The most rigorous academic research on these issues focuses on changes in Bedouin livelihood strategies, with a particular focus on South Sinai. This literature draws some links between Bedouin livelihoods and patterns of exclusion and conflict in the Sinai region. A large body of more recent literature, drawn mainly from news and policy reports, focuses on growing violence and ...» more
Approaches
Country Risk Indices
Key finding: There are many country risk indices available, primarily produced by private companies. Different risk indices use different combinations of political, social, economic, environmental and other factors, but there is no universally accepted methodology for assessing risk. Comparison between methodologies is made difficult by the relative opacity of the ...» more
Theory of Change Approaches to Post-conflict Governance Programming
In its simplest form, Theory of Change (ToC) can be defined as, ‘the description of a sequence of events that is expected to lead to a particular desired outcome’ (Davies 2012). This research report considers the application of ToC to governance programmes in post-conflict and fragile states. It should be noted that, because of what information is available, the examples ...» more
Changing attitudes and behaviours in relation to gender equality
This helpdesk report surveys literature on strategies and initiatives designed to increase awareness and to change attitudes and behaviours in order to promote greater gender equality. The structure of the report is based on the following areas: religious influences; community-level processes, alongside media and social campaigning; and activities targeting men’s attitudes and ...» more
Police reform evaluations
Police reform often comes under the remit of broader security sector reform (SSR). The two are increasingly promoted in post-conflict, transitional and fragile states as a means of providing a stable environment within which wider social, economic and political development can take place. Despite this, however, researchers and practitioners argue that there is very little ...» more
Literature and debates around behaviour change
There is a large literature around behaviour change, drawing from a number of disciplines including psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics, and neuroscience. Within these disciplines there does not seem to be a particularly outstanding group of literature or debate and it is highly contestable what the strongest groups of literature seem to be. There are a number of ...» more
Political commitments to improve adolescent sexual and reproductive health
Although some progress has been made, adolescents continue to be disproportionately burdened by threats to their sexual and reproductive health. Politics heavily influences the priority setting process for reproductive health. However, the mechanisms for securing political commitment towards sexual and reproductive health are rarely examined in detail. There is little ...» more
Measuring results
How can the impact of governance and social development programmes be assessed with a view to improving their efficiency and effectiveness? What particular challenges are involved in monitoring and evaluating development interventions, and how can these be addressed? How can the ‘value for money’ of a particular intervention be determined? Monitoring and evaluation (M&E) ...» more
Evidence for the Effectiveness of a Process Approach
This report examines effectiveness of development initiatives that have employed a ‘process approach’ or key features of this approach. This report examines the wider literature on the process approach, looking more broadly at the evidence for the effectiveness of this approach in a variety of development interventions. Section two assesses the evidence on the effectiveness of ...» more
Policies to counter sectarianism in MENA countries
The usual method employed by Middle Eastern states to counter sectarianism has been the use of force. Under authoritarian governments, discriminatory policies regarding service delivery and political representation and the threat or use of violence have proven effective in countering sectarian opposition. It is also important to note that Middle Eastern regimes have tended to ...» more
Understanding Sectarianism in MENA countries
There is some debate about how sectarianism, particularly as it relates to the Middle East is commonly conceptualised. For many in the Middle East, it has come to be defined as the process of ascribing political and social claims or rights on the basis of religious adherence and belonging. However, scholars stress the importance of developing an appropriate conceptual framework ...» more
Social Media and Reform Networks, Protest and Social Movements
The widespread diffusion of the Internet, mobile communication, digital media and a variety of social software tools throughout the world has transformed the communication system into interactive horizontal networks that connect the local and global. They enable citizens to interact and can accelerate cooperation and action. This helpdesk research report looks at the role of ...» more
Communication initiatives to change attitudes/behaviours
Key Findings: Behaviour change communication has been widely used in health education, and much of the literature included in this report is related to the health sector. Initially, communication initiatives adopted a diffusion approach, aimed at changing individual attitudes and behaviour. More recently, attention has also been paid to face-to-face and participatory ...» more
Community Empowerment Outcomes – South Asia
Key findings: The vast majority of the literature focuses on the empowerment of women in the community. Of these, some evaluate the contribution of the underlying activity (e.g. micro-finance) in promoting empowerment outcomes, rather than assessing the outcomes of empowerment programmes, more generally. Nonetheless, outcome findings do overlap for both and there is value in ...» more
Donor Experience Working with Traditional and Religious Institutions
Donor experience with traditional and religious institutions is poorly documented. Donors generally seem reluctant to engage directly with religious institutions, with the notable exception of USAID. Where donors do work with traditional and religious institutions this tends to be through local or international NGOs. When working on women’s issues in an Islamic context this is ...» more
Development Finance Institutions and Development Outcomes
Evidence about the development impacts of DFIs is limited. DFIs carry out evaluations of their investments, but these are generally limited to examining direct outputs and economic impacts; comprehensive evaluation of impacts is complicated and expensive, and is very rarely undertaken. DFIs argue that financial performance and development outcomes go hand-in-hand, as ...» more
Local Government Capacity and Leadership in Fragile Areas
There are a range of tools and methods available to measure, assess and monitor local governance, based on assessment by citizens (single stakeholders), by local government institutions, or by multiple stakeholders. In terms of specifically assessing capacity there are tools which produce capacity assessments for the purposes of Capacity Development (CD). For example ...» more
Political Economy of Sierra Leone
Key findings: Political economy analysis is concerned with the interaction of political and economic processes in a society: the distribution of power and wealth between different groups and individuals, and the processes that create, sustain and transform these relationships over time (Collinson, 2003). Despite a large body of research on the Sierra Leone Civil War there is ...» more
Political and social analysis for development policy and practice: An overview of five approaches
Political economy (PE) analysis is concerned with the interaction of political and economic processes in a society: the distribution of power and wealth between different groups and individuals, and the processes that create, sustain and transform these relationships over time. PE analysis elucidates how power and resources are distributed and contested in different ...» more
Political Economy of Cash Transfers
Cash transfers are a form of social assistance in which money or cash-like instruments (e.g. vouchers) are distributed to vulnerable individuals or households. They can vary in targeting (eligibility requirements, such as age, poverty, and disability) or conditionality (specific actions required to receive payment, such as requiring children to attend school or a health ...» more
