This is a joint guide from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), the Thinking and Working Politically Community of Practice and The Policy Practice.
This technical note is for people using analytical frameworks to understand the contexts in which they are operating in international co-operation.
Understanding Options for Politically Informed Context Analysis
Laure-Hélène Piron 2025
This Practical Guidance Note is for use alongside the FCDO-TWP CoP guide to political economy analysis (PEA) and thinking and working politically and is part of a series of technical notes on the use of PEA in practice. It explains the range of frameworks for context analysis which can be used in international co-operation, and how to select the most appropriate one, and the different ways in which analysis can be undertaken.
This guide highlights the importance of incorporating a politically informed perspective, regardless of the specific framework used, to understand ‘why things are the way they are’ and tailor interventions accordingly.
The note reviews the following analytical frameworks, outlining their objectives, distinctive features, applications, limitations and how to integrate political economy insights:
- political economy analysis
- conflict analysis
- gender equality, disability and social inclusion analysis
- governance assessment
- institutional review
The note also offers practical advice on different approaches to undertaking the analysis, how to
combine different analytical frameworks, whether to conduct a new analysis and how to ensure the
analysis influences decision-making.
The main options (which can be used in different combinations) are:
- In-depth vs light-touch
- Formal vs informal
- One-off vs regularly repeated
- Externally commissioned vs in-house
- Restricted vs participative process and product