2020: “Bangladesh Initiative for Enhancing Nutrition Governance and Services (BIeNGS)”, Baseline Evaluation Report (with N. Nisbett and L. Casu)
The Bangladesh Initiative to Enhance Nutrition Security and Governance (BIeNGS) project is funded by the European Commission and is a collaboration between World Vision UK (WVUK), World Vision Bangladesh (WVB), World Vision Australia (WVA), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) via ‘HarvestPlus and Unnayan Sangha (US) a local NGO in Bangladesh. The Institute of Development Studies (IDS), UK is a partner and is responsible for this impact evaluation. The BIeNGS model is based on four interrelated components comprising a number of different nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive, pro-poor governance interventions: (1) social and behaviour change communication (SBCC), (2) health system strengthening through social accountability (SA), governance improvements and, capacity development, (3) productive and economic empowerment, and (4) multisector coordination.
2019: “APPI/SPREAD Collective Action for Nutrition Social Audit Programme, Odisha, India”, Final Evaluation Report (with J. Gordon, L. Casu, B. Mitchell and N. Nisbett).
This report summarises the background, design and methods, and key findings from an independent evaluation of the Collective Action for Nutrition (CAN) Social Audit programme designed and implemented by the Odisha-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) Society for Promoting Education and Rural Development (SPREAD) and supported by Azim Premji Philanthropic Initiatives (APPI).
2019: Inception Report: Study of CDC's Mobilisation of Private Investment, Itad Results in Development (with S. Spratt, C. Barnett, P. O'Flynn, V. Gadhavi, A. Saha, M. Punton and K. Spafford).
This Inception Report describes our proposed approach to the longitudinal evaluation of CDC’s ability to mobilise private investment.
2017: Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls in Urban Humanitarian Crises: The Case of Gaza, International Institute for Environment and Development (with C. Mueller)
Gaza, a mostly urban and densely populated area, chronically experiences complex emergencies, with bouts of acute violence. Violence against women and girls (VAWG) is aggravated by the exposure to ongoing and acute political violence. VAWG protection and support services are mainly delivered by local non-state actors, and better information on the vulnerabilities of women and girls and the dynamics of violence against them would help to improve their services. The knowledge of local actors should be leveraged in the design and provision of services in chronic and acute humanitarian crises; and better communication and data exchange among service providers should be encouraged.
2017: Inclusive Urbanisation and Cities in the Twenty-First Century (with E. Kasper, G. G. McGranahan, D. te Lintelo, J. Gupte, R. Lakshman and Z. Nesbitt-Ahmed). IDS Evidence Report 220.
In academic and policy discourse, urbanisation and cities are currently receiving a great deal of attention, and rightly so. Both have been central to the enormous transformation the world has been going through during the past few centuries. Many parts of the world have experienced and are experiencing an urban transformation. While these processes have taken distinct regional forms across Latin America, East and South Asia, and Africa, it is clear that, globally, the urban transformation has coincided with major societal and ecological changes. Some of these developments have been heralded as progress – notably millions of people being lifted out of poverty – while others, such as entrenching inequalities and accelerating climate change, are alarming. In recent years the pro-urban voices have been louder, but accounts of the wonders of cities need to be balanced with a recognition of the violence, inequity and environmentally destructive forces that cities can embody and reproduce. Equally important is to explore how cities and urbanisation can be made to contribute more to human wellbeing and to international and local development goals. This report is particularly concerned with whether and under what conditions more inclusive urbanisation and cities can support these development goals.
2016: Domestic Violence in Ghana: Incidence, Attitudes, Determinants and Consequences (with P. Justino, A. Aghajanian, M. Leone, E. Mills, B. Mitchell, C. Mueller and P. Oosterhoff).
This report discusses the main findings of the incidence, determinants and consequences of domestic violence, attitudes towards domestic violence and the effectiveness of services that support women and men who experience domestic violence in Ghana. The study was commissioned by the Domestic Violence Secretariat of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) of the Government of Ghana and the UK Department for International Development (DFID), and funded by UK aid.
2016: MQSUN Impact Evaluation of the DFID Programme to Accelerate Improved Nutrition for the Extreme Poor in Bangladesh: Final Report (with N. Nisbett, R. Longhurst, I. Barnett, F. Feruglio, J. Gordon, J. Hoddinott, F. Jahan, N. Karachiwalla, S. Roy, V. Shah, O. Siddikki and J. White).
The DFID Programme to Accelerate Improved Nutrition for the Extreme Poor in Bangladesh (2013 – 2016) aimed to improve nutrition outcomes for children, pregnant women, mothers and adolescent girls by incorporating a set of nutrition-specific interventions as part of three existing livelihood support programmes in Bangladesh targeting the extreme poor. These three programmes were the Chars Livelihoods Programme (CLP), the Economic Empowerment of the Poorest (EEP) Programme and the Urban Partnership for Poverty Reduction (UPPR) Programme. In order to rigorously and independently assess the impacts of the integration of the nutrition and livelihoods interventions, in 2013 DFID commissioned a mixed-method impact evaluation, entitled ‘Impact Evaluation of the DFID Programme to Accelerate Improved Nutrition for the Extreme Poor in Bangladesh’. The evaluation team consisted of the Institute of Development Studies (IDS, the lead organisation), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), ITAD, the Center for Natural Resource Studies (CNRS), and the BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD). The project was carried out under the umbrella of the MQSUN framework consortium led by PATH in Washington, DC. The evaluation employed mixed quantitative and qualitative methods within a strong theory-based design. The evaluation was completed in June 2016. This Final Report presents the evaluation’s main findings and conclusions, integrating results from across the evaluation’s quantitative and qualitative components and providing some key recommendations considered relevant for future programming. The Report also provides an overview of the programmatic background and evaluation’s final design and methods.
2015: The Effect of Gender Equality Programming on Humanitarian Outcomes (with P. Justino, C. Poeschl and P. Salardi), UN Women Report.
Despite a number of developments in policy and practice aimed at integrating gender equality and women’s empowerment into humanitarian action, what remains missing is a strong evidence base that demonstrates just how gender equality programming is essential to ensuring an effective, inclusive, rights-based humanitarian response. To address this gap, UN Women—on behalf of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Reference Group on Gender in Humanitarian Action and with co-funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development of Canada- in 2013 commissioned the Institute of Development Studies to undertake a research study, titled “The Effect of Gender Equality Programming on Humanitarian Outcomes”. Its aim was to assess whether or not such programming has improved humanitarian outcomes and, if so, why. This report presents the findings of this research, based on interviews with more than 2,000 crisis-affected households gathered for four case studies conducted in Kenya (the Dadaab refugee camps and the county of Turkana), Nepal and The Philippines. Drawing on both the qualitative and quantitative data collected, researchers were able to develop a unique new methodology for assessing the degree to which gender equality and women's empowerment has been integrated into humanitarian programmes, using inputs from the beneficiaries themselves. The report presents overall findings, draws comparative conclusions across the four case studies and discusses practical recommendations for integrating gender equality programming in future humanitarian interventions in ways that strengthen effectiveness and inclusiveness.
2015: “Can Targeted Transition Services for Young Offenders Foster Pro-Social Attitudes and Behaviours in Urban Settings? Evidence from the Evaluation of the Kherwadi Social Welfare Association’s Yuva Parivartan Programme”. IDS Evidence Report 136 (with J. Gupte and B. Mitchell).
2013: Making the Urban Poor Safer: Lessons from Nairobi and Maharashtra, IDS Policy Briefing 47.
Mumbai and Nairobi have acutely unequal urban development, with respectively 40 per cent and 60 per cent of their urban population living in slums. The most impoverished neighbourhoods are characterised by severe lack of service provision and poor access to employment opportunities. Urban violence is deeply rooted in the multiple vulnerabilities experienced by slum-dwellers, such as lack of steady income, lack of access to amenities and lack of connection to state resources. Yet security provision fails to address violence in this broader social and economic context, while efforts at tackling urban vulnerability often do not address its links with violence and physical insecurity. Issues of under-policing, unemployment or lack of services that shape urban violence are ultimately intertwined with the difficulty faced by slum-dwellers to interact with state authorities. Formal and informal policies need to take these local realities into account while building on local experience of what works best to reduce vulnerability and minimise violence.
2013: Unemployment, Service Provision and Violence Reduction Policies in Urban Maharashtra, IDS Evidence Report 17.
Over 40 per cent of Maharashtra's population live in urban slums, characterised by the acute inequalities of inadequate housing, poor service provision, lack of access to health and sanitation, overcrowded spaces, and limited employment opportunities. With urbanisation poised to increase dramatically over the next decades in India, it is urgent to remedy the current situation lest the social ills associated with unbalanced urbanisation grow worse. This report analyses the relationship between violence and economic vulnerability among urban populations in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It argues that the interconnection of crime, violence and vulnerability has to be explicitly recognised for both development and security policies to succeed. Efforts to improve the security of vulnerable urban populations must include physical insecurity at the margin by focusing on social, economic or legal insecurity.