Key findings: The high prevalence of gender-based violence, particularly domestic violence, in Timor-Leste is considered to be a key challenge for the country. Not only is the extent of gender-based violence a serious concern, but also the severity of the violence. Most of the available information on Timorese women and girls from 1975 to 1999 concerns experiences of sexual ...» more
Country Risk Indices
Key finding: There are many country risk indices available, primarily produced by private companies. Different risk indices use different combinations of political, social, economic, environmental and other factors, but there is no universally accepted methodology for assessing risk. Comparison between methodologies is made difficult by the relative opacity of the ...» more
Successful Gender Ministries
Gender ministries can simultaneously perform a variety of different roles and functions in pursuit of gender equality and empowerment goals. However, the literature does not characterise particular ministries as being generally ‘successful’, though there are cases where gender ministries have helped push through significant advances in specific areas of gender policy and have ...» more
Indicators for investment and business climate
Key findings: There are many indicators available that can be used to indicate improvements in the business environment. Some indicators focus on the microeconomic, business-focused factors, while others concentrate on the macroeconomic and policy factors. In addition to indicators with an explicit focus on business and investment climate, there are also indicators, such as ...» more
Signature and Compliance with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)
There is an abundant literature which documents the process of signing and complying with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), as well as the benefits of doing so. However, with the exception of a detailed case study on Nigeria, few studies examine the political, economic and social factors that have led governments to sign and comply with the EITI. Expert ...» more
Humanitarian work in Syria and Yemen
Syria and Yemen are both experiencing immense humanitarian and development challenges. Violent conflict, political and civil unrest, rising food and fuel prices, mass unemployment and breakdown in social services have contributed to massive displacement, food insecurity and acute malnutrition, difficult living conditions, lack of basic services and poor housing. Neighbouring ...» more
Employment Intensity of Growth in Agriculture
Key findings: Employment intensity of growth of the agricultural sector is a measure used to quantify the effect from growth in the agricultural sector on levels of employment. Existing research suggests that growth of the agricultural sectors in middle- and low-income countries (including fragile and conflict affected states) does not necessarily lead to increased employment. ...» more
Women’s Economic Empowerment in the Pacific
Much of the available evidence on women’s economic situation in the Pacific comes from household income and expenditure surveys (HIESs), which do not usually disaggregate on the grounds of gender. While there are some data about women’s income, most analysis of expenditure is conducted at the household level and it is therefore difficult to examine trends in women and men’s ...» more
Theory of Change Approaches to Post-conflict Governance Programming
In its simplest form, Theory of Change (ToC) can be defined as, ‘the description of a sequence of events that is expected to lead to a particular desired outcome’ (Davies 2012). This research report considers the application of ToC to governance programmes in post-conflict and fragile states. It should be noted that, because of what information is available, the examples ...» more
Changing attitudes and behaviours in relation to gender equality
This helpdesk report surveys literature on strategies and initiatives designed to increase awareness and to change attitudes and behaviours in order to promote greater gender equality. The structure of the report is based on the following areas: religious influences; community-level processes, alongside media and social campaigning; and activities targeting men’s attitudes and ...» more
Measuring and Evaluating Women’s Economic Empowerment
Women’s economic empowerment is a complex process involving improvements in the economic resources and skills available to them, their access to economic institutions, their ability to make decisions for themselves, and the degree of control they possess over key resources (Kabeer 2001, McDevitt 2010, Golla et al 2011, Mahmud et al 2011). Section two of this report provides a ...» more
Measuring and Evaluating Women’s Leadership
As donors have become increasingly interested in promoting women’s leadership, a growing range of measures and indicators have emerged to measure and evaluate these efforts. Despite growing interest, however, there has been little sustained analysis of the issues associated with measuring women’s leadership in the literature. Because of the lack of analysis in this area, this ...» more
Impact of telecommunications reform on service delivery
Telecommunications have been shown to have a range of direct, indirect and intangible benefits on development and poverty reduction goals (Bhavnani et al, 2008). Where the literature allows, the report includes examples of how telecommunications reform has enabled better service outcomes in fragile and conflict-affected states, and some of the challenges of implementation in ...» more
Mobile telephony innovation to improve education service outcomes
There is a wide and growing interest in the use of mobile telephony to improve education service outcomes. The first part of the report identifies the key lessons learned and recommendations for policy makers relating to the use of mobile telephony to improve education service outcomes, though with a general focus on mobile phone-assisted learning. The second part identifies a ...» more
UN Peace Support Mission Transitions
This report provides an overview of the available analysis on UN peace support transitions. The term transitions refers to situations where peace support operations withdraw and hand over responsibility to national authorities, another UN body such as a UN country team, an alternative international presence, or other regional and local actors. The available literature is mostly ...» more
UN Peace Support Mission Transitions – Nepal
While there have been several research studies that reflect on the achievements and challenges facing the UN Mission in Nepal (UNMIN), there has been very little analysis of the transition from UNMIN to a UN country office, which took place in January 2011. Much of the analysis of the transition detailed in this report relies on UN documents and is generally uncritical. UNMIN ...» more
UN Peace Support Mission Transitions – Haiti
United Nations peace operations in Haiti date back to September 1993, when the Security Council set up the first UN peacekeeping operation in the country – the United Nations Mission in Haiti (UNMIH). Since then, Haiti has been somewhat of a ‘playground’ for the evolution of UN peacekeeping. Early missions (UNSMIH/UNTMIH) were characterised by narrow remits addressing ...» more
UN Peace Support Mission Transitions – Sierra Leone
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) began in 1999. At its height in 2001 it consisted of some 17,500 personnel. The mission had a strong influence on how the integrated mission concept is understood and applied today, particularly with regard to integrating humanitarian politico-military efforts and the UN system in the country, operating under the ...» more
Urbanisation and Growth
The proportion of a country’s population living in urban areas is highly correlated with its level of income. The correlation between urbanisation and economic growth in developing countries can be explained largely by the fact that economic development involves the transformation of a country from an agricultural economy to an industrial-service economy. Production of ...» more
Gender Inclusive Urban Planning
A gender- and socially-inclusive city promotes equitable rights and provides opportunities and support for all residents to participate in urban life. Although there are encouraging urban initiatives in various cities in South Asia, there is not yet a consolidated approach to inclusive urban policy and governance. This report looks at information on the key interrelated ...» more
