Social security for rural widows in Rajasthan: an empirical study

Widows are one of the socially excluded groups in India. This study primarily focuses on the needs of widows in Rajasthan for social security, and also seeks to examine the outreach of existing social security schemes to them. The study found that a considerable proportion of widows are engaged in physically-demanding casual work. Involvement in casual employment reveals the vulnerability of widows since such employment is often considered the last resort for earning a living. Social security in various forms can play a crucial role in their lives.

La sécurité sociale et les veuves rurales au Rajasthan : une étude empirique

Les veuves constituent en Inde un des groupes exclus de la société. Cette étude est axée essentiellement sur les besoins de sécurité sociale chez les veuves au Rajasthan ; elle essaie aussi d'examiner les programmes actuels de la sécurité sociale qui sont destinés à leur aide. L'auteur de cette étude a trouvé qu'un pourcentage important de veuves sont engagées dans un travail physiquement éprouvant et à titre temporaire. L'emploi à titre temporaire met à jour la vulnérabilité des veuves puisqu'un tel emploi est souvent considéré comme la dernière solution pour survivre. La sécurité sociale sous ses différentes formes peut jouer un rôle capital dans leur vie.

Seguro social para las viudas del área rural en Rajastán: un estudio empírico

Las viudas de India conforman uno de los grupos socialmente excluidos. El presente artículo se centra en las necesidades de seguro social existentes entre las viudas de Rajastán y pretende examinar el alcance que distintos programas de seguro social tienen para este sector. Las conclusiones del estudio demuestran que un número significativo de viudas participa en el sector del trabajo informal físicamente exigente. En este sentido, la participación en el empleo informal constituye un indicador de la vulnerabilidad de las viudas, ya que este sector se considera como el último recurso para ganarse un ingreso. El seguro social en sus distintas variedades puede llegar a desempeñar un rol importante en las vidas de las viudas.

Segurança social para viúvas da área rural em Rajasthan: um estudo empírico

As viúvas são um dos grupos socialmente excluídos da Índia. Este estudo primariamente concentra-se nas necessidades das viúvas em Rajasthan de segurança social, e também busca examinar o alcance de esquemas de segurança social existentes para elas. O estudo constatou que uma considerável proporção de viúvas está engajada em trabalho temporário fisicamente demandante. O envolvimento em emprego temporário mostra a vulnerabilidade das viúvas, uma vez que tais empregos são frequentemente considerados a última opção para se ganhar a vida. A segurança social pode, de várias formas, desempenhar um papel crucial em suas vidas.     

Access to infrastructure and human well-being: evidence from rural Nepal

This article documents the level of access to infrastructure and assesses its perceived impacts on human well-being in rural Nepal. The study found a more varied level of well-being in less remote communities and determined that the perceived impacts of access to infrastructure on human well-being is higher in more remote areas. Notably, access to roads received the highest priority among respondents, followed by drinking water and irrigation. The methodology and findings of this study have practical implications for rural development in hills and mountains where human settlements are highly dispersed and access is key to human well-being.     

Energy poverty amidst abundance in Malaysia: placing energy in multidimensional poverty

In developing countries the analysis of energy poverty has been framed in terms of a nexus; linking poverty, gender, and energy as obstacles to sustainable development. This article considers the dual challenges of energy and fuel poverty in Malaysia, a middle-income country boasting high levels of grid penetration, suggesting that there are limitations to this approach in relation to articulating the relationship between energy and poverty, specifying the dynamics of energy poverty, and informing policies to address this. Locating energy deprivation in the context of multidimensional poverty offers a basis for addressing energy poverty in a wider range of spatial and temporal contexts.     

Does microfinance alleviate poverty and inequality? Studying self-help groups in Bodoland,Assam

This article aims to assess the impact of microfinance through a government-sponsored SHG–bank linkage programme (SBLP) of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in India, on poverty alleviation, employment, and achievement of financial inclusion in the Bodoland area of Assam. Empirical results from an impact evaluation showed that the programme had a positive and statistically significant impact on the monthly income, employment days, and financial inclusion level of participants of the SHG programme, compared to a control group of non-participants.     

One village one product: evaluations and lessons learnt from OVOP aid projects

The One Village One Product project that originated in Japan's Oita Prefecture is just one component of many official Japanese development assistance projects aiming to promote rural development in more than 30 countries. Not all efforts, however, result in the same level of sustainability. Oita Prefecture built its movement on three principles: local yet global, self-reliance and creativity, and human resources development. The projects that satisfy these principles are generally found to be sustainable. These principles can also be applicable to overseas projects.     

Why is basic service access worse in slums? A synthesis of obstacles

Many residents of urban areas face joint obstacles to basic service access, but these barriers are more prevalent and severe in slum settlements. Analyses of obstacles have typically been conducted in a piecemeal rather than synthetic framework and have focused on access to single services rather than the range of services needed to support household welfare. By contrast, this study uses data from fieldwork in four slum settlements situated in Hyderabad, India to develop a typology synthesising the obstacles – economic, spatial, social, institutional, and political – to the full range of service access desired by residents. Economic differences explain little of the access deficit within this population. While social and institutional obstacles are more likely to explain slum formation and residence over the long term, variation in spatial and political factors present the most acute short-term access barriers. The article concludes by suggesting the most promising means for slum residents and supporting stakeholders to overcome multi-faceted obstacles.     

Reflections of an evaluator navigating between community development and welfare paradigms

This practical note discusses some of the challenges evaluators face when their values clash with those of their employer. A case example where the author was commissioned to complete an evaluation for a community development project within a welfare-minded NGO highlights evaluation issues for welfare-minded NGOs attempting to deliver community development programmes. A fundamental issue is the differing interpretation of key terms including evaluation, participation, and empowerment. The note discusses how the author attempted to navigate between maintaining community development principles in the evaluation process while at the same time fulfilling quantitative evaluation requirements mandated by the organisation and funders.     

Impact of microcredit on income,poverty, and economic vulnerability in Peninsular Malaysia

This article examines the effect of Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia's (AIM) microcredit programme on low-income households' income, poverty rate, and vulnerability in Peninsular Malaysia. This study employed a quasi-experimental approach, cross-sectional design, and stratified random sampling method. Findings indicated that participation in AIM's microcredit programme leads to an increase in household income and reduces both the poverty rate and level of economic vulnerability. AIM and policymakers, therefore, should focus on promoting a supportive environment to improve cooperation among participants by designing a dynamic and well-diversified microfinance programme and specialised skills-building training programme.     

Evaluation of Dutch support to capacity development

Support for capacity development accounts for about 25 per cent of all international donor assistance. Yet there have been few evaluations to assess the effectiveness of this support. This paper presents the findings and lessons of an evaluation on Dutch support for capacity development that has tried to avoid some of the shortcomings of earlier evaluations. Dutch capacity development support has been effective in a number of cases. However, for sustainable capacity development it is crucial that donors reconsider their policies and practices in such a way that they facilitate endogenous capacity development, local resourcefulness, and downward accountability.

évaluation du soutien néerlandaise au développement des capacités

Le soutien apporté au renforcement des capacités représente environ 25 pour cent du total de l'assistance apportée par les donateurs internationaux. Cependant, peu d’évaluations ont été menées pour estimer l'efficacité de ce soutien. Ce document présente les conclusions et les enseignements d'une évaluation du soutien au renforcement des capacités apporté par les Pays-Bas, évaluation qui s'est efforcée d’éviter les défauts d’évaluations antérieures. Le soutien au renforcement des capacités apporté par les Pays-Bas s'est révélé efficace dans un certain nombre de cas. Cependant, pour parvenir à un renforcement des capacités durable, il est crucial que les donateurs revoient leurs politiques et leurs pratiques afin de faciliter le renforcement endogène des capacités, la ressource locale et la redevabilité descendante.

Evaluación de la ayuda holandesa al desarrollo de capacidades

Aproximadamente 25% de todos los donativos internacionales para la asistencia se destinan al desarrollo de capacidades. Sin embargo, existen pocas evaluaciones que valoren la eficacia de estos apoyos. En este artículo, se presentan los hallazgos y las experiencias obtenidas a partir de la evaluación realizada en torno a un apoyo efectuado por donantes holandeses, que fue destinado al desarrollo de capacidades. Dicho apoyo intentó evitar algunas de las fallas encontradas en evaluaciones anteriores. El apoyo holandés para el desarrollo de capacidades ha sido eficaz en algunos casos. No obstante, para que éste sea sostenible, resulta esencial que los donantes reorienten sus políticas y sus prácticas, de tal forma que se promuevan el desarrollo de capacidades endógenas, la ingeniosidad local y la rendición de cuentas dirigida a la base.

Avaliação sobre o apoio holandês ao desenvolvimento de capacidades

O apoio para o desenvolvimento de capacidades representa cerca de 25 por cento de toda a assistência de doadores internacionais. Porém, poucas avaliações têm sido feitas para analisar a efetividade desse apoio. Este artigo apresenta as conclusões e lições de uma avaliação sobre o apoio holandês ao desenvolvimento de capacidades que tenta evitar algumas das deficiências das avaliações anteriores. O apoio holandês ao desenvolvimento de capacidades tem sido efetivo em vários casos. Porém, para o desenvolvimento de capacidades sustentáveis, é crucial que os doadores reconsiderem suas políticas e práticas de forma que elas promovam o desenvolvimento endógeno de capacidades, as habilidades locais e a prestação de contas em sentido descendente.     

Shifts in perceptions of NGOs with the creation of the Palestinian National Authority

This article explores perceived shifts in roles for NGOs and religious actors after the creation of the Palestinian National Authority with the 1993 Oslo Accords, using original data from a survey of more than 1,000 community members in the West Bank and Gaza. The survey data show a centralisation of requests for assistance from the Palestinian National Authority, with a decrease in requests from local government, NGOs, and religious actors after the creation of the Palestinian National Authority. The support the empirical findings lend to theories of government and voluntary failure is discussed.     

Management not models: adaptability,responsiveness, and a few lessons from football

Despite a swathe of critiques of logframes and other blueprint approaches to development over the last 30 years, most aid infrastructure continues to concentrate on the design and subsequent implementation of closed models. This article does not propose an alternative to blueprints, but challenges the inflexibility of their implementation, which is inadequate given the complex nature of social change. It proposes a supplementary management and learning approach which enables implementers to be dynamic, adaptive, and responsive to problems and opportunities. Emphasising the role of donors, the paper presents a case study of one donor-led programme in Bangladesh doing just this.     

Accountability mechanisms in community-driven reconstruction in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

A lack of accountability is often considered a root cause of conflict. Many post-conflict reconstruction efforts therefore aim to enhance accountability between authorities and the population through community-driven reconstruction programmes. This article examines the accountability mechanisms in the Tushiriki community-driven reconstruction programme in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The ethnographic research found little impact of formal programme accountability. Rather, accountability was shaped differently and had its own context-specific meaning. To make accountability more sustainable, stronger embeddedness in local institutions and more appropriate translations of abstract concepts into the local context are needed.     

Impacts of displacement on urban livelihoods: a railway project in Metro Manila

This article seeks to understand the ways in which urban livelihoods are affected by development-induced displacement, with a particular focus on residents remaining in the locality. Through an empirical case study of a railway upgrading project in Metro Manila, the article investigates livelihood impacts of large-scale demolition and displacement, which varied depending on whether the physical capital of remaining residents declined due to land clearance and the extent to which they relied on the local livelihood network established with displaced settlers. In comparison, households remained intact when they had little engagement with the local informal economy.     

Measuring the effectiveness of social audits: experiences from Sikkim,India

India has devolved development funds totalling US$46 billion to 240,000 village self-governments. Social audits are emerging as the main tool to ensure their accountability. This article reports on research that analysed panel data of social audits from 2013 to 2015, along with the evolving policy framework. The research found that irregularities were only in the material component and had declined from 1.74% to 0.40% of expenditure, and that works were being completed at 80% of the sanctioned cost. The article proposes a results framework to measure the effectiveness of social audits that covers their punitive as well as preventive role.     

Displacement,resettlement, and livelihood restoration: safeguard standards in practice

This article presents a case study of development practice based on the author’s experience of designing a livelihood restoration plan and monitoring its implementation. The plan was based on safeguard standards of a multilateral development bank that funded a private sector renewable energy project on land belonging to a vulnerable community in Central India. Illustrating the challenges faced in implementing and monitoring this plan and the reasons for its failure, the article argues that a complex set of institutional and individual relationships determine the way in which safeguard policies are translated into practice by diverse and interrelated actors.     

Livelihood recovery after disaster

A lack of monitoring and evaluation on the outcomes of livelihood recovery programming has typified many post-disaster recovery initiatives. This article uses a case study of the 2006 Yogyakarta, Indonesia earthquake to analyse longer-term impacts of livelihood programming after disaster. The article includes an overview of the programming implemented in five case study villages and the perspectives of impacted populations on the livelihood interventions. Results indicate the importance of longer-term programming, early interventions, local leadership, and an integrative strategy focusing on replacing assets, providing capital and credit to jumpstart entrepreneurial activities, capacity and skills building, and developing markets and networks.     

Insight on the evolution and distinction of inclusive growth

This article develops a new pragmatic approach in delineating inclusive growth, covering two issues. First, it records the chronological evolution of inclusive growth; second, it details the distinction between broad-based growth and pro-poor growth, and inclusive growth. The article aims to highlight the objectivity of inclusiveness, which is distinctly different than broad-based growth and pro-poor growth. The research concentrates on salient issues like growth, poverty, and inequality, identifies a distinct variation between broad-based growth/pro-poor growth and inclusive growth, and establishes the exclusivity of inclusive growth.     

Reaching the unreached? Good governance and welfare reform politics in Delhi,India

Good governance scholarship has been preoccupied with the donor-driven conditionalities imposed on aid-receiving developing countries. Limited attention has been given to power struggles and resistance from government actors (bureaucrats and politicians) to embrace internally driven good governance programmes. To address this gap, this article ethnographically examines a good governance initiative of the Delhi government (India) to reform its welfare system in partnership with NGOs. The study indicates that the conflict between government and non-governmental actors over the authority to govern the poor eventually maintained the status quo of the welfare system while the poor remain marginalised.     

Downward accountability of NGOs in community project planning in Ghana

This article examines the downward accountability of NGOs in community project planning in Ghana. It is based on primary data collected through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with NGO officials, local government officials and representatives, chiefs, women leaders, and other community members. The findings reveal that although community members were engaged in project planning processes in many respects, these engagements were limited to endorsing pre-prepared plans, decisions, and mundane aspects of the project. The engagements were largely tokenistic, rhetorical, and to garnish legitimacy, and lacked the key elements of empowerment which promoted downward accountability.     

Revisiting child sponsorship programmes

Child sponsorship programmes have long been criticised for their conceptual and programmatic flaws. In response, organisations changed their programme designs to minimise negative side effects, or even stopped providing direct support to individual children altogether. This paper outlines the evolution of sponsorship programmes; discusses advantages and drawbacks of today's one-to-one sponsorship methods; and explores how progress may be possible. It concludes that such sponsorship programmes will never amount to sustainable development but can, if designed well, make a credible contribution to complex livelihoods in environments that lack adequate safety nets.

Repenser les programmes de parrainage d'enfants

Les programmes de parrainage d'enfants sont depuis longtemps critiqués pour leurs défauts conceptuels et programmatiques. En réponse à ces critiques, les organisations ont modifié la conception de leurs programmes pour réduire au minimum les effets secondaires négatifs, et ont même parfois complètement cessé d'apporter un soutien direct à des enfants individuels. Cet article décrit dans ses grands traits l’évolution des programmes de parrainage, traite des avantages et des inconvénients des méthodes actuelles de parrainage individuel et examine les manières dont il serait possible de progresser. Il conclut que les programmes de parrainage de ce type ne constitueront jamais des formes de développement durable, mais qu'ils peuvent, à condition d’être bien conçus, apporter une contribution crédible à des moyens de subsistance complexes dans des environnements qui ne sont pas pourvus de filets de sécurité adéquats.

Revisando nuevamente los programas de patrocinio a la niñez

Durante mucho tiempo, los programas de patrocinio a la niñez han sido objeto de críticas debido a sus fallos conceptuales y programáticos. Frente a esta situación, las organizaciones han modificado el diseño de sus programas, con el fin de minimizar sus efectos negativos, o han detenido totalmente el apoyo brindado a niños de manera individual. El presente artículo esboza la evolución experimentada por los programas de patrocinio, a la vez que examina las ventajas y las desventajas de los actuales programas de patrocinio individual, analizando cómo pueden hacerse avances al respecto. La conclusión surgida del artículo establece que estos programas de patrocinio nunca serán parte del desarrollo sustentable aunque, si se diseñan bien, pueden contribuir de forma verosímil a la creación de medios de vida complejos en entornos que carecen de programas sociales adecuados.

Revisitando programas de patrocínio às crianças

Os programas de patrocínio às crianças têm sido há muito tempo criticados por suas falhas conceituais e programáticas. Em resposta, as organizações mudaram seus projetos de programa para minimizar os efeitos colaterais negativos, ou até mesmo deixaram de fornecer em geral apoio direto a crianças individualmente. Este artigo apresenta a evolução de programas de patrocínio; discute as vantagens e desvantagens de métodos atuais de patrocínio individual; e avalia como o progresso pode ser possível. Ele conclui que tais programas de patrocínio nunca atingirão o desenvolvimento sustentável mas, se forem bem elaborados, podem oferecer uma contribuição confiável a meios de subsistência complexos em ambientes que não possuem redes de segurança adequadas.