MIS are useful because integrated data management of social protection programmes can lead to more equitable distribution of resources; provide oversight of multiple schemes; establish links with other services; and increase efficiency through economies of scale (Barca & Chirchir, 2014). There is a considerable literature on policy guidance, design guidelines, and a general ...» 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.
Formal and informal policing in Iraq
Within the literature there seems to be a number of common themes and recommendations: Supporting the judiciary and improving investigative capability: Greater security for the judiciary and improved legal education, improved capacity of lawyers, as well as greater support for investigative capability. Improving police-community relations: This can be through setting up joint ...» more
Impact and implications of the Ebola crisis
Political impact and implications: Initial analysis suggests that governments' poor management of the Ebola crisis has generated frustrations and exposed citizens’ lack of trust in their governments. The Ebola crisis is likely to play a very political role in the next election in Sierra Leone and there are predictions that the opposition will win as a result. Economic impact ...» more
Social protection accountability
Accountability and good governance are strong themes of development interventions in general, but have yet to be applied systematically to social protection programmes. Social assistance accountability mechanisms usually focus on two main areas: (i) the flow of information and (ii) the flow of funds (Bassett et al., 2012). Most programmes have implemented a series of audits, ...» more
Formal justice in Iraq
The criminal justice system in Iraq remains weak. There are a wide range of reports (largely conducted by international NGOs, UN organisations, and state agencies) that reveal a consistent failure to meet international and domestic legal obligations. Areas of particular concern include: Arrest and detention: Iraqi security forces continue to engage in arbitrary arrest and ...» more
The multilateral system’s contribution to peace and security
The literature broadly suggests that: As a result of the increasingly complex conflict environments, individual actors are unable to achieve goals on peace and security by themselves. More joint operations are occurring in order to overcome the challenges posed by complex conflict environments, with joint multilateral action seen to promote more effective and efficient ...» more
Links between women’s empowerment (or lack of) and outbreaks of violent conflict
A number of studies quantitatively find a strong correlation between levels of gender inequality and conflict. They find that gender inequality increases the likelihood that a state will have internal conflict and international disputes. There is substantial evidence that traditional patriarchal gender identities lead to militaristic and violent conflict approaches. Women ...» more
Capacity building for social protection
Research for this rapid literature review was unable to find specific material on impacts and lessons for supporting sustainable government capacity building of the social protection sector in general. There is, however, general guidance material on social protection, and lessons and impacts from specific programmes and projects. Consequently this report identifies ...» more
Links between gender-based violence and outbreaks of violent conflict
Gender-based violence (GBV) is prevalent in all contexts and countries of the world. There are studies that quantitatively find a strong correlation between levels of structural/institutional GBV (manifested as gender inequality) and conflict (e.g. Caprioli, 2005, etc). They find that gender inequality increases the likelihood that a state will have internal conflict. Countries ...» more
Targeting groups at risk of extremism through security and justice programming
Several governments and NGOs are engaged in domestic and foreign 'countering violent extremism' (CVE) programming in the security and justice fields. USAID and the Danish government have been particularly active in this area. CVE activities are often divided into: hard power approaches (military, legislative, policing, infrastructure protection, crisis planning, border ...» more
Refugee, IDP and host community radicalisation
Socioeconomic conditions: In some circumstances, poor socioeconomic conditions (e.g. impoverishment, unemployment, lack of access to services and infrastructure, overcrowded living conditions) may make it more likely for refugees/IDPs to become radicalised. However, Lischer (2005) finds instead that there is generally little evidence to support the connection between particular ...» more
Gender-related results in security and justice policy and programming
There is a paucity of evidence that examines the overall impacts of security and justice programming on gender-related results in the two areas of this query. The literature available tends to be donor funded evaluations and policy papers, it tends to be fragmented, and it tends to examine programmes on a case-by-case basis. Security and justice programing is highly context ...» more
Political party development in Ukraine
There are a combination of institutional and structural factors that account for party development in Ukraine. They include: The weakness of ideology in political parties Poor incentives for party institutionalisation due to the design and instability of the institutional rules of the game Extensive use of state administrative resources by regime-supported parties The ...» more
Faith-based organisations, conflict resolution and anti-corruption
This rapid report reviews the literature on faith-based development organisations (FBOs) and their role in conflict resolution and anti-corruption. In both areas the literature suggests that religious actors could play a decisive role, but that this has not been realised. The evidence on FBOs and conflict resolution is moderately robust. Nearly all literature provides case ...» more
Incentives for gender responsive budgeting
It is difficult to conclusively evaluate the impact of gender responsive budgeting (GRB) on gender outcomes and in turn the impact of incentives on GRB and on women’s empowerment more widely. This is both due to a limited evidence base about impact and to the complexity in assessing and interpreting impact (Combaz, 2013). Literature on GRB is primarily prescriptive and there ...» more
Non-political drivers of violence
A growing body of literature looks at non-political drivers of violence. These, often inter-related factors, include: Climate change and environmental degradation: There is limited evidence to suggest that there is a causal link between climate change and environmental degradation and violence. However, climate change can exacerbate existing fragile situations leading to ...» more
Lessons from confidence building measures
When designing CBMs, lessons include: Link CBMs to wider peace- and state-building processes or negotiations; locally design CBMs according to local context; use CBMs in situations where trust is low; start CBMs in non-controversial, or symbolic, issue areas; design CBMs with long-term, incremental approaches; combine several CBMs at different track levels, and in different ...» more
The role of security organisations in security sector reform
There is consensus that donor approaches to SSR have failed to achieve the ambitious goals and objectives espoused in policy documents. Debates in recent literature centre on the reasons for this ‘policy-practice gap’ (Sedra, 2010; Bakrania, 2014b). Key themes include: There is agreement in the literature that donor assistance has generally taken an apolitical and technical ...» more
Integrated programmes supporting adolescent girls
This rapid review provides examples of integrated programmes that support adolescent girls. The programmes have positive impacts on girls’ empowerment, livelihoods, health and education. Evaluations found that girls especially appreciated having a nearby safe space of their own and being educated by their peers. Girls who participate in integrated programmes may experience the ...» more
Oil and gas revenue sharing
In the oil and gas sector, there are several revenue sharing models in operation around the world. These range from those that favour the derivation principle i.e. each subnational government’s share is related to the oil revenue originating in its territory, to those that are more like intergovernmental transfers (Ahmad and Mottu, 2002, pp. 15-16). Examples of ...» more
