Key finding: Policymakers have been concerned about the effects of the seemingly high interest rates typically charged by microfinance institutions (MFI) lending money to poor people. Available data indicates that microfinance interest rates typically fall between 20 and 50 per cent per year (in places where inflation runs no higher than 10 per cent per year). It has been ...» 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).
Land transparency programmes and land data platforms
Key findings: Land administration in developing countries often fails to be pro-active, service-oriented, inclusive and pro-poor. These failures can lead to a range of issues including corruption, fraud, extortion and human rights violations. Several countries are currently reforming land policies and introducing new approaches to land administration. These efforts generally ...» more
Theory-based evaluation approach
There is a wealth of literature available on theory-based evaluation and impact evaluation (TBE), but experts disagree on whether TBE is a common and clearly defined approach. Some think a common conceptual and operational understanding has been elusive, while others point to a completely consistent basic concept regardless of slight differences in the use of terminology. Some ...» more
‘Triggers’ to scale up assistance in advance of shocks
A growing literature advocates the use of triggers for action as part of an early warning and response system for humanitarian assistance, although there is as yet little discussion of approaches to defining such triggers. Triggers based on humanitarian need can include particular triggers for different levels of crisis. The literature also notes that both 'entry' and 'exit' ...» more
Humanitarian response to the post-election violence in Kenya in 2007/8
Findings cover different aspects of the humanitarian response, including the overall response (preparedness, coordination), integration of protection concerns, early recovery programmes, funding approaches and instruments and security for humanitarian organisations. The main conclusions and lessons learned on the overall humanitarian response are that:None of the actors ...» more
Interventions to tackle sex selection in Asia
The key finding of the literature is that the most effective strategies address social norms and beliefs, as well as providing technical solutions. Strategies need to take into account the specific drivers and expressions of sex selection in each context. The effective interventions identified are:Restricting the use of sex-selection methods: Restricting technology and ...» more
Sex selection – micro-level drivers and enabling/preventive factors
Key findings: Prenatal sex selection results in distorted sex ratios at birth (SRB). In many countries there are currently 110-120 male births per 100 female births (in contrast to the standard biological level of 104-106 male births). Postnatal sex selection also persists in several countries, measured by excess deaths among female infants and young girls. Sex selection is ...» more
Estimating the ‘legitimate’ percentage of annual military expenditures
Key findings: There are no frameworks that estimate a ‘legitimate’ annual percentage of military expenditure for countries. Legitimacy is often highly contested, and arms-importing and -exporting countries can differ, quite significantly, in their opinions on whether an arms transfer is legitimate and justified, or not. An internal needs assessment may outline different ...» more
Evaluation of programmes related to violence against women and girls
Key findings: Despite the growing number of interventions related to violence against women and girls (VAWG) during recent years, to date, few rigorous evaluations have been carried out of related programmes. The quality of existing evaluations is also variable. Experts have observed that efforts to address violence against women in recent years have been relatively small ...» more
Evidence for the Development Impact of Inclusive Service Delivery
This paper assesses the evidence of the human development and economic impacts of efforts to make services more inclusive. These interventions mostly involve extending access to under-served groups, but may also focus on improving utilisation or the quality of services delivered to marginalised groups. Attribution issues hamper examination of the contribution of efforts to ...» more
Participation in transparency and accountability initiatives
Key findings: Transparency and accountability initiatives have generally tended to centre on achieving ‘downstream’ accountability, referring to the efficient delivery of policies and priorities. The focus here has been on the role of citizens in the implementation of policies. There has been insufficient exploration of how the incorporation of citizen voice and participation ...» more
Effectiveness of demand-led technical assistance and cooperation on public sector reforms
Key findings: No cases demonstrate unambiguously that improved economic governance and inclusive growth has been the result of demand-led technical assistance. However, existing literature that evaluates technical assistance and public sector reforms in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region shows that public sector reform (PSR) can remove constraints on inclusive ...» more
Preventing conflict between refugees and host communities
This report includes programme examples from 13 countries. It highlights three main types of programme designed to tackle tensions and conflicts between refugees and host communities:Integrated humanitarian and development programmes – these seek to balance assistance to both refugee and host communities, or integrate services provided to them. Conflict resolution programmes – ...» more
Effective methods to improve police performance
Key findings: There are few detailed case studies of cities or regions in developing countries that outline effective methods for police reform. This is mainly due to the lack of evaluation that objectively identifies certain types of police reform as having improved performance. It is also true that changes in performance may not be universally judged as an improvement, reform ...» more
Legal and technical support programmes for negotiations on extractives or land deals
Key findings: Sub-Saharan Africa’s abundant natural resources could significantly boost the region’s economic growth and development, and large-scale projects carried out by potential investors, if strategically managed, are a potential source of income. Yet, many country governments lack robust regulatory frameworks, specialised knowledge and technical expertise, and ...» more
Impact of municipal billing systems on revenue collection
Key finding: Billing processes play a critical role in revenue for a number of public sector organisations, including municipalities. In the delivery of public services, for example, billing drives cash flow and is the key source of information for customers using these services. This helpdesk report shows that in many countries, reforming billing processes, coupled with ...» more
Electoral monitoring, voter education and election-related violence
There is little evidence to show that election monitoring or voter education consistently leads to a reduction in levels of election-related violence. On the contrary, some cross-country quantitative studies suggest that in certain contexts, election monitoring may actually promote violence. This report outlines a number of methodological difficulties with establishing a ...» more
Distortionary economic impacts of aid interventions in fragile states
Key findings: There is a wide range of literature that touches on the issues of economic impacts related to humanitarian and development interventions, including analyses and evaluations on different types of projects or programmes that have had impacts on the local economy. Within this literature the area of most relevance to conflict and post-conflict environments is that ...» more
PNPM/Community-driven development in Indonesia
Key findings: The National Program for Community Empowerment Mandiri (PNPM Mandiri) was launched by the Government of Indonesia in 2007. It is a national programme within the overall policy framework established to implement programmes aimed at poverty alleviation, and strengthening local governance and service delivery. PNPM adopts a community-driven development (CDD) ...» more
Mobile Telephony for Improved Health Service and Data Management
Key findings: There is significant potential for the use of mobile telephony to improve health service outcomes and data management. Opportunities include: serving as a less costly substitute for existing interventions; providing interactive functions that multiply the power of existing interventions; and serving entirely new functions. Countries recovering from conflicts and ...» more
