This report synthesises the findings of ten years of research from the Development Resource Centre on Citizenship, Participation and Accountability. Findings suggest that governments often become more capable, accountable and responsive when state-led reform to strengthen institutions of accountability and social mobilisation occur simultaneously. Further, change happens 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.
Reconceiving Social Exclusion
This paper argues that social exclusion should be clearly differentiated from poverty. It proposes a reconceptualisation of social exclusion, not as a static state, but as 'structural, institutional or agentive processes of repulsion or obstruction'. This definition encompasses processes occurring vertically throughout social hierarchies, not just in their lower strata. It ...» more
Mediating Voices and Communicating Realities: Using Information Crowdsourcing Tools, Open Data Initiatives and Digital Media to Support and Protect the Vulnerable and Marginalised
Can the new generation of information and communication technologies (ICTs) enhance community empowerment and democratisation? This report looks at the challenges and opportunities for vulnerable and marginalised communities presented by the latest wave of ICT innovations. Assessing ICT projects in Kenya, Haiti, Peru, Georgia and Egypt, it notes the challenges of sustaining ...» more
Governance and Conflict Indicators Report
How can a robust and clear set of indicators be established to monitor effectively the progress of a programme? Which indicators show best that a programme has achieved what it set out to achieve? This study tests the relevance and robustness of a list of indicators for the Department for International Development's (DFID's) conflict and governance programmes. The list consists ...» more
Building a State that Works for Women: Integrating Gender into Post-Conflict State Building
What role do women play in statebuilding? How do statebuilding processes affect women's participation? Support for statebuilding has become the dominant model for international engagement in post-conflict contexts, yet donor approaches lack substantial gender analysis and are missing opportunities to promote gender equality. This paper presents findings from a research project ...» more
Aid, Institutions and Governance: What Have We Learned?
This article reviews research on institutions, governance and aid. Three constructive themes emerge: how and with what qualifications 'institutions rule'; the limitations of the instruments easily accessible to development assistance organisations; and the idea of context-sensitive facilitation of institutional change. Research indicates that both institutions and policy ...» more
International Support to Building Confidence and Transforming Institutions
How can international actors more effectively support transitions out of violence and fragility? This chapter outlines trends in the international architecture that affect the ability to respond effectively in fragile and violence-prone settings. It argues that international agencies are geared to minimising domestic reputational and fiduciary risk – increasingly so – rather ...» more
From Violence to Resilience: Restoring Confidence and Transforming Institutions
How can countries escape the vicious cycle of fragility and move towards a virtuous cycle of confidence building and institutional transformation? This chapter sets out a framework that involves: 1) restoring confidence; 2) early attention to the reform of institutions that provide citizen security, justice and jobs; 3) reform approaches that allow for flexibility and ...» more
Vulnerability to Violence
This chapter investigates repeated violence and why some countries are more vulnerable to it than others. It finds that organised violence is likely to occur when internal and external stresses are not countered by capable, legitimate institutions. Societies that rely on elite pacts, coercion and patronage to control violence risk perpetuating a vicious cycle: where agreements ...» more
Understanding Education’s Role in Fragility – Synthesis of four situational analyses of education and fragility: Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Liberia
This report finds that education can have both negative and positive impacts on fragility. Education planning needs to consider these potential impacts. Education programming can mitigate fragility by; strengthening the education system itself; improving the capacity of individuals and groups to cope with fragility; and targeting the context of fragility (such as by promoting ...» more
Cash Transfers: Evidence Paper
What impact do cash transfers have on reducing poverty and increasing the resilience of poor households? This paper assesses the evidence and looks at the extent to which it can be generalised. It shows how design and financing features help to maximise transfers' effectiveness in a range of circumstances. Ultimately, cash transfers work as part of a broader strategy to achieve ...» more
Micro-Methods in Evaluating Governance Interventions
Good governance has become a core theme of development policy in the past decades. Each year, billions of dollars were spent to support governance-related programmes. Yet, despite the efforts of donors, very little is still understood about the impact of these programmes. Rigorous impact evaluation measures the extent to which observed outcomes can be attributed to the ...» more
A Guide to Monitoring and Evaluating Policy Influence
Is it possible to monitor and evaluate effectively efforts to influence policy? This paper provides an overview of approaches to the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of policy influencing activities. It suggests that while M&E in this field is challenging, information can be generated that can be used to improve programmes and provide accountability for funds. The key is for ...» more
A Theory of Change: A thinking and action approach to navigate in the complexity of social change processes
What is a Theory of Change (ToC) and why is it important? This guide to understanding and developing a ToC shows how a ToC helps to configure the conditions needed to achieve desired change, using the experience of a given context. This is done partly by making assumptions explicit and by analysing them critically. It is also a monitoring tool that facilitates accountability. A ...» more
Aid Risks in Fragile and Transitional Contexts: Improving Donor Behaviour
How can donors manage the risks of engagement in fragile and transitional contexts without constraining aid's potentially high impact in such environments? Donors acknowledge that the risks of failing to engage in fragile contexts outweigh most of the risks of engagement. However, they and their implementing partners struggle with competing demands for quick results and ...» more
Walking the Talk: Cash Transfers and Gender Dynamics
Do cash transfers (CTs) in emergency contexts currently benefit women and contribute to women's empowerment? How can NGOs and donors develop more gender-sensitive CT programmes that help to redress inequality and work towards empowerment? This report examines the impacts of cash transfers on gender dynamics within households and communities. It finds mixed impacts and ...» more
Political Economy Assessments at Sector and Project Levels
This note draws on lessons learned to provide an introduction to political economy (PE) assessment for World Bank sector- and project-based operational teams. The last decade of experience has demonstrated that PE assessments can improve project design, lessen risk, explain why reform champions may fail to deliver, and can promote more thoughtful engagement with client ...» more
Africa’s Evolving Infosystems: A Pathway to Security and Stability
How are new information and communication technologies contributing to democratic development in Africa? How can the international community support these? This paper argues that political instability and violence in Africa are often the products of rumour and misinformation. It highlights how new information technology is improving information-sharing, education, and ...» more
Negative News
Does a steady diet of negative news foster mistrust of government and political disenchantment? This paper examines the impact of the media on public perceptions and argues that although plausible, the evidence for theories of negative news is inconclusive. In fact, regular exposure to news can improve engagement with democratic norms. Further, evidence from Britain and the USA ...» more
Mass Media and Public Services: The Effect of Radio Access on Public Education in Benin
Does radio access improve public service provision? And if so, does it do so by increasing government accountability to citizens, or by persuading households to take advantage of publicly-provided services? Using data from Benin, this paper finds that literacy rates among school children are higher in villages exposed to signals from a larger number of community radio stations. ...» more
