Some of the recurring findings from the literature on the World Bank’s performance in fragile and conflict-affected states include the following:Despite efforts to become more conflict-sensitive, the Bank’s approach to conflict-affected and post-conflict states focuses more on ‘doing things differently’ than ‘doing different things’. This is partly due to a continued reluctance ...» more
Governance
Public Financial Management and Frontline Service Delivery
A review of the literature suggests that in designing PFM reform programmes it is essential to consider the following:PFM reforms must be understood as part of a more general public sector reform process.PFM reforms should have poverty reduction as a central objective.PFM reforms need to be designed at sector level in order to accommodate the needs, capacities and willingness ...» more
Political Economy of Sub-National Government
Of the limited recent literature that considers the political economy of sub-national (state and provincial) government, the case of Afghanistan is prominent. International support to sub-national governance in Afghanistan has been relatively well documented, with much of the literature emphasising that reform efforts have often neglected to account for the political economy of ...» more
Political Economy of Civil Service Reform
Much of the recent literature on civil service reform (CSR) emphasises that reforms have tended to fail and that political factors are critical to the success or failure or reform efforts. Political contextual factors and the impact of bureaucrats’ and politicians’ personal interests are most frequently discussed. Regional and ethnic political factors were generally not ...» 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
Donor Engagement with Social Movements
There is very limited literature on donor engagement with social movements. Of the literature that exists, the majority have been critical of such engagement. It is argued that donor funding of social movements, often through the funding of civil society organisations (CSOs) and NGOs, has co-opted and diluted these movements and led to the defection of its members. This has ...» more
Social Movements and Poverty Reduction
There is limited research available on the role of social movements in development processes. It is widely acknowledged that establishing a causal relationship between social movements and any observed change in societies is problematic. In particular, attribution is difficult because there are usually multiple variables involved in any process of social change, including other ...» more
Vetting Public Employees
Vetting refers to “processes for assessing an individual’s integrity as a means of determining his or her suitability for public employment.” Vetting may be applied to people who already hold public service positions, typically in post-conflict, post-authoritarian, or otherwise transitional contexts with the objective of removing individuals responsible for war crimes, human ...» more
Research on Social Movements
A number of specific research programmes and projects are using a multidisciplinary approach to probe the questions surrounding the dynamics, influence and prospects of social movements (as variously defined). The prominent programmes are located in the United Kingdom, but operate through international partnerships with other universities and research centres. Social movement ...» more
Budget Support and Civil Society
The following points are repeatedly made in the literature with regard to civil society engagement in the context of budget support: The key role for civil society in PRBS is in holding government to account, along with parliament. Donors providing budget support to governments have tended to simultaneously provide support to civil society to strengthen their capacities ...» more
African Regional Governance Institutions
There are vast literatures on regional integration and the role of regional institutions in Africa, ranging from official documentation to academic commentary. There are fewer evaluations or assessments of the attempts by regional institutions to promote good governance in Africa.Notwithstanding, the following challenges are identified in the literature:lack of political will ...» more
Costs of Urbanisation
Half of the global population now lives in cities. Urban growth is occurring most rapidly in the developing world, where cities gain an average of 5 million residents every month (UN-HABITAT, 2008). Urbanisation processes have been prevalent in Asia and while they have raised living standards in many countries, they have also produced other economic, social and environmental ...» more
Community-based Approaches and the Extractives Sector in Situations of Fragility and Conflict
The literature offers a number of recommendations on community engagement in the extractives sector. The following are particularly relevant to fragile and conflict-affected contexts:Engage with local communities as partners in preventing and managing conflict, rather than approaching them as a threat or risk.Distribute any benefits from the project (including jobs, development ...» more
Donor Activities Supporting Women in Elected Political Spaces
Donors mainly engage in the following types of activities to promote women‘s participation in electoral politics:Training women already in or aspiring towards leadership rolesStrengthening the capacity of women‘s groups to monitor government commitments on gender equality and women’s empowermentUsing the media to disseminate information and change attitudesSupporting networks ...» more
Civil Society Funding Mechanisms
Two general points emerge in the literature on civil society funding mechanisms. The first is that support to civil society actors is desirable and should be continued or scaled-up. Civil society is considered to play a key role in development and the theme of ‘partnership’ is widespread in the literature. Secondly, capacity building is an essential component of all support to ...» more
‘Voices of the Poor’ in Southern Africa
No recent 'voices of the poor' type studies for the SADC (Southern African Development Community) region have been identified during the research for this query. Additionally, none of the experts who contributed to the research knew of such a report or of similar research projects currently underway. Several Africa-wide studies published by Afrobarometer, which include ...» more
Donor Support to Non-state Providers of Security and Justice
The following recommendations on on donor support to non-state providers of security and justice services in fragile and conflict-affected states are made in the literature: There is a need for a ‘pragmatic realism’ approach, meaning that in addition to supporting state institutions, donors proportion a significant percentage of assistance, in the short- to intermediate-term, ...» more
Regional Security Architecture
Regional organisations have in recent years focused increasingly on the promotion of peace and security. They may be considered more effective and legitimate external actors than the United Nations and other international actors. They are also more likely to have an interest in preventing, containing or resolving conflict and insecurity in their regions. Although the vast ...» more
Violence Against Women Interventions
There are few rigorous evaluations of interventions and approaches to prevent or respond to violence against women (VAW) – and even less that engage in a comparative analysis. There are, however, a number of evaluations that focus on individual projects in specific countries. Some general findings on effectiveness and best practice in addressing violence against women can be ...» more
Gender and Growth in China
The first half of this helpdesk research report provides case studies examining the links between economic growth and gender equality in China. Most resources focus on the economic reforms associated with WTO accession and examine their gendered impacts. They all find that China’s impressive economic growth has failed to benefit men and women proportionately. Several authors ...» more
