Although much of the literature found by this rapid review emphasises the necessity of including environmental considerations into the planning of mass displacement camps, and the role of environmental impact assessments (EIAs), there is little publically available literature on the assessments carried out, and the quality of these. The literature specifically highlights the ...» 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.
Lessons from the coordination of refugee responses
The literature review found little evidence of successes in coordination of refugee responses involving multiple lead agencies. Rather, it identified some clear lessons to emerge from recent experience of refugee response coordination, in particular from the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon. While host governments are assigned primary responsibility for refugee responses in ...» more
Sharia-Compliant Investments in Infrastructure and Development Capital Financing in DFID/CDC/PIDG Geographies
Investments in infrastructure and development capital financing being made in DFID / CDC /PIDG geographies by institutions operating on Islamic finance principles are still limited in scope. The Islamic Development Bank Group is the main donor and agent encouraging other institutions to get involved in the process, through various initiatives. The major undertakings initiated ...» more
Innovative WASH options in situations of severe overcrowding
A rapid review of the literature has found a selection of innovative WASH options available for situations of severe population overcrowding and limited spaces. Case study information was collated from African, Middle Eastern, South Asian and Caribbean countries. As requested, a number of experts were consulted for their opinion where there was a lack of project evaluations ...» more
Scenario thinking and usage among development actors
Scenario thinking is a strategic planning method that organisations use to make flexible long-term plans. Recent discussions of this method offered by the Foresight Horizon Scanning Centre (2009) define scenario thinking (they refer to it as scenario planning) as ‘a futures technique for medium to long-term strategic analysis and planning used to develop policies and strategies ...» more
Effectiveness of various refugee settlement approaches
This review of the effectiveness of different approaches to refugee settlement shows that the ‘traditional’ approach of setting up refugee camps is ineffective in many respects - particularly in terms of promoting self-reliance - and hence to be avoided. The recommendation in policy circles is now for alternatives to camps that provide economic opportunities to refugees, allow ...» more
Child labour in the artisanal and small-scale mining sector in Asia and Africa
This rapid review synthesises data from academic, policy, and NGO sources on child labour in the artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector in Asia and Africa. ASM refers to small groups engaged in low-cost, low-tech, labour-intensive excavation and processing of minerals. Therefore, a clear distinction can be made between industrial and large-scale (usually licensed) mining ...» more
Linkages between private sector development, conflict and peace
The private sector can both exacerbate drivers of conflict and contribute to peacebuilding in post-conflict states. Examples of the role that the private sector can play in conflict and peace at the macro, meso and micro levels include the following: Macro level There is a general consensus in the literature that illicit trade in natural resources can increase in the ...» more
Higher education, developmental leadership and good governance
The last decade has witnessed a renewed interest in the social benefits of higher education, with recent research suggesting that universities have a role in nurturing developmental leaders who enable positive change and better governance in low-income and conflict-affected countries (Brannelly et al, 2011b). This review summarises available evidence on the relationship ...» more
Conflict-sensitive cash transfers: social cohesion
The literature suggests that the effects of social protection initiatives such as cash transfers and vouchers on social cohesion are positive, but there is very little empirical evidence to back this. This review found no research comparing cash transfers and vouchers from the perspective of social cohesion. Experience of cash transfers in developing countries, including ...» more
China’s aid to developing countries
Definitions and types of aid China’s measurement of “foreign aid” differs from “official development assistance”, for example by including military assistance and excluding donor administrative costs. The main forms of Chinese foreign aid are: complete projects; goods and materials; technical cooperation and human resources development cooperation; medical teams and ...» more
Local financing for infrastructure in Zambia
This rapid review of literature identifies constraints and interventions related to financing infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa, with particular attention to the role of pension funds in the region. The need for infrastructure development in Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa is well-established in the literature (see, for example, World Bank, 2017; Brookings Institution, 2017; ...» more
Drivers of conflict in Tunisia: An annotated bibliography
Tunisia has witnessed an increase in conflict activity in recent years, both in the form of violent political protest and acts of violence perpetrated by armed jihadist groups. This report identifies some of the key literature on drivers of conflict in Tunisia, looking at both short-term and structural factors. The literature included in this report identifies the following ...» more
Higher education, developmental leadership and good governance
The available literature suggests, first, that there is no established causal pathway connecting higher education, developmental leadership and good governance. Recent studies have found a general pattern of positive correlation between levels of enrolment in higher education and indicators of good governance, but debates continue as to: the ability of individual leaders ...» more
International development, UK aid and Official Development Assistance spending
This report aims to introduce someone unfamiliar with the field of international development to some of its complexities. It includes hyperlinks to sources rather than a traditional referencing system, to make follow-up learning as easy as possible for the reader. The report introduces international development, its the global context, and the UK parliament’s guiding ...» more
Violent extremism and terrorism in Yemen
Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) first gained control of territory in 2011 when it took advantage of political chaos; it once again managed to take control of territory following the current civil war, which began in early 2015. AQAP’s aim is to create a number of smaller emirates, which will eventually link to form a caliphate when they deem the time is right. AQAP ...» more
Flexibility in funding mechanisms to respond to shocks
In order to better and more rapidly respond to shocks such as sudden onset disasters, there have been increasing efforts to build flexibility into humanitarian or development funding arrangements, as current emergency responses are often slow to arrive and/or unresponsive to forecasts of disasters (Start Network, 2017; Rüth et al, 2017, p. 2). This rapid reviews looks at ...» more
Improving gender outcomes for regional trade programmes
Global trade and regional integration have gender-specific outcomes: in developing countries and specifically in South Asia, women do not have the same access as men to benefits of trade. This report reviews the gender outcomes of trade and describes policies and initiatives tackling the three main gender-based barriers to benefiting from trade: (i) sociocultural norms, (ii) ...» more
Resources on governance and inclusion
Inclusion is a prominent concept – some say “buzzword” – in current international development thinking and debates. The recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) promote inclusion – to “leave no one behind” – and place governance at the heart of achieving this. For example, SDG 16 aims to “Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide ...» more
Impact of lifting economic sanctions on poverty and growth
This rapid review synthesises findings from rigorous academic, practitioner, and policy references, focusing on recent and seminal works with the aim of highlighting the impact of lifting sanctions on poverty and economic development. There is a further aim of helping to inform policymakers in Sudan in the event of sanctions being fully lifted. Therefore, an analysis of the ...» more
