How can communication support sustainable development? This article assesses different communication strategies in terms of short- and long-term development objectives. It outlines media performance indicators, and refers to recent events in Kenya to argue for a communication for development perspective that focuses on the self-development of local communities. The importance ...» 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.
Media as Social Accountability: The Case of Police Violence in Argentina
What is the role of the media as a mechanism of social accountability? This article examines media reaction to an incident of police violence in Argentina. It argues that such media debates can help to establish a form of preventive accountability. They do this by providing a forum for debate for a plurality of actors to establish who should be held accountable, what they ...» more
Digital Media in Conflict-Prone Societies
Can digital media help to build peace in weak and conflict-ridden states or will they foment violence? This paper discusses participatory digital media in the context of 21st century conflicts. It argues that successful intervention cannot be based on the operating frameworks of traditional media support. Evidence from case studies in Afghanistan, Kenya, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and ...» more
Creating Knowledge for Action: the Case for Participatory Communication in Research
What is participatory communication? Does the application of participatory communication methods to research programmes really produce more effective results? This paper traces the history of participatory communication and describes its contemporary meaning as a citizen-led approach to creating and expressing new knowledge. Examples from the Citizenship Development Research ...» more
Poverty Reduction and Social Movements: A Framework with Cases
What roles do social movements play in poverty reduction? This study explores the connections between poverty and social movements, particularly relating to production and to collective consumption (for example, housing, services, water). It argues that social movements are integral to livelihoods and also to state formation, and can therefore play a central role in poverty ...» more
Quantifying the Impact of Social Mobilisation in Rural Bangladesh: Donors, Civil Society and ‘The Road not Taken’
What impact can social mobilisation NGOs have on democratic knowledge, practice and engagement? International donors have increasingly encouraged development NGOs to take up a service delivery function, to the detriment of social mobilisation functions. This paper reports on a quantitative study of the impact of an NGO in Bangladesh, Nijera Kori (NK), which prioritises rights, ...» more
Some Reflections on Current Debates in Impact Evaluation
There is a debate in the field of impact evaluation (IE) between those promoting quantitative approaches and those calling for a larger range of approaches to be used. This paper highlights four misunderstandings that have arisen in this debate. They involve: 1) crucially, different definitions of 'impact' – one based on outcomes and long term effects, and one referring to ...» more
Improving Impact Evaluation Production and Use
What can be learned from the many impact evaluations (IEs) carried out by development agencies in recent years? This review highlights the need and growing demand for greater and more strategic coordination of IE efforts, and notes insufficient attention to diverse methodological approaches to evaluation. It is important in all policy sectors to reflect on the suitability of ...» more
Impact Evaluations and Development: NoNIE Guidance on Impact Evaluation
This report provides a guide to evaluating the impact of a project or programme. Impact evaluation is about attributing impacts to interventions, and can play a key role in development effectiveness. No single analytical method is best for addressing all aspects of impact evaluations, but some methods have an advantage over others in addressing a particular question or ...» more
Outcome Mapping: A Realistic Alternative for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation
What is Outcome Mapping (OM) and why is it valuable? When does it work best? How can donors facilitate its use? This note draws on case studies to review OM – a flexible, actor- and learning-centred approach to planning, monitoring, and evaluating social change initiatives. It finds that adopting OM for appropriate projects could help development agencies to increase ...» more
Why We Will Never Learn: A Political Economy of Aid Effectiveness
Why is monitoring and evaluation (M&E) still not being carried out effectively? This paper is a practitioner's response to current debates on M&E and aid effectiveness. It examines the technical side of M&E and the latest thinking on complexity, arguing that current methodological debates are red herrings. It highlights the underlying incentive structures that create the need ...» more
Problem-driven Governance and Political Economy Analysis: Good Practice Framework
This framework is designed to help facilitate more feasible reforms that work towards 'good enough governance' in order to enhance development effectiveness. The framework consists of three tiers: (1) identifying the problem, opportunity or vulnerability; (2) identifying institutional and governance arrangements and weaknesses, and how these are related to poor outcomes; and ...» more
Information and Communication Technologies for Women’s Socio-Economic Empowerment
How do ICTs impact women and men differently? What are the implications of women's lack of engagement, participation and leadership in the use of ICTs for business and development? This report provides an overview of issues relating to women and Information and Communication Technology, including issues of: access and education; inclusion in the ICT workforce; qualifications ...» more
One Size Fits All? Decentralisation, Corruption, and the Monitoring of Bureaucrats
Does decentralisation reduce corruption in all institutional contexts? This cross-country comparative study finds that the impact of decentralisation on corruption varies with a country's level of press freedom – that is, according to the capacity to monitor public officials. Decentralisation seems to counteract corruption in countries with high degrees of press freedom, but ...» more
Understanding and Operationalising Empowerment
What are the implications of the various concepts of empowerment for development practice? This paper argues that a failure to define empowerment can weaken its value as an agent for change and as a tool for analysis. Empowerment can be broadly defined as a progression that helps people to gain control over their own lives and increases their capacity to act on issues they ...» more
Scaling Up Social Accountability in World Bank Operations
What are the lessons from piloting and scaling up social accountability approaches in development projects supported by the World Bank? Findings suggest that social accountability holds considerable promise for achieving better governance and service delivery. However, the World Bank needs to focus more on areas such as such as linking the supply and demand sides of governance, ...» more
Freedom of Expression, Access to Information, and Empowerment of People
How can media freedom and access to information support the wider development objective of empowering people? This book highlights freedom of expression and the right to information as fundamental human rights. Press freedom and access to information support participatory democracy and empower people by giving them information that can help them gain control over their own ...» more
The Politics of Taxation and Implications for Accountability in Ghana 1981-2008
Is a government that relies on tax revenue, as opposed to natural resources or foreign aid, more likely to be accountable to its citizens? Have government efforts to raise taxes in Ghana produced successful demands for greater accountability? This paper examines the evolution and political dynamics of Ghana's central government tax system. It finds that taxation has often ...» more
The Aid Transparency Toolkit: What You Always Wanted to Know About Aid and How to Get the Information
How can members of the public and civil society in countries which have access to information laws use the right to information to assess aid effectiveness? This guide explains how to access information about donor activities, budgets, projects, evaluations and other information related to the delivery and implementation of development aid. Lack of information on aid ...» more
Promoting Synergies between Child Protection and Social Protection: West and Central Africa
How can measures to address the vulnerabilities and risks faced by children be more effectively integrated into social protection policy frameworks in West and Central Africa? This report focuses on children's vulnerabilities and risks related to violence, abuse and neglect. Existing child protection systems in the region face numerous challenges in addressing these ...» more
