People with disabilities have been found to ‘form one of the most socially excluded groups in any displaced or conflict-affected community’ (Pearce et al, 2016: 119). They may have difficulty accessing humanitarian assistance programmes, due to a variety of societal, attitudinal, environmental and communication barriers, and are at greater risk of violence than their ...» more
Social Development
Youth unemployment and violence
This literature review looks at whether there is evidence of a causal link between youth unemployment and violence in developing countries, focusing on crime, gang violence and domestic violence. It also looks at female youth unemployment, donor programming, and areas where more research is needed. A causal link between youth unemployment and violence is widely assumed, but ...» more
Civil society organisations supporting accountability in cash transfer programmes
This five day rapid review looks at the experiences globally of civil society organisations providing or supporting accountability mechanisms in cash transfer programmes. Bhargava and Raha’s (2015: 12) review of civil society engagement with cash transfer programme accountability found only few studies, suggesting to them that there is a significant knowledge gap. A mixture of ...» more
CSOs supporting accountability in cash transfer programmes
Cash transfer programmes, like most social protection programmes, are vulnerable to fraud, errors, corruption and misuse of funds, which undermine their achievements. Civil society organisations (CSOs) have supported, or provided, accountability mechanisms in countries around the world: working to improve transparency to help citizens hold authorities accountable; checking ...» more
Poverty and conflict
Poverty and conflict are widely understood to be closely interconnected; with poverty making countries more prone to civil war, and armed conflict weakening governance and economic performance, thus increasing the risk of conflict relapse (Goodhand 2001). The selected readings in this pack move beyond reductive and harmful assumptions about ‘pathologies’ of poverty to examine the…» more
Decentralisation and cash transfer programmes
In many countries, national governments have delegated the implementation of public programmes, including cash transfers (CTs), to lower levels of the political administration. This rapid literature review found very little research or empirical evidence on the relationship between federal and provincial government in regard to cash transfer programmes. Much scholarship has ...» more
Primary and secondary prevention of child protection violations
While the knowledge base on the prevention of child protection violations in low- or middle-income countries (LMICs) is limited, there are robust, promising findings. The majority of findings suggest that if the core elements of interventions are preserved, the translation of interventions from high-income countries (HICs) to LMICs can be effective. For instance, parenting ...» more
Donor interventions on women’s political empowerment
The evidence base on donor interventions for women's political empowerment (WPE) in low- and middle-income countries is rigorous overall, but limited in size and scope. Feminist scholarship and practice have long emphasised that WPE is a multifaceted, complex process. However, evidence suggests that most donors have tended to build their approaches on oversimplified models of ...» more
Social assistance and idiosyncratic shocks
While there is a growing literature documenting and analysing how social assistance programmes can help in reducing income poverty and food insecurity, very little systematic empirical research has been done concerning their effectiveness in reducing individual and household vulnerability to idiosyncratic shocks. This rapid review focuses on cash transfers and public works ...» more
Social protection systems
A social protection system, in an international development context, is broadly understood to be an integrated national portfolio of interventions which aims to serve four basic functions for households and individuals: protection of a minimum standard of living, prevention of deprivation through increasing resilience to shocks, and promotion of sustainable livelihood improvements. At a societal…» more
Impacts of social protection programmes on children
The impact of social protection on children is under-researched. Key findings and insights from the literature include: Multidimensional social protection systems have had positive impacts on addressing economic and human development, multiple vulnerabilities, and both social and economic inequities. Child-sensitive social protection programmes are more intentionally ...» more
Climate change and social development
This topic guide synthesises literature on the links between climate change and social development, and includes evidence of their interactions, lessons, approaches and tools. It considers climate change impacts and climate-relevant interventions in the following areas: five sectors: agriculture and food security, health, water, energy, and low-carbon transport; three ...» more
Identity
What is identity? Identity is as much about how people describe themselves and others as it is inherently about difference – defining a group with regards to dissimilarities in cultural, gendered, sexual, ethnic or national markers among others. Questions relating to identity may also be buried in other terms and framing depending on context –…» more
Priority gender issues in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine
Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Despite some progress being made towards achieving gender equality in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), gender stereotyping and discrimination against women remain widespread. Key findings include: Awareness and implementation of the Law on Gender Equality (LGE) is weak. Gender stereotypes are prevalent in the media. Few women serve as ...» more
Poverty and inequality
This topic guide introduces key readings and debates on poverty and inequality. It covers measurement and analysis, trends and projections, and understanding and addressing extreme poverty and inequality. ...» more
Power, politics and popular mobilisation
In his book, the Rebirth of History (2012), Alain Badiou observed that “we find ourselves in a time of riots”. Paying attention to contemporary popular uprisings allows us to take the pulse of the street; homing in on people’s grievances and desires, how they conflict and temporarily converge, and how they counter or correspond with…» more
Youth and jobs
When jobs are scarce it is young people who are hit the hardest as they are either unable to enter the workplace or are the first to be fired. According to the World Bank (2015), one third of the world’s 1.8 billion young people are not in employment, education or training (NEET), and only 40%…» more
Webinar video: Demographic shifts
The next decade will see the global population rise by 1 billion. The current youth bulge (there are an estimated 1.5 billion young people in the world today) is expected to give way to a rapidly ageing population by 2050. What does this mean for the development community? Dr Laura Camfield (UEA) and Prof Asghar Zaidi (University of…» more
Building social cohesion in post-conflict situations
The approaches covered in this report include community-driven development, job creation, social protection and education. Whilst in theory there are strong links between these and social cohesion, there is very little rigorous empirical evidence to verify these links. More specifically, the literature highlights that: Community-driven development (CDD) programmes promote ...» more
Perceptions of different modalities of social assistance in the Levant
Major international aid actors worldwide have been moving away from in-kind food aid and turning towards food vouchers and cash transfers. International agencies working in the Levant – i.e. the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria – have tried to reconcile this general shift with the historical, political and social specificities of social ...» more
