There are a significant number of donor funded regional cooperation arrangements across a broad range of thematic areas. However, the level of their success varies considerably, and the literature search carried out for this report did not identify any unqualified successes. Areas of cooperation include defence, environmental issues and economic integration. There is a ...» more
Capacity building
Big results now? Emerging lessons from Results-Based Aid in Tanzania
Experiments with Results-Based Aid (RBA) is an ongoing trend in development cooperation. This paper analyses design features and initial implementation experiences of three ongoing RBA programmes in Tanzania that support government reforms in the water, education and decentralisation sectors. It finds that the overarching programme and the nature of capacity development ...» more
Evidence synthesis: Security sector reform and organisational capacity building
This synthesis examines the extent to which capacity building interventions in security sector reform have led to improved outcomes in accountability, responsiveness and capacity to deliver among security institutions and agencies in low- and middle-income countries. It further explores the factors enabling or hindering these improvements and the relationship between ...» more
Evaluation of the strategy for support via Swedish civil society organisations 2010-2014
In what ways has Swedish support to civil society actors in developing countries enabled poor and discriminated people to improve their living conditions and quality of life? This evaluation report shares a range of internal and external factors that have contributed to the effectiveness of Sida's civil society support strategy via Swedish CSOs 2010-2014 . It finds that ...» more
Towards a more effective early warning system in the horn of Africa
What are the lessons to be learnt and opportunities for improving CEWARN’s functionality as it implements and reviews its new strategy for 2012–2019? This report recognises how far CEWARN has come since 2002 when there was no mechanism in place and now, where it operates differently in 6 countries across the region in response to the context. It also highlights the critical ...» more
Capacity building in the Ministry of Interior in fragile and post-conflict countries
This report reviews the literature engaging with a key issue, the reform of the Ministry of Interior (MoI) in fragile and post-conflict countries. While MoI reform is crucial to the success of Security Sector Reform (SSR), as it enables management and oversight of the internal security forces, it has often been neglected by international actors and by the SSR literature. The ...» more
Capacity building for social protection
Research for this rapid literature review was unable to find specific material on impacts and lessons for supporting sustainable government capacity building of the social protection sector in general. There is, however, general guidance material on social protection, and lessons and impacts from specific programmes and projects. Consequently this report identifies ...» more
Capacity development at the national level in fragile and conflict-affected states
There is a clear international consensus on desirable principles for capacity development in fragile states, which include country ownership, use of country systems, improvements to technical assistance and training, adapting initiatives to local contexts, a focus on adaptive and flexible approaches, a focus on results, improved coordination, and a focus on a clear set of ...» more
Evaluation Capacity Development
While donors’ efforts to support evaluation capacities of developing countries have increased over the last 20 years, this rapid review of the literature finds a limited evidence base on evaluation capacity development (ECD) approaches and their effectiveness. There are more reports of innovative and good practices than rigorous evidence on what has worked. Nevertheless, the ...» more
New thinking on technical assistance to resolve knowledge and capacity gaps
There is a wide and diverse literature on technical assistance, much of which refers to addressing knowledge and capacity gaps in lower- and middle-income countries. This report identifies some novel or emerging approaches which appear to move away from the traditional approaches that commonly centre on short-term filling of capacity gaps and being primarily ...» more
Indonesian and Philippine engagement in South-South and Triangular Cooperation
Both Indonesia and the Philippines provide considerable assistance to other developing countries, typically capacity building and sharing expertise about a range of development themes from agriculture and rural development to ICT, microfinance, education, health and welfare, amongst others. While most cooperation occurs at a regional Asia-Pacific level, Indonesia and the ...» more
Impact and VFM of Capacity Building Support for Conflict Parties in Negotiations
This report assesses the impact and value for money (VFM) of international support to government and rebel capacity building for negotiations. It finds that there has been little sustained analysis of the impact of this kind of support. Few donor evaluations focus specifically on these activities and those that do are often not made public (expert comments). No studies were ...» more
Research Capacity Strengthening
Lack of an enabling legal framework, poor quality of secondary-school education, an absence of research leaders and role models, and the relatively low priority attached to research are all frequently cited as barriers to research capacity development in developing countries as a whole, and Africa in particular (Whitworth et al 2008). Studies have noted that previous research ...» more
Civil Service Reform in Rwanda
It is generally asserted that the Government of Rwanda has embarked on an impressive array of public sector reforms, with little criticism of their commitment or political willingness to support change. Public sector reform is discussed in the following policy contexts: human resource development; good governance and institutional strengthening; decentralisation to district- ...» more
