This report explores how new ways of interacting are bringing people in need closer to people who can help. Its conclusions suggest a fundamental shift in power from capitals and headquarters to the people aid agencies aim to assist. This calls for more diverse and bottom-up forms of decision-making — something that most governments and humanitarian organisations were not ...» more
Library
This e-library contains more than 4500 external publications on governance, social development, conflict and humanitarian issues. It includes academic and grey literature selected for its basis in good quality research and coverage of a range of perspectives. Policy-oriented summaries of each document are provided, plus links to the full text.
What Inequality Means for Children: Evidence from Young Lives
This paper draws together research from across the Young Lives longitudinal study of child poverty to answer questions about how inequality shapes children’s development. Overall, it finds clear evidence that children from the poorest households are most vulnerable and quickly fall behind their peers, in terms of equality of opportunity as well as outcomes. It argues that since ...» more
Interventions to Reduce the Prevalence of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in African Countries
This systematic review examined empirical research on: the effectiveness of interventions to reduce the prevalence of FGM/C in African countries; and on contextual factors that may help explain the effectiveness, or lack thereof, of such interventions. It was hampered by a lack of available information. However, it identified that all of the interventions were based on a theory ...» more
When Disasters and Conflicts Collide: Improving Links Between Disaster Resilience and Conflict Prevention
This report finds that the evidence base for the 'natural' disasters-conflict interface is fragmented and contested. This suggests that the complexity of conflict and disaster dynamics can only be understood when grounded in specific contexts. Examples are therefore provided of disaster risk reduction in Afghanistan, resilience building in the Sahel region, community based risk ...» more
Taxation and Development: A Review of Donor Support to Strengthen Tax Systems in Developing Countries
This paper reviews the state of knowledge on aid and tax reform in developing countries, with a particular focus on sub-Saharan Africa. Four main issues are addressed: (1) impacts of donor assistance to strengthen tax systems, including what has worked, or not, and why; (2) challenges in ‘scaling up’ donor efforts; (3) how to best provide assistance to reform tax systems; and ...» more