Many countries have introduced gender quotas (or political reservations), in order to increase female participation in policy-making. This helpdesk report surveys research on the effects of political quotas for women on (1.) political processes; (2.) service delivery; and (3.) social processes. There is limited empirical evidence on these issues and research that does exist has ...» 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).
The impact of Area-Based Programming
Area-Based Development (ABD) approaches use the geographic ‘area’ as the main entry point for intervention, rather than a sector or target group. Area-based programming is widely used in conflict-affected parts of Europe, the Middle East, South and Central Asia. ABD has been less commonly used in Africa, and where it has been applied, the programmes tend not to be as ...» more
Vulnerable groups in Burma and access to services
Key fndings: This report focuses on vulnerable groups in Burma and access to basic services. The first part of the report outlines groups considered to be vulnerable and marginalised. These include minority ethnic groups (such as the Chin, Kachin, Karen, Karenni, Mon, Rohingyas, Shan). In some cases, minorities’ ethnic identity is closely linked with a religion other than ...» more
Time use studies and women’s empowerment
Time use studies aim to provide information on the work performed by women and highlight the time they spend on unpaid activities including domestic chores, the care of children, the elderly and the sick, water and fuel collection, and voluntary community-oriented work. In so doing, they seek to address the problem of the ‘invisibility’ of women’s unpaid work, and draw ...» more
Women and Girls in the MENA Region
Women in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have seen positive changes in their economic and political rights between 2005 and 2010. According to research carried out by Freedom House, 14 out of the 17 MENA countries recorded some gains in the status of women. The Gulf States recorded the highest degrees of improvement, with women becoming more visible participants in ...» more
Conflict dynamics in West Africa
Of the 16 countries that make up the West African sub-region , four have had large scale civil conflict and at least seven have experienced significant low-scale conflicts within the last 25 years, a consequence of multiple interrelated factors. These include: political system failures social exclusion persistent poverty and low levels of economic development poor ...» more
Girls’ access to economic assets
The literature suggests that increasing girls’ access to and use of economic assets has potentially far-reaching impacts on other aspects of their lives. However, to date, there have been few rigorous evaluations of girls’ economic empowerment programmes, particularly those which provide tangible productive/financial assets. The few evaluations available suggest that ...» more
The Arab Spring and its impact on human rights in the MENA region
The Middle East and North Africa region is large and diverse, and it is difficult to make regional generalisations about the impact of the Arab Spring on human rights. Long-standing authoritarian rulers have been overthrown in Tunisia and Egypt, and in Libya, a new interim government controls much of the country. In other countries, changes have been less radical but ...» more
Examples of successful fuel subsidy removal
Where fuel prices are controlled and subsidised by the government, price increases have often met with broad public opposition and, in some cases, violent demonstration. Where governments have been successful they have needed to ensure that reform was politically feasible and the impact on influential groups was mitigated. There are a number of countries which have instituted ...» more
IFIs, economic reform and inclusive growth in Egypt
In 2004 Egypt began to implement bold economic reforms, supported by its main donors and the International Finance Institutions (IFIs). The reforms, which included macroeconomic policies; financial sector reform; privatisation and structural reforms in trade, taxes and subsides, contributed to a rapid acceleration of growth, making it one of the Middle East and North Africa's ...» more
Multi-Year Funding to Humanitarian Organisations in Protracted Crises
There has been growing consensus amongst donors that multi-year funding is a critical tool for improving the allocation and effectiveness of humanitarian aid to protracted crises. A number of donors have developed mechanisms to allocate funding in these contexts on a multi-year basis, channelling funding directly to NGOs, the UN and other multilateral agencies, and to ...» more
Policies on Displacement and Resettlement
Displacement can be caused by a number of factors, including conflict, natural disaster and development. Most donor and NGO policy appears to focus on conflict-induced and natural disaster-induced displacement. Multilateral agencies, however, have generated more comprehensive guidelines and principles to address issues relating to development-induced displacement and ...» more
The impact of decentralisation on economic growth
Democratic decentralisation is advocated as a means of providing more appropriate, efficient and accessible public services, and of achieving a variety of interrelated socio-economic objectives, including poverty reduction and economic development. Few studies, however, empirically explore the links between decentralisation and economic development partly because it is ...» more
Conflict, Violence, Security and Justice Statistics
This report provides some global statistics relating to armed conflict, armed violence and security and justice. These figures may be useful for the following: highlighting the link between poverty and conflict, security and justice providing international comparisons of national-level issues offering examples of success in relevantly similar contexts acting as measures and ...» more
Impact evaluations of programmes to prevent and respond to violence against women and girls
In spite of the growing body of literature documenting the prevalence of violence against women and girls, there remains a paucity of evaluations of the impact of interventions in this area. The majority of evaluations of programmes to prevent and respond to such violence take the form of qualitative, input or process-level assessments, as opposed to approaches that measure the ...» more
Effects of decentralisation on social spending
Decentralisation and devolution to locally elected forms of government is often promoted as a means of: 1. giving local citizens and their representatives more decision-making power (political decentralisation); 2. redistributing authority, responsibilities and resources among different levels of government (administrative decentralisation); and 3. localising authority over ...» more
Girls’ Access to Natural Resources
This report looks at girls’ access to natural resources and how this contributes to their empowerment. As girls’ roles in the household are closely linked to women’s, mainly domestic roles, this report looks in particular at resources associated with household tasks, including water, agricultural land and labour. Literature on girls’ access to other natural resources appears ...» more
Donor Initiatives to Engage with South Sudanese Diaspora
This report provides details of donor programmes designed to engage with the South Sudanese diaspora with the goal of supporting their development efforts in the country. It also provides details of similar programmes with the Somali diaspora and diaspora from other post-conflict states in Africa. A small number of initiatives are currently being undertaken with the South ...» more
Key Resources on Gender and Humanitarian Responses
This helpdesk report identifies some of the key resources on gender and humanitarian action. The most widely relevant, rigorous and accessible resources have been selected. This selection is based on the author’s own review of the available literature and on recommendations from a number of gender experts and practitioners. Within their sections, the resources have been ...» more
International Instruments and Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting
This report outlines the international instruments available that address female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C). It covers the international instruments, the regional instruments and resolutions and declarations currently available. The report also looks at the roles of committees and special procedures to implement some of these international instruments. It highlights the ...» more
