The Missing Middle

Why do promising solutions so often fail to deliver lasting change, even when the evidence is credible, the need is urgent and funding is available? In The Missing Middle, Theresa van der Walt examines the institutional gaps between what communities know, what researchers can demonstrate, what authorities can approve and what funders are prepared to finance. Drawing on programme experience and documented public cases, she shows how crucial context, responsibility and uncertainty can disappear as knowledge moves from the field into reports, decisions and delivery. The book sets out a practical architecture for reconnecting these worlds. It explores how evidence becomes fit for a decision, why proof is not the same as readiness, who has the authority to act and what accountability demands after funding. It also examines institutional memory, the limits of artificial intelligence and the routes through which people affected by a programme can challenge claims and influence what happens next. For policymakers, funders, researchers, programme leaders and readers concerned with how institutions work, The Missing Middle offers a way to diagnose broken handoffs and build more credible, accountable programmes. Lasting change depends on institutions that keep evidence connected to reality, act within their authority and learn from the consequences of their decisions.