This review looks at government responses to violent protests in a selection of countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Focusing on the 2011 Arab Spring protests, it finds that the initial response of most regimes was violent repression – Tunisia where the president stepped down, and Morocco and Jordan where the respective monarchies promised reform, are the only ...» more
Helpdesk Reports
These rapid-response reports provide digests of key research findings, lessons and expert thinking on specific questions from development practitioners and policymakers. If your question is not already covered below, ask us for a report (free for staff of agencies that we have existing arrangements with).
International Actors’ Support on Inclusive Peace Processes
This rapid literature review collates evidence from academic and grey literature on support on inclusive peace processes. The review identified limited evidence based on robust evaluations, there is, however, a wide range of reviews (principally case studies) of peace processes and national dialogues that have been collected and collated to distil lessons on what works and ...» more
Social and behaviour change communication interventions in Mozambique
Social and behaviour change communication (SBCC) is the use of communication to change behaviours by positively influencing knowledge, attitudes and social norms at the individual and community level. Approaches to SBCC include, but are not limited to: media campaigns, peer educators and mentors, small group sessions, community dialogues and events, and digital tools. This ...» more
Fossils fuels and job creation in Africa
Fossil fuel development, including oil, gas and coal, can provide or support employment in a number of different ways. Estimates for Africa’s extractive sector as a whole put it as employing less than 1% of Africa’s workforce (Fine et al., 2012). However, it is hard to determine the number of jobs supported directly or indirectly by the fossil fuels industry in different ...» more
Integrated approaches to refugee management in Uganda
Uganda has been a global leader in implementing an integrated approach to refugee management in which refugees enjoy essentially the same rights and access to jobs and services as locals. This approach has benefited both refugees and host communities: the former have land and (limited) livelihood opportunities, the latter benefit from improved services for all and the positive ...» more
Aid and non-state armed groups
This rapid literature review collates lessons related to aid (conditionality) and non-state armed groups (NSAGs). This is a companion paper to Herbert (2019)1 which looks more broadly at lessons from the use of aid conditionality in peace processes, that paper includes greater detail on what conditionality is. While the question posed sought to find information on where ...» more
Conditionality and other approaches to secure women’s rights provisions in peace processes
This rapid literature review found no examples of the use of aid conditionality specifically to ensure inclusion of women’s rights provisions in peace process outcomes but did identify other effective approaches, notably mobilisation of women, external pressure by mediators/international development partners, and funding and capacity building support for women’s groups. There ...» more
Lessons from the use of aid conditionality in peace processes
This rapid literature review collates lessons from the literature on peace conditionality. This is a companion paper to Herbert (2019)1 which looks more specifically at lessons related to aid (conditionality) and non-state armed groups (NSAGs). While there is literature on peace conditionality more generally – e.g. being used for a range of purposes, and at different ...» more
Lessons from stabilisation, statebuilding, and development programming in South Sudan
This rapid literature review collates lessons from major evaluations and learning reviews from development, state-building and stabilisation programming in South Sudan since independence in 2011. Key findings include: Donors in South Sudan have had to transition from humanitarian to development aid and back and forth a number of times as conflict has broken out. Donors ...» more
Development Characteristics of Small Island Developing States
This rapid literature review explores whether there are specific characteristics of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), or a subgroup of SIDS, which mean that income alone is an inaccurate measure of development. The SIDS classification is a technical and political term used to identify those countries that are considered to face specific and increasing challenges due to ...» more
Engaging new governments on development priorities
This rapid literature review considers donor engagement with newly elected governments in aid recipient countries. It sought to focus on the immediate period after a new administration is elected and takes office. However, despite the importance of donor-government engagement, few studies were located during the timeframe of this review that focuses on how donors should engage ...» more
Support for civil society engagement in peace processes
There is a widespread acknowledgement of the importance of civil society engagement in peace processes (Inclusive Security, 2013; Peace Direct, 2019). This is reflected in the wide range of interventions being carried out by various donors to support such engagement. This review looks at the effectiveness of interventions specifically aimed at supporting civil society groups ...» more
Urban Expansion in Nigeria
This rapid literature review surveys the available literature on urban expansion in Nigerian cities/towns over the coming decades. It presents information on population growth, geographic expansion and urban density to illustrate that urban centres in Nigeria are expanding at different rates which are dependent on the aspect of urbanisation considered. Rapid urbanisation is ...» more
Political economy of Papua New Guinea and the water, sanitation and hygiene sector
The political economy of Papua New Guinea is characterised by formal and customary governance actors, structures and institutions, weak governance and corruption. Traditional institutions and structures including ‘big man’ politics, the wantok system and customary land tenure have been overlaid with formal governance structures including national, provincial and local ...» more
Interventions to Reduce Forced Marriage
This review drew largely on academic papers as well as reports by international development organisations. Evidence and hence lessons on how to combat forced marriage are limited and sometimes contradictory. Overall, the literature points to a number of approaches that can be effective, notably: empowerment of girls; community approaches to change social norms and attitudes on ...» more
Linking Social Protection and Humanitarian Response – Best Practice
This review looks at the alignment of humanitarian response in refugee crises with national social protection systems. It examines the experience of three countries dealing with protracted refugee situations: Turkey, Lebanon and Cameroon, and also identifies lessons from other literature. The number of people affected by crises and disasters continues to rise, and ...» more
Challenges Religious Minorities Face in Accessing Humanitarian Assistance
This rapid literature review, surveys evidence regarding the challenges specific religious minorities face in accessing humanitarian assistance. This review acknowledges that there remains a paucity of research on the presence, scale and diversity of religious groups, experiences, values, motivations and engagements in a range of humanitarian contexts and how these intersect to ...» more
Preventing/Countering Violent Extremism Programming on Men, Women, Boys and Girls
Gender and age can have a big influence on people’s roles in relation to violent extremism: if they are vulnerable to recruitment, if they join violent extremist groups, the driving factors, what their participation in violent extremism entails, and – critically – what approaches should be taken to preventing or countering violent extremism (P/CVE). Hence, it is important not ...» more
Non-State Policing in Fragile Contexts
Non-state policing refers to the use of non-state (informal) actors, e.g. vigilante groups, private security firms, to carry out ‘law and order’ functions (preventing crime, investigating, detaining and punishing those responsible for crimes). Non-state policing is not a synonym for community policing (a much broader term, usually associated with formal police agencies) but ...» more
G7 and G20 commitments on health
The health issues that have received the most consistent attention in G7 and G20 summit declarations, having been addressed in more than half of the summits since 2015 and appearing in 30 or more commitments over that time, are: Health systems strengthening Infectious diseases (including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, polio, neglected tropical diseases, and ...» more
