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Home»Social Development

Social Development

Social Protection Topic Guide

Horizontal inequalities: reading pack

The future of work for women in the Indo-Pacific region

Helpdesk Report
  • Siân Herbert
September 2018

The ‘future of work’ is a policy concept that explores how various technological, socio-economic, geopolitical, demographic, cultural, and environmental megatrends are developing and interacting to create new types of jobs, industries, labour conditions, and business models. It is not well-defined or critiqued as a definition, and there is no standard approach to what concepts ...» more

Mapping of stakeholders engaged in Public Works Programmes (PWPs)

Helpdesk Report
  • Thomas Corser
May 2018

Public works programmes (PWPs) have received increasing attention as a social protection intervention due to their perceived benefits of tackling poverty by addressing basic consumption needs whilst improving public goods and community infrastructure. This helpdesk report maps organisational and individual actors engaged in PWPs in development and humanitarian contexts from a ...» more

Social protection

Topic Guide
  • Becky Carter,
  • Keetie Roelen,
  • Sue Enfield,
  • William Avis
December 2019

Social protection is commonly understood as ‘all public and private initiatives that provide income or consumption transfers to the poor, protect the vulnerable against livelihood risks and enhance the social status and rights of the marginalised; with the overall objective of reducing the economic and social vulnerability of poor, vulnerable and marginalised groups’ (Devereux ...» more

Interventions to Reduce Forced Marriage

Helpdesk Report
  • Iffat Idris
November 2019

This review drew largely on academic papers as well as reports by international development organisations. Evidence and hence lessons on how to combat forced marriage are limited and sometimes contradictory. Overall, the literature points to a number of approaches that can be effective, notably: empowerment of girls; community approaches to change social norms and attitudes on ...» more

Linking Social Protection and Humanitarian Response – Best Practice

Helpdesk Report
  • Iffat Idris
November 2019

This review looks at the alignment of humanitarian response in refugee crises with national social protection systems. It examines the experience of three countries dealing with protracted refugee situations: Turkey, Lebanon and Cameroon, and also identifies lessons from other literature. The number of people affected by crises and disasters continues to rise, and ...» more

Challenges Religious Minorities Face in Accessing Humanitarian Assistance

Helpdesk Report
  • William Avis
November 2019

This rapid literature review, surveys evidence regarding the challenges specific religious minorities face in accessing humanitarian assistance. This review acknowledges that there remains a paucity of research on the presence, scale and diversity of religious groups, experiences, values, motivations and engagements in a range of humanitarian contexts and how these intersect to ...» more

Preventing/Countering Violent Extremism Programming on Men, Women, Boys and Girls

Helpdesk Report
  • Iffat Idris
November 2019

Gender and age can have a big influence on people’s roles in relation to violent extremism: if they are vulnerable to recruitment, if they join violent extremist groups, the driving factors, what their participation in violent extremism entails, and – critically – what approaches should be taken to preventing or countering violent extremism (P/CVE). Hence, it is important not ...» more

Social Safety Nets in Fragile and Conflict-Affected States

Helpdesk Report
  • Rachel Cooper
February 2019

Social safety nets in fragile and conflict-affected states often include cash and in-kind transfers, school feeding programmes and public works programmes (O’Brien, Scott, Smith, Barca, Karden, Holmes, Watson & Congrave, 2018). Programmes often target vulnerable households, refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in order to reduce their exposure to shocks and ...» more

Cash-Based Initiatives for Refugees in Jordan: Annotated Bibliography

Helpdesk Report
  • Iffat Idris
January 2019

The available literature tells us little about the effectiveness of targeting of cash-based initiatives (CBIs) for refugees in Jordan. However, it suggests there are positive impacts on food security for refugees, their ability to pay for rent and utilities and their psycho-social well-being, as well as some reduction in resort to negative coping strategies. The impact of CBIs ...» more

Benefits of STEM Education

Helpdesk Report
  • Zenobia Ismail
January 2019

The literature concurs with the general view that science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education is necessary to facilitate economic development, international competitiveness and job creation. However, the literature does not specify the particular benefits of STEM education in developing countries since the consensus is that STEM education is  generally ...» more

Effectiveness of Donor Support to Women in Formal Political Leadership-Narrative Review

Helpdesk Report
  • Emilie Combaz
January 2019

This narrative review synthesises a selection of key evidence based on a rapid, non-systematic literature review (this makes it subject to limitations).The evidence base offers no comparative rankings on which types of interventions, and which specific interventions, have been more effective. Overall, it shows that the interventions most frequently used by aid actors, including ...» more

Cost-Effectiveness in Humanitarian Work: Cash-Based Programming

Helpdesk Report
  • Magdalena Mikulak
December 2018

There is consensus in the literature that giving people cash in humanitarian contexts provides greater choice and dignity while at the same time stimulating local markets. In comparison to in-kind approaches, cash emerges as more efficient to deliver and – depending on the particularities of a given context – it can also be equally or at times more effective at delivering the ...» more

A Mapping of Larger Youth Employment Programmes in Developing Countries

Helpdesk Report
  • Zenobia Ismail
December 2018

There is a robust literature on youth employment that spans academic and grey literature. This rapid literature review combines academic and grey literature to identify larger youth employment programmes in developing countries. The review identifies the countries, which have a national youth policy. There is no literature that assesses the sustainability of national youth ...» more

Legislation and Policy Addressing Inequality and Redistribution in Rwanda

Helpdesk Report
  • Anna Orrnert
December 2018

This report is one of three related K4D helpdesk reports on inequality in Rwanda. The other two examine links between poverty, inequality and exclusion (Carter 2018) and provide data on inequalities (Orrnert 2018). This review summarises key national policies and legislation related to inequality and redistribution in Rwanda. Where available, this review provides insights ...» more

Effectiveness of Aid Interventions to Strengthen Collective Action that Facilitate Women’s Political Empowerment – Executive Summary

Helpdesk Report
  • Emilie Combaz
November 2018

Collective action can play an important role in facilitating women's political engagement, and in advancing women's empowerment in formal and informal politics, in low-, middle-, and high-income countries, as shown by significant rigorous evidence. This executive summary summarises a rapid review which synthesises key findings on how aid interventions can strengthen ...» more

Effectiveness of Donor Support to Women in Formal Political Leadership – Executive Summary

Helpdesk Report
  • Emilie Combaz
November 2018

Pressures to increase the number of women in formal politics have started to bear fruit over the past 20 years. This has led to a greater presence of women in elected, appointed, and recruited positions in public bodies, and (to a lesser extent) to their rise to senior positions in these settings. This executive summary summarises a rapid review which synthesises key ...» more

Effectiveness of Aid Interventions to Strengthen Collective Action that Facilitate Women’s Political Empowerment – Annotated Bibliography

Helpdesk Report
  • Emilie Combaz
November 2018

There is significant rigorous evidence that collective action can play an important role in facilitating women's political engagement, and in advancing women's empowerment in formal and informal politics, in low-, middle- and high-income countries. Certainly, collective action does not automatically lead to engagement and empowerment. Further, it does not always lead to all ...» more

Effectiveness of Aid Interventions to Strengthen Collective Action that Facilitate Women’s Political Empowerment – Narrative Review

Helpdesk Report
  • Emilie Combaz
November 2018

Collective action can play an important role in facilitating women’s political engagement, and in advancing women’s empowerment in formal and informal politics, in low-, middle- and high-income countries, as shown by significant rigorous evidence. Yet, there is only limited and patchy rigorous evidence about how aid interventions can strengthen collective action to facilitate ...» more

Effectiveness of Donor Support to Women in Formal Political Leadership – Annotated Bibliography

Helpdesk Report
  • Emilie Combaz
November 2018

Domestic and external pressures to increase the number of women in formal politics have started to bear fruit over the past 20 years. Overall, this has led to a greater presence of women in elected, appointed, and recruited positions in public bodies, and to their rise to senior positions in these settings, to a lesser extent. A significant amount of rigorous research has ...» more

Impact of Education Interventions for Working Children

Helpdesk Report
  • Anna Orrnert
November 2018

Recent global estimates indicate that 152 million children – 64 million girls and 88 million boys – are engaged in child labour across the world (ILO 2017b: 8). According to these same estimates, 71% of child labourers work in the agricultural sector and 69% in unpaid work within their own family. Nearly half of all those in child labour are doing ‘hazardous work’ (ibid). ...» more

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  • Social Development
    • Gender
      • Gender-based violence & VAWG
      • Men & masculinities
      • Sexualities
      • Women's economic participation
      • Women's political participation
    • Inequalities & exclusion
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      • Class / caste
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      • Older people
      • Race & ethnicity
      • Religion
      • Spatial factors
    • Poverty & wellbeing
      • Extreme poverty
      • Jobs & livelihoods
      • Multidimensional poverty
    • Social protection
      • Informal social protection
      • Labour market interventions
      • Social assistance
      • Social insurance

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