Consultancy project history

 

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Desk-based research

Projects:


Youth Bulge Issues in Yemen and the MENA Region
Requested by: A Long, DFID UK, 2008
Project documents: terms of reference | report 

The MENA region as a whole and Yemen in particular have experienced, and will continue to experience, a considerable youth bulge due to high rates of fertility. While high numbers of working-age people can be an asset, high population growth has had an adverse impact on most aspects of life in Yemen. Key issues include:

  • Unemployment: Yemen has not enjoyed the benefits of the record levels of economic growth experienced in the MENA region during the period of 2000–05. There is general agreement that Yemen must create an environment that is conducive to investment and entrepreneurship whilst protecting its workers from the volatility that this may bring.
    Education: Access to basic education and the quality and relevance of education are key issue in Yemen. School attendance rates are very low amongst women. The issue of promoting family planning may be important in this sense.
  • Government and donor responses: An action plan has been developed to implement the Yemeni government’s national youth strategy. Education programmes, including technical and vocational education and training (TVET) programmes have been established in much of the MENA region, with mixed results.
  • Additional Issues: Whilst youth bulges can exacerbate pre-existing political and socioeconomic problems which may contribute to extremism, most experts argue that political violence and instability are more helpfully understood in the context of political structures and legitimacy, and ideological environments.

 

Developing the Evidence base for Hypotheses on Extremism and Radicalisation in Pakistan
Requested by: S Beeching, DFID UK, 2008
Project documents: terms of reference

DFID’s premise is that many of the structural factors that increase the risk of ideologically motivated violence also matter for development: unmet political and economic aspirations, lack of jobs for skilled labour, weak states and poor governance. There is no evidence that poverty alone directly contributes to ideologically motivated violence or that those who perpetrate this violence are from poorer communities. Nevertheless those that coordinate and direct such acts often exploit the issue of poverty, and related issues such as marginalisation and disenfranchisement, as a means of mobilising popular support and legitimising their actions. The purpose of the work is to build an evidence base that will throw light on some of the hypotheses that are routinely put forward to explain the phenomenon of extremism and radicalisation. Through analysing the extent to which these hypotheses are borne out by evidence, the consultant will analyse the implications for development and poverty reduction.


Support to a Desk Study on Decentralisation and Local Governance
Requested by: A Newsum, DFID UK, 2007
Project documents: terms of reference

The Governance and Social Development Group in the Policy and Research Division undertook a ‘Stock Take’ of DFID’s support to decentralisation and local governance. A consultant was contracted to assist with the stock take and report writing. The aim of this work was to provide evidence-based information on the extent of DFID’s work in country offices on decentralisation and local governance. Key requirements for the stock take included (1) having clearly defined scope and boundary to ensure focus, manage expectations and produce information that is relevant and useable (2) having a process that allows for the combination of data capture from DFID systems/documents and institutional knowledge from sector specialists and governance advisers in the centre and country offices (3) developing a methodology through a process which allows for starting the exercise with two countries; and extending to remaining countries on the assumption that staff in country offices and sector staff in the centre will be able to devote time to the stock take.


Scoping Study of Global Good Practice on Human Rights
Requested by: A O Lawal, DFID UK, 2007
Project documents: terms of reference

DFID is taking a fresh look at its policy and practice on human rights. As part of this process, DFID decided to look beyond its own work and learn from the good practice of other donors and NGOs on human rights and development. DFID therefore commissioned an initial scoping study of other donor and NGO’ practices on a selection of key human rights. The Scoping Study was to help DFID to better understand how human rights can impact on development planning and outcomes and vice versa; and to provide a firm foundation for an in-depth review of selected global good practice at a later date. The main purpose of the study was to identify good examples of donor and NGO projects and initiatives which demonstrate the inter-relationship and impact of human rights in development. The Scoping Study will focus on global practice on the key human rights set out in the UN human rights conventions on civil and political, and economic, social and cultural rights and where these have been used in development practice. The study will focus on donors and NGOs whose practices are developed in relation to one or more of these rights and where significant lessons for future practice exist.


Literature Review on State Building
Requested by: J Howarth, DFID UK, 2007
Project documents: terms of reference | report

The Fragile States Team and the Effective States Team in Policy & Research Division wanted to analyse the literature on state building as part of a new work stream on this broad theme aimed at facilitating learning and good practice in DFID, and supporting new work by the DAC. The purpose of the consultancy was to help DFID to understand the theoretical, practical and ideological aspects of state building. The review presented at the end of the consultancy will complement and provide the basis for a longer, analytical background paper on state building for DFID.


Safety, Security and Access to Justice (SSAJ) Accountability Stocktake
Requested by: T Chowdhury, DFID UK, 2007
Project documents: terms of reference

DFID’s 2006 White paper emphasises that governance is central to development and sets out three requirements for good governance: state capability, accountability and responsiveness. The purpose of this consultancy was to write a review to help DFID identify a clear vision for support towards strengthening of accountability relationships as derived from the rule of law in developing countries. The output of the consultancy was a working paper that (1) sets out the treatment of accountability in DFID’s policy and guidance on Safety, Security and Access to Justice (SSAJ) (2) evaluates the impact of DFID’s support towards SSAJ worldwide on accountability relationships as derived from rule of law and (3) recommends how DFID might revise its vision of support towards SSAJ within its policy and practice in order to contribute more effectively to accountability relationships as derived from rule of law.


Private Sector and Accountability
Requested by: J Court, DFID UK, 2007
Project documents: terms of reference 

There has been increasing evidence that the private sector can play an important role in accountability. The ‘accountability stocktake’ carried out by the Effective States Team (EST) in Policy and Research Division of DFID focused on “the ability of the private sector to scrutinize public institutions and governments and hold them to account”. The purpose of this consultancy was to carry out a ‘light touch’ scoping review of donor programmes that support the private sector in accountability, highlighting the key operational lessons and principles for how donors should engage, and any important ‘gaps’ that donors might consider.


Literature review of Governance and Secure Access to Land
Requested by: M Everest-Phillips, DFID UK, 2007
Project documents: terms of reference | report

The aim of the review was to update DFID’s governance research findings around the institutional and political issues of 'secure access to land'. The purpose of the review was also to (1) distil key findings from existing knowledge, based on best research into the governance issues of security of land tenure and distributional inequalities over land (2) support DFID’s effort to tackle the problems by indicating research findings on effective ways to build capacity, accountability and responsiveness of the institutions governing access to land.


Research on Political Institutions in Developing Countries
Requested by: R Thomas, DFID UK, 2006
Project documents: terms of reference

Consultants reviewed the literature on political institutions in developing countries, focusing on Africa, and summarised current understanding of how elites work with and through political institutions. They also reviewed the methodologies used in studies undertaken in different contexts (DFID, 2006).


Review of Directions in Developing Countries’ Government Resource Mobilisation
Requested by: C Santiso, DFID UK, 2006
Project documents: terms of reference

Consultants were required to provide an overview of the literature on the key developments, issues and trends in taxation. The review included (1) the means by which raise revenue to finance spending on public goods and services for delivering the MDGs and DFID’s PSA (2) The importance of domestic revenue mobilisation for supporting state building and political stability, and (3) a summary of the wider international context such as international agreements on taxation, trade integration and tax harmonization, foreign direct investment, and financial flows, any unintentional practical conflicts and other limiting factors, such as tax competition, that limit the policy options of developing countries.


Literature Review of the Informal and Formal Functions of Parliaments and Parliamentarians in Africa
Requested by: J Armon, DFID UK, 2006
Project documents: terms of reference

Consultancy was in the form of a Literature Review that would assist DFID during its process of defining future research programmes around political governance. Review would also assist DFID in its preparation for identifying possible new commitments under DFID’s upcoming White Paper.


Study of Linkages between Identity politics, Exclusion, Inequality and Political Violence in EMAD Countries
Requested by: E Morley, DFID UK, 2006
Project documents: terms of reference

The regions that constitute EMAD (Latin America, the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, and Eastern Europe and Central Asia) are marked by deep and often increasing inequalities that are textured by social exclusion along lines of geography, social class, gender and ethnicity. The diverse regions of EMAD have valuable lessons to contribute to policy work on exclusion, causes of violence and the building of effective societies and states. The aim of the consultancy was to increase understanding of the causes of political violence in EMAD countries in order to support new policy development and operations. Consultants were required to (1)examine the links between identity politics, exclusion, inequality, and political violence by assessing case-study evidence from EMAD countries on the routes in and out of political violence and (2) draw out the key policy implications of addressing the root causes of political violence for DFID operations.


Literature Review on Political Economy of Integration in East Africa
Requested by: J de Davila, DFID UK, 2006
Project documents: terms of reference

The Pan Africa Unit (PAU) in Africa Policy Department, working with DFID EA offices, wanted to coordinate a study and process that would improve DFID’s understanding of the political economy of integration in East Africa. The purpose of the consultancy was to synthesise and present existing research in an easily accessible format and also to provide guidance on general questions for the overall study of the political economy of integration.


Civil Service Reform
Requested by: B Latto and T Wilda, DFID Ethiopia, 2006
Project documents: terms of reference

The purpose of the consultancy was to manage the development and administration of a programme of collaboration between the UK Government and the Government of Ethiopia on civil service reform. Consultants (1) worked with the Ministry of Capacity Building to identify, prioritise and develop a logical framework (2) provided support in establishing a partnership programme or twinning relationships between departments/units of the UK civil service and their counterparts in the Ethiopian government. Also to provide advisory support for effective implementation of the civil service reform and issues that emerges from twinning relationships. (3) facilitated the development of a framework agreement with each HMG partners to ensure that their contribution responds to country-led demand- and maximise benefit to the recipient government department (4) managed and monitoring the delivery of the programme, including coordination of the various inputs of UK Government Departments provided through the institutional links and twinning. Project implemented through a two-phased approach over a five year period. The first phase began with the deployment focus on the development of twinning relationship with selected UK departments and strategic support to core areas of the civil service reform. The second phase primarily built on phase one of DFID support and involved the development of a comprehensive and high-level collaboration programme with a range of UK government department in support of a demand-led civil service reform and capacity building programme in Ethiopia.


Enquiry into Voice and Accountability in Ethiopia
Requested by: T Wilda, DFID Ethiopia, 2005
Project documents: terms of reference

DFID Ethiopia undertook a process of Drivers of Change analyses in Ethiopia that were intended to identify concrete short-term opportunities to support longer term strategic change. The initial area of focus was on the relationships between the state and the citizen and, specifically on issues of “voice” and “accountability”. The primary purpose of the Drivers of Change workstream was to support longer term strategic change in Ethiopia based on a sound understanding of the trajectories, achievements, challenges and risks associated with citizen voice, power and government accountability.

 
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