How can impact evaluation identify not just what does – or does not – work, but why? A theory-based approach to impact evaluation maps out the causal chain from inputs to outcomes and impact, and tests the underlying assumptions. Despite wide agreement that this approach will address the why question, it has not often been effectively used. This paper outlines six principles ...» 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.
Democracy, Governance and Randomised Development Assistance
Are field experiments useful in studying the impact of development assistance on democracy and governance (DG)? This article reviews recent and ongoing DG field experiments. It considers the prospects for and obstacles to the development of a useful body of experimental evidence on the political economy of development. There are significant challenges related to the difficulty ...» more
Delivering Money: Cash Transfer Mechanisms in Emergencies
This report offers guidance on assessing the different options for cash delivery. It also explores the potential for stronger partnerships with private sector providers and looks at developments in the payments industry. It argues that context-specific analysis is vital, as well as the integration of cash approaches into contingency planning. Clearly defined programme ...» more
Creating the Missing Feedback Loop
How can development agencies implement feedback systems so as to hear systematically from the intended beneficiaries of their work? How can such systems improve aid accountability, and thus effectiveness? This article focuses on agricultural development, arguing that in most agricultural development projects, quantified summaries of smallholder farmers' views can be collected. ...» more
Better Aid: Evaluation in Development Agencies
How is evaluation managed and resourced in development agencies? What are the major trends and challenges in development evaluation? This report reviews evaluation in 23 bilateral aid donors and seven multilateral development banks. It finds that significant progress has been made towards creating credible, independent evaluation processes. Challenges include the need to ...» more
Civil Society 2.0? How the Internet Changes State-Society Relations in Authoritarian Regimes: The Case of Cuba
How has the spread of digital media across international boundaries affected the role of civil society under authoritarian regimes? Examining the case of Cuba, this paper compares civil society dynamics prior to the internet – in the early to mid-1990s – and a decade later. It finds that in the pre-internet period, civil society's focus was on behind-the-scenes struggles for ...» more
Women’s Empowerment, Development Interventions, and Management of Information Flows
How can development interventions manage information and ideas so as to empower women more effectively? This paper suggests that particular attention must be given to strengthening women's capacity for voice and action at five 'critical moments' of an intervention's planning cycle: conception, design, implementation, evaluation, and learning. At these moments, the ideas, values ...» more
Media and Governance in Pakistan: A Controversial Yet Essential Relationship
What is the position of the media within Pakistan's governance system? What is the media's potential as an agent of reform? This study examines the main news media outlets, finding them to be characterised by over-accelerated growth and corrupt and sensationalist journalism. While there has been a (temporary?) halt to restrictive government measures against the press, patronage ...» more
Women and Mobile: A Global Opportunity
How can mobile phones advance the socio-economic development of women? This report highlights the gender gap in mobile phone ownership in low and middle-income countries. Closing this gap would bring the benefits of mobile phones to 300 million women and represent a 13 billion US dollar opportunity for mobile operators. Mobile phone ownership offers women opportunities such as ...» more
Evaluation: Why, for Whom and How?
This article discusses theoretical approaches to evaluation and draws on experiences from agriculture and health. It notes that different stakeholders may have varying expectations of an evaluation and that alternative approaches to evaluation are more suited to meeting some objectives than others. Randomised controlled trials, or well-designed quasi-experimental studies, ...» more
Success Stories from ‘Emerging Africa’
What changes have occurred among sub-Saharan African nations since the mid-1990s? This essay highlights 17 African countries that have achieved dramatic improvements in economic growth, poverty reduction and political accountability. Another six 'threshold' countries have experienced promising change. The turnaround was ignited by a combination of economic reform and political ...» more
Do Ethnic Parties Exclude Women?
Do political parties that represent ethnic minorities tend to exclude women? This article examines patterns of female representation across 260 parties from 21 countries. It finds that ethnic parties – particularly those appealing to a religious minority – do tend to elect fewer women, but only under proportional representation (PR) systems that do not involve gender quotas. In ...» more
Broadening Spaces for Citizens in Violent Contexts
How can people be directly involved in finding solutions for their security and livelihood needs? Research suggests that, although violence deters citizens from taking action, external actors in violent contexts can help to facilitate citizen action that is non-violent and socially legitimate. To do this, donors need a locally nuanced understanding of the complex relationship ...» more
Mediation Ten Years On: Challenges and Opportunities for Peacemaking
What is the role of mediation in contemporary conflict? This paper reflects on ten years of mediation by the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue. It argues that mediation is at a critical juncture. Drawing on experience in Africa, the Middle East and South and South East Asia, the authors discuss challenging patterns of armed conflict. They emphasise that mediation has transformed ...» more
Rethinking Conflict Transformation from a Human Rights Perspective
How far does the promotion of human rights help in efforts to address conflict and build peace? This study argues that the transformation of violent conflict to sustainable peace requires insights and strategies from both the human rights and the conflict transformation fields. Considering the two together enhances analysis of the underlying causes, dynamics and manifestations ...» more
The Peacebuilding World
Why did international peacebuilding in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) fail? This book focuses on the three and a half years considered as the transitional period from war to peace in the DRC, from June 2003 to December 2006. It finds that the causes of ongoing conflict in the country were local as well as national and regional. As a result, they could only be ...» more
Using Technology to Deliver Social Protection: Exploring Opportunities and Risks
What are the opportunities and risks of using information and communications technology (ICT) to deliver social protection? This article considers experiences from southern Africa, focusing on pilot projects in Malawi. It finds that using ICT to deliver social protection increases project efficiency and cost-effectiveness (particularly at large scale), increases flexibility and ...» more
Public Works and Employment Programmes: Towards a Long-term Developmental Approach
How can public works programmes deliver longer-lasting development impact? This paper notes that few Public Employment Programmes (PEPs) have been implemented on a scale large enough to address structural poverty. However, large-scale PEPs were able to respond quickly to and mitigate the effects of the economic crisis, suggesting their relevance for inclusive growth strategies. ...» more
Political Capture of Decentralisation: Vote-Buying through Grants-Financed Local Jurisdictions
A recent trend in decentralisation in some large, varied countries is the creation of local jurisdictions whose spending is almost exclusively financed by grants from regional and national government. This paper argues that such partial, grants-financed decentralisation enables politicians to target benefits to pivotal voters and organised interest groups in exchange for ...» more
Citizens’ Perceptions of Government Responsiveness in Africa: Do Electoral Systems and Ethnic Diversity Matter?
This paper finds that the type of electoral system used does affect people's perceptions of government responsiveness, but that this relationship depends on the country's degree of ethnic diversity. At lower levels of ethnic diversity, majoritarian electoral systems are better at boosting positive perceptions of government responsiveness. At higher levels of ethnic diversity, ...» more
