William Avis,* Kaitlin Ball, Katherine Cheeseman, James Georgalakis, Sian Herbert, Iffat Idris, Zenobia Ismail, Brian Lucas, Shreya Jose Maliakal, Jasmin Morris, Sithandiwe Mujuru, Evert-Jan Quak, Sarah Verhaeg, and Mahdi Zaidan. Abstract: This study presents findings from a pilot study conducted under the Knowledge for Development and Diplomacy (K4DD) programme, ...» more
Publications
These publications include: short E-Learning Reading Packs by international experts; Helpdesk Reports that quickly summarise the literature on specific questions from practitioners; more in-depth Literature Reviews on key issues and Conflict Analyses of particular contexts; and broader Topic Guides providing overviews of research evidence.
AI and Rapid Evidence Reviews: Insights from the K4DD Pilot Study
The Knowledge for Development and Diplomacy (K4DD) programme was commissioned by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) Research and Evidence Division to undertake a pilot of artificial intelligence (AI) research tools and their application in the work of the K4DD programme. This pilot explored the application of tools across different types of K4DD ...» more
Influence of Political Culture on Development Outcomes
This K4DD Rapid Evidence Review looks at the evidence for political culture influencing development outcomes, specifically economic growth. It focuses on two indicators of political culture removed from the revised Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI): satisfaction with democracy (SWD) and consensus building. There is strong correlation between levels of SWD and ...» more
Early Warning Systems and Air Quality Forecasting
This K4DD Rapid Evidence Review collates available evidence on early warning systems and air quality forecasting. It identifies a diverse and expanding evidence base including academic articles and grey literature (particularly produced by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and UN bodies). The evidence base clearly highlights that predictive capabilities have ...» more
Digital Infrastructure Interventions to Address Climate Adaptation and Mitigation Needs
This rapid evidence review collates available evidence on digital infrastructure interventions to address climate adaptation and mitigation needs drawing on lessons from across the world to inform the Ethiopian context. The review draws upon an expanding evidence base that includes academic and grey literature. The evidence base is evolving with an increasing range of ...» more
Benefits of South South Cooperation
This K4DD Rapid Evidence Review explores the benefits of South-South cooperation, and the different approaches to cooperation. South-South cooperation (SSC) entails a wide range of collaboration among countries of the Global South, promoting collective action in relation to (among others) the economy, politics and the environment, and based on principles such as equality, ...» more
Inclusive and Collectively Owned Development Co-operation: Reflections from the 2025 Busan Forum
It was a pleasure to participate in the 2025 Busan Global Partnership Forum, contributing to Session 2 on country-level ecosystems. I joined the panel as a representative of academia, alongside practitioners and policy makers with deep experience in development co-operation. In this blog, I revisit and reflect further on the key points I raised during that session. Challenges ...» more
What Interventions Impact Migration in the Eastern Neighbourhood and Central Asia
This K4DD Rapid Evidence Review explores the evidence about what types of interventions impact migration flows in the Eastern Neighbourhood and Central Asia regions (including both overseas development assistance (ODA) and non-ODA programming). The regions are defined as: Eastern Neighbourhood: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine. Central Asia: ...» more
Can Education for out of School Children in South Sudan have Peacebuilding/Social Cohesion Benefits?
This K4DD Rapid Evidence Review explores the potential peacebuilding/social cohesion benefits of targeting out of school children (OOSC) in South Sudan through community-based education activities. It focuses on the targeting methods, activities, and approaches taken by Education in Emergencies (EIE) programmes. ...» more
GESI Dimensions of Human Smuggling and Trafficking in East Africa
This K4DD Rapid Evidence Review looks at the gender equality and social inclusion (GESI) dimensions of human smuggling and trafficking in five countries in East Africa: Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan (in their role as source countries), and Kenya (as a transit/destination country). It finds consistent evidence that women/girls and refugees/IDPs, in particular, as well as ...» more
K4DD Conflict Evidence and Discourse Summary December 2025
K4DD’s monthly Conflict Evidence and Discourse Summaries aim to signpost FCDO and others to the latest relevant evidence and discourse on conflict. ...» more
K4DD Conflict Evidence and Discourse Summary No.3
This K4DD Conflict Evidence and Discourse Summary shares the latest relevant evidence and discourse relating to conflict. The summary is organised by geographical region and covers the period of November 2025. ...» more
Norm diffusion: How global gender norms are adopted in low and middle-income countries
Sithandiwe Mujuru,* William Avis, Nic Cheeseman, Jonathan Fisher, Siân Herbert, Iffat Idris, Zenobia Ismail, Brian Lucas, and David Piela Abstract: As countries move towards achieving the gender equality targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, improving the rigour, relevance, and practical value of evidence on gender norm change is increasingly important. ...» more
K4DD Conflict Evidence and Discourse Summary No.2
This K4DD Conflict Evidence and Discourse Summary aims to signpost readers to the latest relevant evidence and discourse on conflict. This summary covers the period October 2025, and is organised by geographic region. ...» more
Innovative Programmes in the Governance Sector
This K4DD Rapid Evidence Review gives examples of effective and innovative governance programmes, which move away from ‘traditional’ donor-driven approaches. The examples have been selected to be diverse in terms of geographic region and aspect of governance (access to justice, citizen participation, accountability, etc.). Other considerations were: large-scale (ideally ...» more
Enablers for the Effective Adoption of AI at the National and City Level
This rapid evidence review collates available evidence on key enablers for the effective adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) at national and city level in low- and middle-income countries. The review draws upon an expanding evidence base that includes academic and grey literature. The evidence base is evolving with an increasing range of countries and cities rapidly ...» more
Case Studies on Progressive Taxation in Low-Income Countries
This rapid evidence review draws on a set of country case studies to examine how low-income countries have sought to make their tax systems more progressive. It looks at concrete examples of tax reforms aimed at improving fairness in how the tax burden is distributed and at strengthening domestic revenue mobilisation. By examining different policy approaches and reform ...» more
Long-Term Positive Impacts of Cash Transfer Programmes in LMICs
This K4DD Rapid Evidence Review looks at the positive long-term impacts of cash transfer programmes in non-humanitarian contexts in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Evidence of long-term impacts is very limited. From reviews of multiple studies/cash programmes, as well as of individual programmes, long-term positive impacts are seen in relation to health and ...» more
Women and Girls’ Political Empowerment
This K4DD Rapid Evidence Review explores the evidence about the approaches have been used to support girls’ and women political empowerment (WPE), focussing on their effectiveness and constraints. It particularly explores women’s political leadership and quotas in low- and middle-income countries. WPE has improved drastically across the world since the 1700s, however ...» more
Varieties of state capture
Zenobia Ismail Abstract: The literature on state capture is growing and encompasses more countries and contexts. This paper argues that it is time to consider varieties of capture that have different trajectories and outcomes. Two factors, the level of democracy and the strength of institutions, are proposed as starting points for thinking about varieties of capture. Using ...» more
