The evidence base on this issue is small. Few programmes provide safe spaces exclusively for girls, although many child-friendly spaces run sessions by age and gender. Married girls and adolescent mothers are particularly under-served. Within emergency contexts, the provision of safe spaces tends to focus on psychosocial care and on developing social skills and social networks. ...» more
Service delivery
Incentivising governments to improve service delivery
Although there is substantial research on service delivery, empirical research into how development activities incentivise better service delivery is fragmented (Tavakoli 2012; Joshi 2010). It is increasingly recognised that increasing technical or financial capacity does not automatically translate into improved service delivery performance or better development results (World ...» more
Poor people’s rights and successful legal actions
Key finding: Landmark rulings by South Africa’s Constitutional Court in favour of poor people’s social and economic rights since the 1990s have drawn widespread attention to the law as a tool for realising poor people’s rights and tackling the underlying systemic problems in a way that empowers individuals and communities. But while there has been broad support for using the ...» more
Women’s economic role in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
Key finding: Recent data illustrates that the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region continues to rank lowest overall in the world on measures of women’s economic participation and opportunity (Global Gender Gap Index, 2012). However, MENA economies are not homogenous and variation does exist among countries, with fragile and conflict-affected states recording lower rates ...» more
Evidence about the effectiveness of child protection programmes in developing countries
Key findings: There is little evidence on the effectiveness of child protection programmes in developing countries. Furthermore, some of the available evidence does not provide information on links between specific practices on the one hand and improved outcomes and impact for children on the other hand. There are, however, some targeted insights into what works and what does ...» more
Interventions to tackle sex selection in Asia
The key finding of the literature is that the most effective strategies address social norms and beliefs, as well as providing technical solutions. Strategies need to take into account the specific drivers and expressions of sex selection in each context. The effective interventions identified are:Restricting the use of sex-selection methods: Restricting technology and ...» more
Evidence for the Development Impact of Inclusive Service Delivery
This paper assesses the evidence of the human development and economic impacts of efforts to make services more inclusive. These interventions mostly involve extending access to under-served groups, but may also focus on improving utilisation or the quality of services delivered to marginalised groups. Attribution issues hamper examination of the contribution of efforts to ...» more
Effectiveness of demand-led technical assistance and cooperation on public sector reforms
Key findings: No cases demonstrate unambiguously that improved economic governance and inclusive growth has been the result of demand-led technical assistance. However, existing literature that evaluates technical assistance and public sector reforms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region shows that public sector reform (PSR) can remove constraints on inclusive ...» more
Mobile Telephony for Improved Health Service and Data Management
Key findings: There is significant potential for the use of mobile telephony to improve health service outcomes and data management. Opportunities include: serving as a less costly substitute for existing interventions; providing interactive functions that multiply the power of existing interventions; and serving entirely new functions. Countries recovering from conflicts and ...» more
Conflict, Exclusion and Livelihoods in the Sinai Region of Egypt
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
Social Exclusion Approaches to Poverty Analysis
This report identifies and reviews a selection of tools and methods used by bilateral, multilateral and non-governmental development agencies to conduct social exclusion and other social approaches to poverty analysis. In recent years, development agencies have grown increasingly dissatisfied with income-only approaches to understanding poverty, and have begun to focus on the ...» more
Economic Benefits of Disability-Inclusive Development
Key findings: The economic benefits of adopting a disability-inclusive approach to development are widely acknowledged, but these benefits are complex and difficult to quantify. As a result, few empirical studies provide a sustained analysis of them. Furthermore, there are few reports or evaluations from implementing agencies that present evidence on the economic impacts of ...» more
Violence against women and girls in Timor-Leste
Key findings: The high prevalence of gender-based violence, particularly domestic violence, in Timor-Leste is considered to be a key challenge for the country. Not only is the extent of gender-based violence a serious concern, but also the severity of the violence. Most of the available information on Timorese women and girls from 1975 to 1999 concerns experiences of sexual ...» more
Impact of telecommunications reform on service delivery
Telecommunications have been shown to have a range of direct, indirect and intangible benefits on development and poverty reduction goals (Bhavnani et al, 2008). Where the literature allows, the report includes examples of how telecommunications reform has enabled better service outcomes in fragile and conflict-affected states, and some of the challenges of implementation in ...» more
Mobile telephony innovation to improve education service outcomes
There is a wide and growing interest in the use of mobile telephony to improve education service outcomes. The first part of the report identifies the key lessons learned and recommendations for policy makers relating to the use of mobile telephony to improve education service outcomes, though with a general focus on mobile phone-assisted learning. The second part identifies a ...» more
Gender Inclusive Urban Planning
A gender- and socially-inclusive city promotes equitable rights and provides opportunities and support for all residents to participate in urban life. Although there are encouraging urban initiatives in various cities in South Asia, there is not yet a consolidated approach to inclusive urban policy and governance. This report looks at information on the key interrelated ...» more
Literature and debates around ‘choice’ as a notion in development
The concept of choice has informed the development literature in a number of areas. It has been important in informing theoretical frameworks that underpin much development policy (through rational choice, public choice and social choice theory). From these theoretical foundations, the notion of choice has been central to defining key concepts such as human development and ...» more
Youth unemployment and livelihoods
In 2010, over 75 million young people were unemployed across the world. The global youth unemployment rate was 12.6 per cent, against a global adult unemployment rate of 4.8 per cent (UNDESA, 2012). Why are young people less likely to find a job or source of livelihood than their prime-age counterparts? There are currently a number of barriers to youth employment: Excess ...» more
Effects of political quotas for women
Many countries have introduced gender quotas (or political reservations), in order to increase female participation in policy-making. This helpdesk report surveys research on the effects of political quotas for women on (1.) political processes; (2.) service delivery; and (3.) social processes. There is limited empirical evidence on these issues and research that does exist has ...» more
Vulnerable groups in Burma and access to services
Key fndings: This report focuses on vulnerable groups in Burma and access to basic services. The first part of the report outlines groups considered to be vulnerable and marginalised. These include minority ethnic groups (such as the Chin, Kachin, Karen, Karenni, Mon, Rohingyas, Shan). In some cases, minorities’ ethnic identity is closely linked with a religion other than ...» more
