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Home»DFID Equity and Rights Team

Empowerment, Choice and Agency

Helpdesk Report
  • Erika Fraser
August 2010

Empowerment has been understood and operationalised in a variety of ways. There are over 30 definitions of ‘empowerment’ in current use amongst development scholars and organisations, with a similar tendency for ‘agency’. While some organisations leave the term undefined, other organisations lack a clear centralised definition, with different departments interpreting ...» more

Mechanisms for Increasing Voice and Accountability

Helpdesk Report
  • Claire Mcloughlin
April 2010

Whilst there is a vast literature on the importance of citizen voice and accountability in governance and development, there remain relatively few evaluations of the impact of donor programmes in this area. Several studies conclude there is a need for more evidence of why certain accountability mechanisms work well in certain contexts. There does not appear to be any research ...» more

Climate change and social exclusion

Helpdesk Report
  • Zoe Scott
January 2008

Whilst there is a body of research on ‘climate change vulnerability’ which tends to conclude that poor people in developing countries are most vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change, very little research attempts to disaggregate ‘the poor' and look in detail at specific issues and implications for socially excluded groups.Children: The literature generally ...» more

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