Public works programmes (PWPs) have received increasing attention as a social protection intervention due to their perceived benefits of tackling poverty by addressing basic consumption needs whilst improving public goods and community infrastructure. This helpdesk report maps organisational and individual actors engaged in PWPs in development and humanitarian contexts from a ...» more
UK Department for International Development (DFID)
The GSDRC has provided research services to DFID since 2001, initially serving governance advisers, and gradually expanding to also cover social development, conflict, and humanitarian issues. The following GSDRC publications were commissioned by DFID.
Regional cooperation and political stability and prosperity
Regional cooperation takes a number of forms. Types of formal regional cooperation include preferential trade agreements, free trade agreements, customs unions, common markets, economic unions, economic and monetary unions, full economic integration, and political unions (Marinov, 2015, pp. 24-25). The literature identifies a number of benefits and risks of regional ...» more
Using Zakat for international development
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
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
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
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
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
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
Disability in Somalia
People with disabilities have been identified as a particularly marginalised and at risk group within Somali society 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 identifies available evidence on the experiences of people with disabilities living in Somalia. ...» more
Interventions to support victims of modern slavery
This review found few evaluations of interventions to support victims of modern slavery, even though there is recognition of the need for support services. While there is little evidence on effectiveness of interventions, the literature highlights the importance of victim-centred, holistic (multi-disciplinary) approaches to supporting victims. There is strong consensus in ...» more
Digital development and the digital gender gap
This rapid literature review collates findings from recently published papers on digital development and gender, highlighting some of the most commonly discussed discussions related to economic, social and political development. As the scope of this query is very large, this review provides an illustration of some of the commonly identified issues in the literature. The digital ...» more
Humanitarian interventions for food/nutrition support in Ethiopia
There are many evidence gaps in the delivery of humanitarian food/nutrition aid. Evaluation of the relative cost‐effectiveness of dietary response projects is confounded by the fact that different projects can have different objectives (USAID, 2015). Ethiopia has made progress in meeting emergency needs, including through the Government of Ethiopia-led Productive Safety Net ...» more
Interventions to combat modern slavery
This report details findings from evaluations of a range of interventions to combat modern slavery. While there are three broad areas of efforts to tackle modern slavery – prevention, protection and prosecution – the main focus to date has been on prevention and, to a lesser extent, protection; prosecution has received far less attention. The literature indicates that ...» more
Supporting and rebuilding agriculture in protracted crises
The agriculture sector holds great potential before, during and after crises such as conflict and disasters caused by natural hazards, to save lives and contribute to livelihoods, support rural households, and provide decent employment (Eynon, 2017, p. 2; Mayen, 2016, p. 2). This rapid review looks at recent available evidence on the impact of conflict, protracted crises, and ...» more
Factors affecting success or failure of political transitions
Political transitions from authoritarian rule to democracy can have a variety of outcomes. This rapid literature review looks at the factors affecting the success or failure of political transitions. Because of the diverse nature of the countries that have experienced political transitions it is very difficult to come up with a list of ‘best practices’ (Lowenthal & Bitar, ...» more
