Weaknesses in development programmes are often blamed by donors on the ‘lack of political will’ shown by their partners in country governments. Drivers of Change (DoC) is the name being given to a learning exercise at country level that explores the factors underlying the ‘political will’ problem and how they can be taken more centrally into account in country assistance plans.   This paper, an analysis of the drivers of change and development in Malawi, addresses three large questions: • Where is Malawi coming from? • Where is Malawi headed? • What are the challenges to the aid relationship?