markets
    I'm no fan of volunteers. And I have several angry reasons why.... More
    And now, a word from our sponsors?

    Bringing some sex appeal to the aid industry

    05 Jan 2011 | Building Markets
    Wherein I argue that the new, ridiculous, ABC doctor drama Off the Map will actually be good for the aid industry. I know, I can't believe I wrote that either.... More
    A disgusting, self-serving apologist speaks

    In Defence of In Defence of Secrecy

    01 Dec 2010 | Building Markets
    Take from this what you will, but when something I've written angers the mob to this extent, I feel that was labour well paid. (In fact, I've even inserted several of those q... More

    Seoul Cabbies and G20 Rumors

    10 Nov 2010 | Building Markets
    I'm in Seoul, at the G20, soaking up the diplomatic ambiance and listening to rumors of an impending announcement by President Obama on SME Finance.... More
    So cool - the website has its own soundtrack

    Timor Party at Haven

    12 Oct 2010 | Building Markets
    PDT is hosting its first fundraising party in New York tomorrow night. You're invited!... More
    The Manifest Destiny of American Generosity?

    The Manifest Destiny of American Generosity?

    08 Sep 2010 | Building Markets
    In spite of the ongoing recession, it's unlikely that charitable giving overall is about to plummet into the abyss (although it has decreased by 5% since 2007). Even if corpo... More

    Till Bruckner is (partially) right, but so am I

    20 Aug 2010 | Building Markets
    Till Bruckner came back to me with a very thoughtful response at AidWatchers. In reading it, I found myself agreeing with much he said. This is because I am not suggesting h... More
    DfID Chief Andrew Mitchell: Visionary or Villain?

    Is DfID's Andrew Mitchell A Visionary or a Villain?

    16 Aug 2010 | Building Markets
    DfID internal memos were leaked to The Observer, revealing that Andrew Mitchell, the new International Development Secretary, plans to renege on some 90 international aid comm... More
    Alan Neal - The CBC Host (who can take the interview anywhere he damn well pleases)

    Advice to Donors on Spending Better

    03 Aug 2010 | Building Markets
    If Alan Neal had asked me the question the producer had asked (How can governments ensure their aid money is making a difference?) I would have cleared my throat, and in melli... More
    So true.

    It's funny 'cause it's true

    21 Jul 2010 | Building Markets
    There is a great little internet meme doing the rounds today. It's called "I Write Like" and the premise is simple. Cut and paste a sample of your writing, press ANALYZE, an... More
    An Afghan ATM

    Wall Street Journal gets it wrong (UPDATED)

    28 Jun 2010 | Building Markets
    There is an alarming Wall Street Journal article doing the rounds right now, and I don’t think the numbers add up. It states that $3.6 billion siphoned off of aid projects ... More
    Space Program? No aid for you!

    Today we're fond of Andrew Mitchell

    23 Jun 2010 | Building Markets
    Here’s to you Andrew Mitchell. Ask questions. Demand answers. And when they don’t come, send your money elsewhere. Because what the developing world needs is not just ... More
    Quick! If the Gulf oil spill were a continent it would be....?

    Try Something, Anything: Aid Ideas and the Gulf Oil Spill

    08 Jun 2010 | Building Markets
    Imagine the oil spill as a metaphor for Africa. We’ve been trying junk shots for 50 years. It ain’t working. Time to try something else. ... More
    Chairman Mao: Aid visionary

    Chairman Mao knew how to improve aid

    30 May 2010 | Building Markets
    I’ve been recalling the period before I quit my job as a diplomat to launch Peace Dividend Trust. I was a rash thing to do. So, before I leapt, I cautiously tested the wat... More
    SWEDOW Flowchart V2

    Send, Sell, or Trash? Use the SWEDOW Flowchart (2.0)

    17 May 2010 | Building Markets
    Got a million t-shirts to give away? Aid mob hot on your heels? Don't know if you should send the shirts to Africa? Sell them? Trash them? Worry no more. This handy SWEDOW ... More
    Or is it more gravel jobs?

    How many jobs? We have no bloody idea.

    11 May 2010 | Building Markets
    I think this is one of the most important and fascinating problems facing us and other aid agencies trying to generate economic growth in post-disaster or post-conflict econom... More
    Don't Touch the Red Stapler

    Not Wanted: Mercenaries, Missionaries, and Madmen

    04 May 2010 | Building Markets
    It’s hard to compete with Wall Street and even Main Street, when the most you can offer is a slightly higher salary, longer hours, some good med-evac insurance, and all the ... More

    Bureaucrat Bob vs Bill Gates

    28 Apr 2010 | Building Markets
    I’m no fan of Bill Gates’ operating system, but I do like what he does with disease. Let me explain why. I came to the aid world from the government side. I was a diplo... More
    I'm thankful for these guys

    Thanksgiving at Building Markets

    29 Nov 2013 | Building Markets
    To mark Thanksgiving, I asked the Building Markets staff around the world to share with me some of the things they are most thankful for. This is what they said:... More
    Murphy Brown

    The Worst Job in Ottawa

    26 Sep 2012 | Building Markets
    I need a new EA. Again. You see, you remember that great 80s sitcom Murphy Brown? She and I share two things in common. A magnificent mane of luxuriously feathered hair, and t... More
    Screen Shot 2012-05-18 at 10.33.54 AM

    Old aid vs new.

    18 May 2012 | Building Markets
    ... More
    "Paging Mrs. Landingham."

    Mrs. Landingham where are you?

    19 Dec 2011 | Building Markets
    I am looking for an Executive Assistant.... More
    Screen shot 2011-10-31 at 9.48.00 AM

    We Hate our Name, Discuss

    31 Oct 2011 | Building Markets
    The title says it all... More

    LETTRE OUVERTE À L’INTENTION DU PRÉSIDENT D’HAÏTI MICHEL MARTELLY

    03 Oct 2011 | Haiti
    J’ai regardé le discours que vous avez prononcé la semaine dernière pendant l’Assemblée générale des Nations Unies (ONU). Votre discours était franc, une chose rare... More
    Trolley Problem

    Aid "Industry" vs Humanitarian "Relief"

    07 Sep 2011 | Building Markets
    Too often in the debate about development reform and aid effectiveness we get sloppy and lump humanitarian relief into the mix. We shouldn’t. It’s not an industry and shou... More
    "She must have been extradinarily beautiful, because the mask she wore was hideous.''

    Unpaid Internships, Glampers, and the Grade School Gum Dictum

    19 Jul 2011 | Building Markets
    I will concede that I have not studied ethics, nor have I read St. Augustine. At Sunday Mass, I tend to marvel at the stained-glass windows instead of paying attention to the... More
    Screen shot 2011-06-21 at 10.50.28 AM

    An Open Letter to Global Soap Project

    21 Jun 2011 | Building Markets
    Wherein I try a different approach to fight the burgeoning waste of the SWEDOW industry. As my prairie-born grandmother used to say "You gather more flies with honey than vine... More
    Jeff Skoll - "invest in, connect and celebrate social entrepreneurs"

    The Skoll Forum (one year later)

    30 Mar 2011 | Building Markets
    PDT was extremely fortunate to win the Skoll prize a year ago. It changed everything for us. We found ourselves within a community of social entrepreneurs who face many of th... More

    Kidnapping, Aid Workers, and the Media

    10 Mar 2011 | Building Markets
    For me, for my staff, and for aid workers operating in difficult environments everywhere, this question of media ethics and hypocrisy is not merely an interesting after-dinner... More
    Screen shot 2011-01-17 at 9.51.35 AM

    Tax Dodging, Aid, and Afghanistan

    17 Jan 2011 | Building Markets
    The UN and donors grants ridiculous carte blanche tax breaks to its contractors and sub-contractors. In the case of the UN, the 1946 Convention which allegedly allows this, do... More
    Executive Director Scott Gilmore being held accountable by PDT staff for his thought crimes and other counter-revolutionary failures.

    PDT's Failure Report 1.0

    15 Dec 2010 | Building Markets
    We're rolling out Failure Reports at PDT. I began drafting the guidelines for staff to draft their contributions, and then stopped and decided failure starts at the top. There... More
    Screen shot 2010-11-29 at 10.54.43 AM

    In Defense of Secrecy

    29 Nov 2010 | Building Markets
    The third most popular topic in the Wikileaks Cablegate database? Human Rights. Cables from American diplomats doing the same thing I was trying to do in Indonesia; American d... More
    Screen shot 2010-10-18 at 12.29.56 PM

    Polman, Collier, and the Rational Actor Model

    18 Oct 2010 | Building Markets
    Aidwatch has another interesting post up, featuring David Zetland and his review of the review of Linda Polman's new book "Crisis Caravan". I made a snide remark about it on ... More
    Rory in Kabul

    Liberalism, Rory Stewart, and Overreaching Aid

    04 Oct 2010 | Building Markets
    As with the aid industry's insistence on inverting Maslow's pyramid of needs, we have sought to overextend ourselves in thinking that good governance projects can cure everyt... More
    Latrines: Maslow would have found these very sexy

    Maslow's Pyramid of Needs and the aid industry

    28 Aug 2010 | Building Markets
    Every aid worker, ever donor, every UN manager needs to have a copy of Maslow's pyramid taped to his desk (or tattooed to their hands in the more stubborn cases.)... More

    Useful Transparency vs Meaningless Paper Chasing

    19 Aug 2010 | Building Markets
    This is not a debate about transparency vs secrecy. It’s about meaningful transparency vs useless paper chasing. If the goal is to make aid more effective, to save more liv... More
    Hmmm, not so generous.

    I was WRONG WRONG WRONG

    13 Aug 2010 | Building Markets
    Earlier this week I stumbled across some data sets which seemed to tell me that in Canada and the US, conservative governments spend more on aid. In part, I was right. In an... More

    Folk Songs From the Aid Industry

    03 Aug 2010 | Building Markets
    Last week, in a flash of pique, I dashed off a blog entry welcoming the funding cut to a Canadian aid industry association which had been mostly funded by the Canadian Interna... More
    Donors are a long way from 50%

    The Aspirational (and imaginary) 50% Goal in Kabul

    20 Jul 2010 | Building Markets
    The draft communique from the donor meeting in Kabul has leaked. Tucked in among its 5900 words is a reaffirmation of their desire to channel 50% of donor spending through th... More
    RX12415

    A Different View of Afghanistan

    25 Jun 2010 | Building Markets
    We asked James to visit our team in Afghanistan to help us tell their story and the story of the Afghan's we're trying to assist. He did that and more. The Afghanistan he sh... More
    My Mom just bought 30 copies.

    Economist magazine

    17 Jun 2010 | Building Markets
    Imagine my delight to discover PDT is in this week's edition of The Economist. And we didn't even have to buy one of those outrageously overpriced career ads!... More
    Project staff helped this rancher find an international buyer for his cattle

    Bad news – Award-winning Timor Marketplace Project Shutting Down

    03 Jun 2010 | Building Markets
    We have a cool and innovative economic impact project in Timor Leste, and its about to close. Why? Lack of funding. We have several smaller donors supporting it, including ... More

    The Aid Industry and Making Good Pencils

    25 May 2010 | Building Markets
    No one knows how to make a pencil. It looks simple, though. Wood. Graphite. Pink eraser. It’s not. There is the wood itself, which needs to be chosen for certain qualitie... More
    Screen shot 2010-05-15 at 12.34.10 PM

    What Aid can learn from Hollywood

    15 May 2010 | Building Markets
    The movie going public understands that spending more isn't the secret to success. This weekend at Cannes, you won’t hear people demanding that Hollywood spend more money o... More

    Point Us Towards the Best Aid Info Portal

    08 May 2010 | Building Markets
    We want your opinion and your help. What is the best country-specific aid data portal you’ve seen? We are looking for the best example of a website that is a one-stop-shop... More

    Kim Kardashian Saves Haiti

    02 May 2010 | Building Markets
    Last year I gave a lecture at a Canadian university that culminated with one student standing up and shouting “This is bullshit!” before marching out. To be honest, while... More

    Three Ways to Change the World

    26 Apr 2010 | Building Markets
    I was a volcano refugee last week, but you shouldn’t feel sorry for me. I was stranded in Oxford England, the most pleasant refugee camp you could imagine. And to make mat... More
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