There is no consistently strong evidence that sector-wide approaches (SWAps) have been effective at achieving development outcomes in fragile contexts. Available evidence is mixed, partly because of the uniqueness of each country’s context (Negin 2010, p. 5). SWAps are generally considered to be most appropriate in relatively stable low- and middle-income countries, with ...» more
Inter-state commitments on governance
This mapping gives an overview of 23 international, regional and thematic inter-state commitments on good governance. Many of the initiatives included apply to governance in general, but some have specific thematic objectives, such as anti-corruption or building state capacity. Some of the listed commitments are legally binding, such as the Rome Statute of the International ...» more
State fragility and social cohesion
This report reviews the relationship between social cohesion and state fragility – focusing on literature from 2010 onwards. There is no clear empirical understanding in the literature of how social cohesion contributes to state resilience or fragility, as it is very difficult to measure, and to assess independently other variables that impact on state fragility. Key points ...» more
Monitoring and evaluating civil society partnerships
This report lists and describes tools used by NGOs to monitor the quality of their relationships with partner organisations. It begins with a brief analysis of the types of tools and their approaches, then describes each tool. This paper focuses on tools which monitor the partnership relationship itself, rather than the impact or outcomes of the partnership. While there is ...» more
Regional development programmes and poverty reduction
This report looks into the actual performance, and possibly impact, of regional development programmes on national-level poverty reduction and associated factors such as ‘good governance’. The evidence base presents some strengths, such as the availability of diverse and rigorous evaluations, but also significant difficulties, most notably the lack of clear data on impact, ...» more
Ground rules for military conduct
Under international humanitarian law (IHL), all parties involved in non-international armed conflicts – whether state actors or non-state armed groups – should comply with international standards of behaviour. In many contexts, humanitarian organisations broker ‘ground rules’ with state and non-state actors to ensure compliance with IHL standards. The literature base in this ...» more
Lessons from implementing peace agreements: what next for Colombia?
Conflict in Colombia has deep roots, with over 50 years of armed conflict between state and non-state armed forces, more than 220,000 people estimated dead, and five million internally displaced people (ICG, 2013). Since the 1980s, there have been many formal and informal peace negotiations between the state and the different non-state armed groups. But no agreement to date has ...» more
Key actors mapping: Somalia
This report provides an overview of power-holders in Somalia. It finds that power is heavily concentrated in individuals rather than formal institutions. Though Somalia now features a nascent central government as well as regional polities and one secessionist government, government institutions are not the sole or even primary locus of power. Most power continues to reside in ...» more
Community-based social protection
This report reviews the use and effectiveness of community-based social protection (CBSP) mechanisms, and examines how they are integrated into formal social protection schemes and what impact this might have. It begins with a loose definition of the terms used, followed by a section on the evidence on how effective CBSP appears to be. The following section presents the main ...» more
Relationship between illicit economic activity and illicit financial flows
Econometric evidence finds a mutually reinforcing relationship between illicit economic activities and illicit financial flows. Qualitative research identifies impacts of illicit economic activities and financial flows. These may provide potential ways of explaining the causal link. It is important to note that data on illicit economic activities and illicit financial flows ...» more
Citizens’ role in political settlements
Political settlement literature focuses predominantly on elites, with citizens often seen as passive beneficiaries or potential spoilers. However, emerging literature on the role of civil society in peace processes identifies roles that citizens have played and can play, in creating and maintaining what are essentially political settlements. This report outlines the concept of ...» more
Democratic governance initiatives – policy advocacy
It appears that there are many descriptive case studies of civil society advocacy campaigns to strengthen democratic governance, but few publicly available evaluations of the international interventions to provide support to these campaigns and the civil society organisations (CSOs) involved. Some studies do mention links between the policy advocacy initiatives and poverty ...» more
Impact of extensive disasters
Extensive risk is defined by UNISDR as ‘The widespread risk associated with the exposure of dispersed populations to repeated or persistent hazard conditions of low or moderate intensity, often of a highly localized nature, which can lead to debilitating cumulative disaster impacts’. Examples of types of extensive disasters are given in the literature as floods, landslides, ...» more
Women’s and girls’ benefits from market-oriented agriculture in Uganda
Knowledge about women’s and girls’ benefits from commercial agriculture is limited but sufficient to form the basis of this report. Internal obstacles include: ownership, tenure and access in relation to land; a gendered division of labour and time; unequal domestic decision-making power; interactions between poverty, the harvest cycle and the food market; and changing ...» more
Social inclusion in productive safety net programmes
Evidence is scattered and quite limited, with a heavy slant towards Ethiopia. Multi-country literature offers the following on social inclusion: Lessons for projects, programmes and policies: - Community participation: beneficiary outreach is key. Participatory targeting, project selection and monitoring are useful, though attention needs to be paid to exclusion, ...» more
Post-2015 governance and peace indicators
The post-2015 High Level Panel (HLP) produced a report in May 2013 which outlined their recommendations for moving the development agenda beyond the Millennium Development Goals. The report contained 11 illustrative goals which the UN might consider for adoption. This report considers potential indicators for the new Goals 10 and 11, which are: 10. Ensure Good Governance and ...» more
Civil service reform
Improving a country's civil service can further development goals. Reforming the civil service is important in improving governance, service delivery, economic policy and public financial management. What do we know about what has – or hasn't – worked in civil service reform, and where? What lessons emerge from the literature? ...» more
National databases of the poor for social protection
There is very scant literature on creating or unifying registries to make up a national database of poor households or individuals to be used for social protection programmes (expert comments). Literature on registries tends to relate to the benefits of civil registration (i.e. the registering of births and deaths), or how better to target and register the poor. This report ...» more
Mapping breastfeeding programmes in low and middle-income countries
Most of the programmes are intended to increase the rate of children that receive exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) up to the age of six months, as per recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO). Other measures such as increasing the rate of early initiation of breastfeeding, as well as training and education initiatives, ultimately aim to achieve the same goal of EBF ...» more
Literature review poverty, social analysis and the political economy of Tonga
Key findings: This rapid review examines evidence on poverty, social and political economy analysis published since 2010. The majority of the literature found through this review has been published by regional and international organisations, donors, and the Tongan government. There is substantial policy and practitioner literature that examines the Pacific as a region, or ...» more
