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
Public sector management
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
‘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
The impact of the financial crisis on conflict and state fragility in sub-saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa was largely insulated from the initial stages of the financial crisis as the majority of the countries in the region are de-linked from the international financial markets. However, with the worsening of the global financial and economic crisis, the region as a whole has now been exposed to the downturn, and growth estimates have been continually lowered from ...» more
Argentine Financial Crisis (2001-2002)
The 2001-2002 Argentine financial crisis culminated in the collapse of the 1991 Convertibility Plan, the freezing of bank deposits, and the biggest foreign debt default in world economic history. By May 2002, 40% of the total workforce was either unemployed or underemployed.Social unrest during and following the financial crisis principally took the form of social protests. ...» more
Donor Approaches to Extractive Industries
Donor approaches to extractives management fall broadly under two categories: (1) individual donor strategies; and (2) multi-stakeholder initiatives (in particular the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)). Before EITI was established in 2002, donor strategies on EI were scarce. Donors tended to conduct their work in isolation and principally through funding ...» more
Reviews of Decentralisation and Subnational Government Support Programmes
DFID, the World Bank and GTZ have recently undertaken multi-country reviews of their support to decentralisation and sub-national governance. The EU has also produced a set of guidelines based on its experience. A great number of country-level evaluations are now available online, the majority of which conclude with lessons learned and recommendations. Recommendations vary ...» more
Decentralisation and Assistance to Sub-national Governments in Fragile Environments
There is considerable disagreement about whether and how decentralisation should be pursued in fragile or post-conflict environments. Many argue that strengthening sub-national governance in fragile situations is vital, particularly for delivering basic services where the state is weak or absent, for addressing ethnic/regional inequalities, and for conflict management. The ...» more
Participation of Excluded Groups in Local Governance
There are various methods of ensuring and allowing the participation of excluded groups in local governance. They fall under two broad categories: 1) promoting the representation of excluded groups in local government, including in leadership positions, and 2) promoting the participation of excluded groups in local meetings to discuss planning, budgeting and development ...» more
Demand Driven Technical Assistance
The most common demand-driven technical assistance (TA) mechanism discussed in the literature is the Capacity Building Grant (CBG) or Capacity Building Fund (CBF) - a form of discretionary budget support which gives local authorities the flexibility to determine, finance, and manage training and technical assistance according to their needs. This assistance has thus far ...» more
Long-term Economic Planning
There are no empirical studies on the relationship between planning and economic growth. Country growth diagnostics focus on the substance of economic policy. They rarely discuss the policymaking process, let alone the timeframe over which economies are planned, as a factor in determining the success or failure of economic reforms. Botswana, Ireland and South Korea are among ...» more
Carbon Trading and Local Governance
Although current schemes do not particularly cater to their inclusion, it is possible for local government and local communities to participate in and benefit from carbon markets. This can be done through the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which provides for carbon offset projects in developing countries. Local authorities can register and own CDM ...» more
Governance in Tribal Environments
This query has been able to identify very few resources that focus specifically on governance systems within tribal societies. However there is a wider body of literature which discusses traditional structures of authority and leadership. Even this, however, focusses mainly on democratisation and decentralisation processes. These sources agree that in many countries, the ...» more