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Governance, social development, conflict and humanitarian knowledge services

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Home»Approaches

Approaches

UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré (UN Human Rights Council, Geneva)

Human rights: topic guide

Community meeting in Indonesia (Photo: Nugroho Nurdikiawan Sunjoyo / World Bank)

Problem-driven iterative approaches: helpdesk report

Institutions, approaches and lessons for coherent and integrated conflict analysis

Helpdesk Report
  • Siân Herbert
September 2020

This rapid literature review explores the new institutional structures and approaches that have emerged to ensure that conflict analysis and action in fragile and conflict-affected states (FCAS) is coherent and integrated across the many actors that now engage in this broadened field of work. This query focuses on the institutions and approaches of, and lessons from, six ...» more

Social and behaviour change communication interventions in Mozambique

Helpdesk Report
  • Rachel Cooper
February 2020

Social and behaviour change communication (SBCC) is the use of communication to change behaviours by positively influencing knowledge, attitudes and social norms at the individual and community level. Approaches to SBCC include, but are not limited to: media campaigns, peer educators and mentors, small group sessions, community dialogues and events, and digital tools. This ...» more

Development Characteristics of Small Island Developing States

Helpdesk Report
  • Siân Herbert
December 2019

This rapid literature review explores whether there are specific characteristics of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), or a subgroup of SIDS, which mean that income alone is an inaccurate measure of development. The SIDS classification is a technical and political term used to identify those countries that are considered to face specific and increasing challenges due to ...» more

Place-based approaches to aid investment and development impact

Helpdesk Report
  • William Avis
August 2019

This rapid literature review surveys the available academic and grey literature on place o area-based approaches to aid investment and its role in the delivery of effective and coherent development impact1. Place- or area-based approaches to aid investment and development refer to a broad array of interventions under which a place or area is identified as the main entry point, ...» more

Regional cooperation and political stability and prosperity

Regional cooperation takes a number of forms. Types of formal regional cooperation include preferential trade agreements, free trade agreements, customs unions, common markets, economic unions, economic and monetary unions, full economic integration, and political unions (Marinov, 2015, pp. 24-25). The literature identifies a number of benefits and risks of regional ...» more

Donor funded alliances promoting regional cooperation

Helpdesk Report
  • Anna Louise Strachan
March 2018

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

Communication interventions supporting positive civic action in Lebanon

Helpdesk Report
  • Dylan O’Driscoll
March 2018

This rapid review synthesises data from academic, policy and NGO sources on the role media can play in creating/easing tensions between refugees and the host community, and within the host community itself. Acknowledging the importance media can play in perceptions, and considering the confessional and political nature of the media, the review also maps the media/social media ...» more

Approaches to remote monitoring in fragile states

Helpdesk Report
  • Roz Price
January 2018

Provide an update to the 2013 GSDRC report ‘Remote management of projects in fragile states’, focusing on new remote monitoring approaches, tools and examples that are being used, specifically on third party monitoring approaches. In complex environments, where the root causes of conflict are often entrenched and dynamic, ensuring that the right information from multiple ...» more

Factors affecting success or failure of political transitions

Helpdesk Report
  • Anna Strachan
November 2017

Political transitions from authoritarian rule to democracy can have a variety of outcomes. This rapid literature review looks at the factors affecting the success or failure of political transitions. Because of the diverse nature of the countries that have experienced political transitions it is very difficult to come up with a list of ‘best practices’ (Lowenthal & Bitar, ...» more

Scenario thinking and usage among development actors

Helpdesk Report
October 2017

Scenario thinking is a strategic planning method that organisations use to make flexible long-term plans. Recent discussions of this method offered by the Foresight Horizon Scanning Centre (2009) define scenario thinking (they refer to it as scenario planning) as ‘a futures technique for medium to long-term strategic analysis and planning used to develop policies and strategies ...» more

Human rights and governance provisions in OECD country trade agreements with developing countries

Helpdesk Report
  • Iffat Idris
April 2017

Trade agreements increasingly feature governance and human rights provisions. Countries taking the lead in this are the United States and Canada (the EU was not covered in this review). However, they tend to be selective in their provisions, focusing in particular on labour rights, transparency and anti-corruption, as well as public participation and intellectual property ...» more

Changing gender and social norms, attitudes and behaviours

Helpdesk Report
  • Huma Haider
April 2017

This annotated bibliography presents studies of programmes that aim to bring about changes in gender and social norms, and changes in wider attitudes and behaviours. Much of the literature and some programme designs recognise the need to change social norms in order to change behaviours, such as HIV/AIDs prevention and better sanitation and hygiene. The report looks at ...» more

National climate change governance

Topic Guide
  • Jesse Worker
January 2017
Neil Palmer (CIAT): Farms of the Future project, Nepal

Without the rapid implementation of pro-poor, climate-informed development policies, climate change impacts could result in 100 million more people in extreme poverty by 2030. Development policies need to consider climate risk scenarios while expanding ‘no-regrets’ social protection programmes that provide benefits to vulnerable populations under different climate ...» more

Behaviour change approaches for social norms regarding gender

Helpdesk Report
January 2017

This report aims to inform a project which will set up self-help groups for young men from deprived urban areas in developing countries. The project will deliver an open-source course or set of materials using the most appropriate format for community level mobilisers to equip themselves to facilitate a series of ‘courageous conversations’ amongst young men to spur critical ...» more

Methods and approaches for understanding behaviour change

Helpdesk Report
August 2016

There are many theories about, and approaches to, behavioural change derived from disciplines such as psychology, sociology, communication and political science. These theories focus on a number of different levels: the enabling environment; the community; the interpersonal; or the individual. What matters is not only which behaviour change intervention or policy is ...» more

Libyan political economy

Helpdesk Report
  • Iffat Idris
July 2016

Much has changed in Libya since April 2014. However, Libya remains highly unstable and divided along multiple fracture lines, with a multitude of armed and non-armed groups. Given the fluidity of relations between these groups, literature on the country situation becomes quickly outdated. Libya has three rival claimants to power: a reconvened General National Congress (GNC) ...» more

Political dynamics and the effectiveness of aid programmes

Helpdesk Report
  • Edward Laws
May 2016

There is an increasing recognition amongst development scholars and practitioners that the obstacles to effective change in developing countries are not only related to technical or financial issues, but are also bound up with domestic politics and power relationships (DfID 2010a; DfID 2010b; Di John and Putzel, 2009; Leftwich: 2011; Parks and Cole, 2010; DFID 2016). As a ...» more

Human rights

E-Learning
  • Reading pack
  • Malcolm Langford
February 2016

Human rights emerged as a new field in international development in the 1990s. By 1997, the UN Secretary-General had called on all UN development agencies to mainstream human rights (1997), while development donors and NGOs increasingly committed themselves to a human rights approach. Diverse factors explain this seeming breakthrough of human rights. First, a growing…» more

Webinar video: Social norms and violence against women and girls

E-Learning
  • Webinar
  • Lori Heise and Emma Fulu
February 2016

https://youtu.be/q99ByZCbPlw   Dr Lori Heise (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) and Emma Fulu (the Equality Institute) gave short presentations on social norms and violence against women and girls. They drew on their experience and research to reflect on comments and questions raised by participating development practitioners. Download the presentations here and here. The webinar was held…» more

Social norms

E-Learning
  • Reading pack
  • Lori Heise & Karima Manji
January 2016

In recent years the development community has witnessed an upsurge of interest in the role that social norms may play in perpetuating a host of harmful practices, especially practices affecting women and girls.  There has long been interest in how deeply held beliefs, attitudes, and norms can justify male dominance and reinforce behaviour and institutions that…» more

Next Page »
  • Approaches
    • Complexity & systems thinking
      • Problem-driven iterative adaptation
    • Institutions & social norms
      • Communication & behaviour change
    • PEA / Thinking & working politically
    • Results-based approaches
    • Rights-based approaches
    • Theories of change
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