This review focuses on Zakat, a particular form of almsgiving within Islam. The value of Zakat is estimated to range from US$ 200 billion to US$ 1 trillion per annum across the world (Stirk, 2015) or around US$ 187 million among countries in the Organisation of Islamic Co-operation (Shaikh, 2016). Therefore, interest in mobilising Zakat for poverty alleviation in Muslim ...» 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).
Inclusive and Green Growth in Developing Countries
This rapid review explores the potential trade-offs involved in supporting Inclusive and Green Growth (IGG) in developing countries. The International Institute for Environment and development comments that to bring about real transformation towards IGG will require leadership, to generate societal demand, including by poor women and men, and to supply supportive governance ...» more
Jobs in Kenya: opportunities and challenges
This report examines job opportunities in Kenya and challenges to their expansion. Job opportunities are measured on three levels: quantity, quality and inclusiveness. All three outcomes matter for a country’s development; “just having jobs is not enough” (World Bank, 2017). For individuals, the quantity, quality and inclusiveness of jobs determine living standards, since jobs ...» more
Disability in South Sudan
Decades of conflict in South Sudan, pre and post-independence in 2011, poverty and poor access to services have increased the rate of disability and rendered people with disabilities more marginalised and excluded as a result of the numerous attitudinal, environmental, and institutional barriers they face, and the lack of concerted efforts to include them. This rapid review ...» more
M&E methods for local government performance
A range of methods can be used to monitor and evaluate whether a programme/workstream has contributed to change in local governance, service delivery and economic development, and to generate understanding and knowledge that can be shared with others to support better governance, service delivery and economic development in a decentralised government system. This report ...» more
Youth initiatives supporting citizen engagement with government
There is a large volume of literature on youth participation in development, including on the benefits of involving young people in local, national, regional and global governance initiatives. Although not as voluminous, there is also a significant body of work on youth participation in civic life, though much of this focuses on issues of education and employment (Oxfam 2016) ...» more
Donor funded alliances promoting regional cooperation
There are a significant number of donor funded regional cooperation arrangements across a broad range of thematic areas. However, the level of their success varies considerably, and the literature search carried out for this report did not identify any unqualified successes. Areas of cooperation include defence, environmental issues and economic integration. There is a ...» more
Aid Absorption: Factors and Measurements
Absorptive capacity refers to ‘the ability to use additional aid without pronounced inefficiency of public spending and without induced adverse effects’ (Bourguignon and Sundberg, 2007, 640). An absorptive capacity limit is a point at which a country can no longer absorb or spend aid efficiently and aid is then subject to diminishing returns (IES, 2017; Dornan and Pryke, ...» more
Lessons Learned from Youth Employment Programmes in Developing Countries
Youth employment programmes are varied but meta-analysis and systematic reviews of impact assessments of these programmes indicate that some interventions have an overall positive effect on employment and earnings. Assessments of programmes which support youth job creation in the private sector find that larger businesses are more likely to generate jobs than micro-enterprises. ...» more
Youth employment programmes in developing countries
Youth employment programmes are varied but meta-analysis and systematic reviews of impact assessments of these programmes indicate that some interventions have an overall positive effect on employment and earnings. Assessments of programmes which support youth job creation in the private sector find that larger businesses are more likely to generate jobs than micro-enterprises. ...» more
Communication interventions supporting positive civic action in Lebanon
This rapid review synthesises data from academic, policy and NGO sources on the role media can play in creating/easing tensions between refugees and the host community, and within the host community itself. Acknowledging the importance media can play in perceptions, and considering the confessional and political nature of the media, the review also maps the media/social media ...» more
Assistive technologies in developing countries
Assistive technologies enable people to live healthy, productive, independent and dignified lives, yet most people who need them are currently unable to access them. This rapid review looks at examples of existing literature on the availability of assistive technologies and efforts to make these technologies more affordable and accessible in developing countries. ...» more
Livelihood Options and Pathways out of Poverty in Nepal
This rapid review synthesises findings from a rigorous academic, practitioner, and policy references published in the past 10 years that discuss livelihood options and pathways out of poverty for households in Nepal. The World Bank (2016) highlights that in 1991, circa 40% of the Nepali population were identified as poor. Further rounds of the Nepal Living Standard Surveys ...» more
Leave No One Behind: Infrastructure and Inclusion
This review outlines ways in which different groups of people might be unintentionally excluded if their needs and livelihoods are not taken into account in infrastructure projects. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the concept of ‘leave no one behind’ capture the desire to ensure people are not excluded as citizens in their society. Some of the SDGs that ...» more
Modern slavery within the tea industry in Bangladesh
The main factor driving modern slavery within the tea industry in Bangladesh is the extreme marginalisation of tea garden workers, who are mostly descendants of migrants from India, by wider society. Social and economic exclusion mean workers have no alternative to working under highly exploitative conditions in the tea industry. The review found considerable literature on the ...» more
Threats to and approaches to promote freedom of religion or belief
Violations of religious freedom are increasing globally in scale, depth and blatancy. Carried out by both government and non-state actors, they range from the mundane (e.g. administrative restrictions) to the extreme (e.g. genocide). A multi-layered, multi-actor approach is needed to protect and promote freedom of religion or belief. The literature stresses that approaches to ...» more
Donor response to refugee tensions in Lebanon
This rapid review synthesises data from academic, policy and NGO sources on donor response to prevent and reduce tensions between Lebanese and refugees in refugee-hosting communities across Lebanon. The focus is on post 2011 and Syrian refugees as the complexity of social, cultural, and historical dynamics produce tensions that are unique to Syrians and Lebanese. The history of ...» more
Supporting Persons with Disabilities in Somalia
In a country where violence has been ongoing since 1991, persons with disabilities face extreme hurdles in being recognised, accessing resources and feeling valued in their community. This is particularly true for children and women with disabilities. Persons with disabilities in Somalia are side-lined in every aspect of humanitarian responses and are being denied their ...» more
Lessons Learned from Youth Employment Programmes in Kenya
The government of Kenya with the support of multilateral donors, especially the World Bank, has introduced several youth employment initiatives since the 2000s, including a large-scale public works programme. There is a mix of supply-side programmes which provide training to enhance the skills of the youth labour force and demand-side initiatives which facilitate ...» more
Civil Society in Authoritarian Regimes
This rapid review synthesises findings from rigorous academic, practitioner, and policy references on the role of civil society in promoting social accountability in authoritarian regimes and the ways donors can support them. The main geographic focus of this report is East Africa, with a secondary focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. In the African context civil society is best ...» more
