Re:
Well I have taken your feedback in the spirit in which it was intended=(l think?) and hired auditors (KPMG) and a documentarian from BRAC Banglad=sh to do a comprehensive financial and operational summary of the IRRC pro=ects. You are right that having incomplete information is unprofessional, =ven if no one else cares about the work! I am allowing the mayors and l=cal partners to continue to use their city and country specific data but l=think (they don't quite agree yet but they will!) that also having the=larger and more complete view of the project will help their case. You are=the only person I have discussed big picture numbers with, everyone else a=so gets the country specific numbers, so hopefully no reputational risk or=damage to the foundation.
On Senegal, gosh the more I look internally the more I find a ton of stuff going on. Not sure what to do? I was thinking that what might be helpf=l would be to prepare a really concise summary for the president just so h= knows what's going on. Some of the projects are proposing/requiring m=tched public funds and almost all are working with/within public instituti=ns. The health stuff, you are right, feels a little preachy. Since all str=tegies and investments are reviewed and recalibrated annually by the co-ch=irs (Bill Bill Sr and Melinda) there isn't a ton of flexibility - so l=guess everyone here is to blame. Anyway, even if he doesn't want to me=t me for some baobab juice, he might just want to know what is ongoing or =tanned in his country.
I've gotten my relatively narrow urban strategy guidelines from th= co-chairs but I think/hope I can do some creative or at least demand-driv=n things within the constraints. Maybe you can help sort through some of t=em. One of the areas where they would like to expand is "research on =rbanization" which may be a big waste of money. Anyway...I am not sur= if you are familiar with Duflo/Banerjee RCT people from MIT. They have do=e a very cool study showing that one cool way to support poverty alleviati=n and also deal with urbanization is by offering microinsurance for season.' migrants...so they migrate to city seasonally, make money and come home.=Microinsurance seems to mitigate their risks. Study only done on subcontin=nt but seems to be valid. I liked it at least theoretically and makes comm=n sense.
Another non-urban area that I am considering is a new way to do immuni=ation campaigns in terrible places like Chad where there is no govt. Bill =s getting totally ripped off (hundreds of millionsof $$ by WHO and others)= Some neat ideas to try, tehcnology related and maybe you'd be in the =ood to hear them. Anyway I think I am on the hook to present them right ar=und when you are in town!
Miss you! Hope you are ok wherever you are!
When will you be in senegal. ? I will sit and take as much time as you =ant when you are next in the states