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Preferences or Cultural Obligations: Reexamining The Source of Gender Differential in Resource Allocation and Child Well-Being

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:56:22 -0500

ABSTRACT

The empirical literature examining intrahousehold resource allocation finds that mothers incomes have a larger impact on the well-being of children than fathers incomes. Although this finding is amenable to various interpretations, the most widely held view is that, as a matter of preference, women care more about the well-being of children than do men. This implies that policies that reallocate resources toward women are beneficial for the quality of childrens well-being. Many policy interventions are targeted toward a specific gender in part due to this interpretation.

Although the findings in this literature are largely not disputable, given the frameworks from which the results are derived, the interpretation can be questioned. Although most of the findings are obtained from analyzing data collected in developing countries where household structures depart from the Western model, the data sets have been analyzed within the context of two-person, independent households. Interdependence among households and interhousehold resource transfers in lineages and extended families that are widespread in developing societies are incompatible with the independent household model.

In this paper, I argue that the finding of differential effects between fathers and mothers incomes is not necessarily an outcome of differential preferences. I demonstrate through a simple framework of extended families that the outcomes are consistent with models of household behavior where fathers and mothers care equally about child well-being but fathers play an expanded role in extended families. I draw data from societies with different systems of family organization to emphasize the importance of social contexts in interpreting empirical findings related to household behavior.

By:Olumide Taiwo, The Brookings Institution, March 2012

Post-2015 Focus on Sustainable Development: How Education and Learning Can Play a Role

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:45:01 -0500

"While the theme of the third meeting of theHigh-Level Panel on Post-2015in Bali was on global partnerships, the meetings communiqu set up the handover from the high-level panel to the intergovernmentalOpen Working Group on the Sustainable Development Goals(OWG). The communiqu calls for a single and coherent post-2015 development agenda that integrates economic growth, social inclusion and environmental sustainability, and with good reason since the two development frameworks for post-2015poverty alleviation and sustainable developmentare not separate. Rather, they are interlinked challenges that need to inform each other and ultimately must be addressed together in one framework.

"Moreover, the role of education and equitable learning in achieving sustainable development needs to figure prominently in these discussions. Sustainable development cannot be attained without education that provides learners with 21st century skills that equip them for healthy, safe, and productive lives, while also safeguarding the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."

Allison Anderson, The Brookings Institution, May 20, 2013

Good Things Grown in Scaled Packages: Africa's Agricultural Challenge in Historical Context

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:26:39 -0500

"In recent years agriculture has experienced a renaissance of attention among economists and policymakers, especially those focused on sub-Saharan Africa. This heightened attention has been driven partly by research insights, partly by policy initiatives, and partly by a recognition that governments and major international development institutions had been neglecting the issue for many years. It has also been motivated by emerging trends in particular countries like Malawi, which implemented an ambitious small-holder subsidy program starting in 2005 and subsequently registered its first two consecutive years with average cereal yields above two tons per hectare in 2009 and 2010, according to recent Word Bank data.

"One indicator of the renaissance is a sizeable increase in official development assistance (ODA) directed towards agriculture. ODA for agriculture was consistently in the range of $4 billion to $5 billion for the decade before 2006. Since then, it has experienced a significant jump, reaching more than $8 billion in 2010. Concurrently average African cereal yields per hectare experienced a slight uptick, rising above 1.3 tons per hectare for the first time in 2009, after oscillating in the range of 0.9-1.2 t/ha for more than thirty years since 1975. It remains to be seen whether these yield increases reflect the beginnings of structural change.

"Africas average yields still remain much lower than those in any other region. Although Africas total factor productivity in agriculture is estimated to have increased in recent decades its food production per capita remains essentially unchanged since 1960. Continued stagnation implies fast-growing costs in terms of lives affected, as the regions population is slated to surpass one billion people by 2017 and approach two billion by 2050, according to the U.N. population divisions medium projections. A number of recent papers have underscored the major role of agriculture in reducing poverty and accelerating economic growth, so the stagnant trends have important macroeconomic implications. Esther Duflo and colleagues have also investigated questions related to farmer choices around the key input of fertilizer, motivated significantly by arguments surrounding the role of subsidies."

John McArthur, The Brookings Institution, May 2013

Mastering the SME banking risk management frontier by Mandeep Vohra, Head of SME Banking Risk Africa, Middle East and Pakistan at Standard Chartered Bank

Mon, 20 May 2013 13:01:28 -0500

Mandeep Vohra from Standard Chartered Bank outlines the various risk management approaches for banking SMEs and the need to have a distinct team of SME Risk specialist.This presentation was given during a conference jointly organized by The Arab Monetary Fund and IFC on Building a High Performance Small Medium Enterprise Business in the Arab World on 7-8 May 2013 in Dubai, UAE.

Equal access participatory monitoring and evaluation toolkit

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:33:43 -0500

This toolkit aims to help communication for development (C4D) organisations to demonstrate the impacts and outcomes of their initiatives, listen to their listeners, continuously learn, and feed this learning back into the organisation and its practices. It is a key outcome of the Assessing Communication for Social Change (AC4SC) project, which was a successful collaboration between Equal Access Nepal, Equal Access International, Queensland University of Technology and the University of Adelaide, Australia.

The toolkit is guided by the principles of the Communication for Social Change approach to C4D and participatory monitoring and evaluation (PM&E). It is based on recent ideas about effective evaluation and evaluation capacity development and learnings from the AC4SC project. This toolkit aims to help C4D organisations to become learning organisations that regularly critically reflect on their work.

Either the whole toolkit, or individual modules can be used. The toolkit encourages you to include as many people and stakeholders in your monitoring and evaluation work as possible. Its methods are largely qualitative, because through qualitative approaches you often learn something new and unexpected and gather rich insights into the subtle processes involved in social change. However, it encourages you to use a range of methods, including those that provide useful quantitative data.

Mobile phones unleash farmers in Uganda

Mon, 20 May 2013 12:30:01 -0500

A powerful new mobile platform combining agriculture information and financial services specifically designed for smallholder farmers is going live in Uganda, helping farmers plow even more value from each acre. Based on AgriLife, a cloud-based platform, the platform will be accessible via mobile phone and provide two key, interconnected services: data collection and analysis about farmers production capability and history. It will also be an integration point for financial institutions, mobile network operators, produce buyers, and their agents to more efficiently provide much-needed services to distant, rural farmers.

The data analysis will drive the growth of services and products that benefit smallholder farmers based on a better understanding of their production capability. The more high-quality, comprehensive data that can be collected, the more valuable an asset it becomes, as service providers can better understand farmers needs and tailor their offerings - like crop insurance, input payments, and savings accounts.

Overcoming Constraints to SME Development in MENA Countries and Enhancing Access to Finance

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:55:00 -0500

The role of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector cannot be over emphasized in terms of its contribution to GDP and employment generation, particularly in emerging economies. Studies indicate that formal SMEs contribute up to 45 percent of employment and up to 33 percent of GDP in developing economies (IFC: Scaling-Up SME Access to Financial Services in the Developing World 2010). These numbers are significantly higher when taking into account the estimated contributions of SMEs operating in the informal sector.

Author: Qamar Saleem, Senior SME Banking Specialist MENA, IFC

iHub Researchs Uchaguzi Monitoring & Evaluation Brief

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:53:03 -0500

During Kenyas 2013 General Election, Uchaguzi Kenya 2013, a joint initiative between SODNET, Ushahidi, CRECO, and Hivos (with support from CIDA), was used to help increase transparency and accountability through active citizen participation in the electoral cycle. Uchaguzi was coordinated through an ICT platform, which enabled Kenyans to keep an eye on the vote and provided avenues through which they could report, with any technology available to them, any incidences significant to the election.

Concurrent with the Uchaguzi deployment, iHub Research assessed how well Uchaguzi achieved its mission. The research will identify the strengths and weaknesses in the deployment and aims to create a toolkit of lessons learned that can be used by future ICT Election Watch deployments.

This brief is the first of 2 reports and is a first look at the Uchaguzi KE 2013 process. In June 2013, iHub Research will be publishing an in-depth report detailing the successes and challenges of the platform, especially around the key areas of technology, partnerships, publicity and outreach, and personnel.

Citizen Election reporting in Kenya was a breakthrough in online-offline collaboration

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:49:23 -0500

The Kenyan elections were more than a month ago, but a debate continues in the crisis mapping community about whether the various technologies deployed to track and respond to outbreaks of violence were a confused and possibly dangerous mess, or a successful contribution to what was ultimately a peaceful (if disputed) process.

DO WE REALLY NEED ALL OF THOSE PROJECTS??? Do we really need 3 maps, 7 phone numbers, and several web-forms? Is that really such a crazy bad idea to have one coordinated number/web-form that could then have in the back-end multiple responders and organizations working together? Anahi Ayala

The criticism goes on to describe this duplication as irresponsible and dangerous, especially supposing that the submitted information has no real response mechanism. While its true that having multiple public numbers for submitting information about one election is not ideal, I believe that behind the scenes was a much more encouraging process that has only just begun.

The Umpteenth Blog on using SMS Feedback in ProjectsNow with Support!

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:35:13 -0500

With shiny apps hogging the mobile spotlight these days, one could be forgiven for forgetting about SMS (Short Message Service or text messaging). When equipping a project to receive and respond to complaints, its important to remember that all modes of communication contain tradeoffs that exclude different types of people depending on the type of message they have. Face to face prevents true anonymity. Mail is slow. Phone calls can become expensive. And just to prove that the nice folks at Frontline didnt seek to brainwash the class, SMS is no magic bullet either! It cant be used directly by those unable to read or write and its difficult for the elderly and disabled to type on a phone.

SMS feedback has unique aspects which make it worthy of inclusion into any grievance redress mechanism and I encourage you to consider adding it to your project. And in case youre worried about the technical details, the set-up isnt hard. You probably dont need a consultant. Youll need to buy the right hardware, sure, but DRP can help with that. The really hard part is using that feedback to effectively resolve complaints, drive decisions and improve results. Fortunately, were happy to help with that too.

IFC SME Banking Conference 2013: Building a high performance SME business in the MENA region

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:35:03 -0500

The topic of this 2013 conference, Building a high performing SME business, is of critical importance for the MENA region. SMEs need access to banking services to create jobs and support economic growth, but only 20 percent of them have access to credit, and the SME funding gap in the region is estimated at $160 billion. Banks and policy makers in the region are aware of these opportunities and are developing new strategies to support SMEs. The AMF and the IFC are working together to support these important efforts.The conference gathered around 250 bankers and international SME experts from more than 20 countries to share experiences on best practice SME banking.

Paper - Overcoming constraints for SME development in MENA countries and increasing access to finance

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Session 1: CEO Perspectives - Making SME Banking a Strategic Priority
With rapidly eroding growth opportunities in retail and corporate banking, Banks are increasingly looking for avenues to build a competitive and sustainable SME business. This session will discuss CEO strategy to scale up SME Banking operations.

Moderator: Aftab Ahmed, Director, IFC EMENA Financial Markets
Raheel Ahmed, Regional Head of Consumer Banking, Standard Chartered Bank
Atif Bajwa, CEO, Al Falah Bank, Pakistan
Fadel El Halaissi, Delegate General Manager, BMCE Bank, Morocco
Bernd van Linder, Managing Director and CEO, Saudi Hollandi Bank

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Session 2: Opportunities and Changing Landscape in SME Banking in MENA
With a funding gap for MENA SME estimated at USD 170 billion, Financial Institutions in the regions are launching new SME banking initiatives. This session will focus on the business case for sustainable SME banking in MENA, latest innovations and global best practices in SME banking, and the importance of financial infrastructure to increase outreach.

Moderator: James Gohary, Regional Manager, Financial Markets and
Private Equity Funds-MENA, IFC
Mutsa Chironga, Associate Principal, McKinsey & Company
Hafid Oubrik, Financial Sector Specialist, Arab Monetary Fund
Matthew Gamser, Head, SME Finance Forum, IFC

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Session 3: Regional Initiatives and Role of Regulators in SME Banking Development
The MENA region is witnessing various regional initiatives to improve SMEs access to finance. In addition, regulators are playing an important role to improve the enabling environment for SME banking. This session will discuss best practice policies to promote SME banking.

Moderator: Yisr Barnieh, Arab Monetary Fund, Chief of Financial Markets Division
AbdulKarim AlArhabi, Secretary General, SMEs Facility, Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development
May Abulnaga, Head, Regulations Department, Central Bank of Egypt
Ashraf Khan, Executive Director, State Bank of Pakistan
Badr El Din Ibrahim, Director, Central Bank of Sudan

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Session 4: Mastering the SME Banking Risk Management Frontier
SME Banking is often viewed as a high risk market segment. However, SME Banking business can yield attractive returns, one of the best, on risk adjusted return basis. This session will discuss the ways banks must adopt differentiated risk management techniques, innovate approaches of assessing the credit risk involved, and use technology and analytics to dynamically manage portfolio risks.

Moderator: Cameron Evans, Principal Risk Management Specialist, IFC
Lawrence Antioch, Managing Director-Group Risk, DBS Bank Singapore
Mandeep Vohra, Head of SME Risk, Middle East, Pakistan and Africa, Standard Chartered Bank
Oscar Madeddu, Principal Financial Specialist, IFC

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Session 5: Maximizing SME revenues - through Strategic Customer Management
Profitably serving the SME sector requires not just a deep understanding of the best segments to serve, but also of the financial needs and revenue drivers for each customer segment. This session will provide insights on how banks have radically increased revenues through developing customized propositions at targeted segments.

Moderator: Xavier Reille, Manager, Financial Sector Advisory Services, IFC MENA
Andrew McCartney, Global Product Specialist, IFC MENA
Christian Wessels, Partner, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants
Turgut Boz, SME Banking Assistant General Manager, TEB Turkey

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Session 6: Women in Business - Leveraging Segment Opportunities
Despite being an emerging & profitable business segment, most banks do not have a differentiated value proposition for serving Women in Business. This session will discuss how to use market research to develop a segment strategy and develop an attractive value proposition for women entrepreneurs.

Moderator: Qamar Saleem, Senior SME Banking Specialist, IFC MENA
Larke Riemer, Director, Womens Markets, Westpac Bank, Australia
Tania Moussallem, Head of Strategic Development, BLC, Lebanon
Hanan Saab, Founder and Managing Director, Pharmamed, Lebanon
Patience Marime-Ball, Principal Investment Officer, IFC, Washington DC

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Session 7: Making a difference with SME Islamic Banking
Islamic banking has enjoyed a double digit growth over the past 10 years providing new opportunities for SME finance. This session will address the opportunities and challenges of serving SME customers with Islamic banking products.

Moderator: Kaiser Naseem, Program Manager, IFC MENA
Ashar M. Nazim, Islamic Financial Services, Ernst & Young Bahrain
Tariq Hameed, Senior Vice President, Capitas Group
Neil Miller, Global Head of Islamic Finance, Linklaters
Mubashar Khokhar, Management Consultants Islamic Advisory, Israa Capital

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Session 8: Integrating Alternative Channels into SME Banking Value Proposition
Cost to serve SMEs, which are in most circumstances widely dispersed, nonhomogeneous in nature and offering smaller revenue wallet, poses a significant challenge to banks. This session will discuss how to leverage new delivery channels to lower operating costs, build internal efficiencies and maintain customer satisfaction levels.

Moderator: Margarete Biallas, Global Product Leader, Retail Payment Institutions & Innovation, IFC
Scott Stefanski, Maana Mobile
Teresita Tan, President, BPI Globe BankKO, Philippines
Rohit Arora, Chief Executive Officer, Biz2Credit
Milkah Chebii, Head of Retail Banking Channels & Operations, Kenya Commercial Bank

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Session 9: Using SME Advisory Services as a Competitive Advantage
Leading SME banks have developed successful SME advisory programs to differentiate their value proposition and better manage risks. This session explores experiences of banks that have implemented such strategies, the challenges faced and the benefits reaped of this differentiated approach.

Moderator: Sylvia Zulu, Manager, Sustainable Business Advisory, IFC MENA
Michel Botzung, Principal Operations Officer, IFC
Steven A. Tambunting, Vice President and Board Director, Planters Bank, Philippines
Regina Bundang, General Manager, Regalo Service & Redwood Internet, Philippines
Saad N. Mouasher, Senior Deputy CEO, Jordan Ahli Bank, Jordan

Market for feature phone apps is low-tech goldmine

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:29:07 -0500

In the West, you might deploy a bus tracking app on your smartphone to inform you when that errant bus will arrive. But in India the mobile infrastructure is less developed. Even if it were available, many people don't have smartphones to take advantage of such apps. Feature phones, which perhaps boast basic forms of GPS, camera, MP3 player and some kind of internet access, as well as the ability to run simple apps, have become increasingly popular in the developing world. They occupy the middle ground between basic phones that simply make, and receive calls and text messages, and smartphones.

Research firm Gartner estimates worldwide feature phone sales totalled 264.4 million units in the fourth quarter of 2012, easily outstripping smartphone sales of 207.7 million. Such massive markets, because of the nature and sophistication of the target devices, would appear in theory to be quick and easy to exploit. There are a couple of tough issues for those offering apps and other services through feature phones. The first is getting people to realise they exist. Then companies need to work out how to actually get them onto the phone.

In South Africa, Organizers Combine Old and New Media to Take on Corruption

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:26:20 -0500

According to Transparency Internationals Corruption Perception Index 2012, South Africa received a score of 4.4 out of 10, with 10 being the least corrupt and 0 the most. The Corruption Watch team, many of whom are former journalists, has been keen to leverage their contacts in traditional media outlets as well. With limited budgets, this outreach is more challenging for the NGO, yet necessary in order to reach the South African public. The team has worked with local television, radio, and print news on exposes on corruption as well as general coverage. In 2013, for example, they negotiated the inclusion of their 19-page anniversary report in Johannesburgs The City Press, which is the company's third-largest newspaper with an average of 2.5 million readers per day.

The publicity and awareness campaigns of Corruption Watch have been particularly effective in shining a light on corruption due to their multifaceted media approach. As an NGO with limited resources, their team has leveraged social media as an inexpensive and effective means of communicating with the next generation. The team itself publishes its own material to the site, about 30 new articles each month, including new media visuals like infographics and other creative media representations of corruption in South Africa, their progress, and their greatest challenges.

The No More Tjo-Tjo campaign, challenged the pervasiveness of the solicitation of traffic bribes. By issuing Know Your Rights cards to motorists, by tracking data on traffic police corruption, and by outlining a plan of action for the Johannesburg police, Corruption Watch dove into this prevalent issue in South African society in early 2012, and in just 8 months, they exposed thatone in four motorists were solicited for a bribe in 2010 alone. These efforts, coupled with an expansive media outreach campaign, garnered an impressive amount of press coverage, forcing city officials to respond.

ELLA BRIEF: Community Participation in IFI-Funded Development Projects: Latin Americas Experience

Mon, 20 May 2013 11:12:58 -0500

Major development projects involving infrastructure or extractive industries - both in Latin America and other regions - tend to be financed, either partially or totally, by international financial institutions (IFIs). Given that these types of large-scale projects could have adverse effects on local communities livelihoods, cultural heritage and environment, IFIs have established mechanisms to guarantee that the projects they fund meet international environmental and social standards. Though not perfect, such mechanisms do at least allow organised citizens to access project information and to demand concrete ways to get engaged in project decision making. Using a successful case from Mexico, this Brief reflects on the role of informed citizen participation as a crucial factor facilitating accountability within development projects with international funding.

DESIGNING EVALUATIONS:

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:16:54 -0500

This publication supersedes PEMD-10.1.4, Designing Evaluations, May 1, 1991. GAO assists congressional decision makers in their deliberations by furnishing them with analytical information on issues and options. Many diverse methodologies are needed to develop sound and timely answers to the questions the Congress asks. To provide GAO evaluators with basic information about the more commonly used methodologies, GAOs policy guidance includes documents such as methodology transfer papers and technical guides.

This methodology transfer paper addresses the logic of program evaluation designs. It introduces key issues in planning evaluation studies of federal programs to best meet decision makers needs while accounting for the constraints evaluators face. It describes different types of evaluations for answering varied questions about program performance, the process of designing evaluation studies, and key issues to consider toward ensuring overall study quality.

To improve federal program effectiveness, accountability and service delivery, the Congress enacted the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), establishing a statutory framework for performance management and accountability, including the requirement that federal agencies set goals and report annually on progress towards those goals and program evaluation findings. In response to this and related management reforms, federal agencies have increased their attention to conducting program evaluations. The GPRA Modernization Act of 2010 raised the visibility of performance information by requiring quarterly reviews of progress towards agency and governmentwide priority goals. Designing Evaluations is a guide to successfully completing evaluation design tasks. It should help GAO evaluatorsand others interested in assessing federal programs and policiesplan useful evaluations and become educated consumers of evaluations.

Designing Evaluations is one of a series of papers whose purpose is to provide guides to various aspects of audit and evaluation methodology and indicate where more detailed information is available. It is based on GAO studies and policy documents and program evaluation literature. To ensure the guides competence and usefulness, drafts were reviewed by selected GAO, federal and state agency evaluators, and evaluation authors and practitioners from professional consulting firms. This paper updates a 1991 version issued by GAOs prior Program Evaluation and Methodology Division. It supersedes that earlier version and incorporates changes in federal program evaluation and performance measurement since GPRA was implemented.

UNDP Handbook on Planning, Monitoring and Evaluating for Development Results

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:12:09 -0500

This Handbook on Planning, Monitoring and Evaluating for Development Results is an updated edition of the 2002 edition of Handbook on Monitoring and Evaluation for Results1. It seeks to address new directions in planning, monitoring and evaluation in the context of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) corporate strategic plan, the requirements of the UNDP evaluation policy approved by the Executive Board in 2006 and the United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG) Standards for Evaluation in the UN System2. The updated Handbook also incorporates information recommended by key users of the Handbook during various workshops held by UNDP units.

The guiding framework of UNDP for planning, monitoring and evaluation is provided in the Programme and Operations Policy and Procedure (POPP)3 , the evaluation policy , and the UNEG Standards for Evaluation in the UN System. The POPP and evaluation policy4 aim to provide guidance to UNDP management and staff on key functions and mechanisms through which the results and principles enshrined in the overarching programmatic documents of UNDP, including the strategic plan, are to be achieved. They reflect the intentions of the Executive Board and also inform UNDP stakeholders of how UNDP conducts its work.

These documents provide the prescriptive content on what needs to be done, by whom and by when. This Handbook complements this content by providing UNDP programme units with guidance on how to and practical tools to strengthen results-oriented planning, monitoring and evaluation in UNDP.

Research Excellence Framework

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:03:54 -0500

The UK's Research Excellence Framework (REF) is the new system for assessing the quality of research in UK higher education institutions (HEIs). It will replace theResearch Assessment Exercise(RAE) and will be completed in 2014.

The REF will be undertaken by the four UK higher education funding bodies. The exercise will be managed by the REF team based at HEFCE and overseen by the REF Steering Group, consisting of representatives of the four funding bodies.

The primary purpose of the REF is to produce assessment outcomes for each submission made by institutions:

The funding bodies intend to use the assessment outcomes to inform the selective allocation of their research funding to HEIs, with effect from 2015-16.
The assessment provides accountability for public investment in research and produces evidence of the benefits of this investment.
The assessment outcomes provide benchmarking information and establish reputational yardsticks.

The REF is a process of expert review. HEIs will be invited to make submissions in36units of assessment.Submissions will be assessed by an expert sub-panel for each unit of assessment, working under the guidance of four main panels.Sub-panels will apply a set of genericassessment criteria and level definitions, to produce an overall quality profile for each submission.

Big Data from Cheap Phones

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:00:39 -0500

Caroline Buckee, a Harvard epidemiologist, is using detailed data on population movements - gleaned from mobile phones - to build precise new tools for fighting the spread of malaria. Buckees most recent study, published last year in Science and based on records from 15 million Kenyan phones, is a result of a collaboration with her husband, Nathan Eagle, who has been working to make sense of cell-phone data for more than a decade.

That demonstration suggests how such data might be harnessed to build tools that health-care workers, governments, and others can use to detect and monitor epidemics, manage disasters, and optimize transportation systems. Already, similar efforts are being directed toward goals as varied as understanding commuting patterns around Paris and managing festival crowds in Belgium. But mining phone records could be particularly useful in poor regions, where theres often little or no other data-gathering infrastructure.

Last year the World Economic Forum - the group of leading industry, academic, and political figures who converge annually at Davos, Switzerland - issued a call for governments, development organizations, and companies to develop data analysis tools to improve the lives of people in the poor world.

DFID Working Paper 38. Broadening the range of designs and methods for impact evaluations.

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:57:56 -0500

Summary:

This report brings together the findings and conclusions of a study on Impact Evaluation (IE) commissioned by DFID. It comprises an executive summary and 7 chapters:

Introducing the study

Defining impact evaluation

Choosing designs and methods

Evaluation questions and evaluation designs

Programme attributes and designs

Quality assurance

Conclusions and next steps

Each of the main chapters has a main message box at the beginning that highlights the key points in that chapter. The final chapter draws together 10 study conclusions and briefly outlines some proposed follow ups to the study.

Challenges for Community Radio in India's Rural Development

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:56:23 -0500

Indias 12th Five Year Plan (2012-2017) talks of challenges emanating from the economys transition to a higher growth path, the structural changes that come with it and the expectations it generates. These parameters are more critical for an estimated 833 million people in India who continue to live in rural areas and a very large proportion of whom, both men and women, are either wholly or significantly still dependent for their livelihood on farm as well as non-farm activities.

A grant of license to set up a community radio station is processed approximately in ten months in the Ministries of Information & Broadcasting and Telecommunications. Advertising or announcements relating to socio-economic development, local events, local businesses, services and employment opportunities are allowed for a maximum duration of 5 minutes per hour of broadcast in a day (minimum two hours of broadcasting). The current number of such community radio stations in the country, of which a majority are housed in urban university campuses, is just 141.

Building on the experience and learning during the Eleventh Plan Period, it would be extremely worthwhile to analyse the extent and impact of coverage by operational community radio stations of vulnerable sections of society such as scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, minorities, women and especially children. Thus, the fourth governance challenge would be to identify regions and themes where extra energies need to be devoted to motivate non profit civil society applicants to establish community radio stations.

Research to Action

Mon, 20 May 2013 09:42:55 -0500

Research to Action (R2A) is an initiative catering for the strategic and practical needs of people trying to improve the way social, economic and environmental development research is communicated and utilised.

Its stated mission is "to guide and support effective research engagement and communication. The result of which can 'help give research a chance' to inform decision-making processes, bring about social change and have impact. We believe that if research is made more interesting, accessible and relevant to policymakers and practitioners, it will be more likely be utilised."

The staff of Research to Action has structured the site and populated it with material that its members think will be immediately useful to people who would like to be more strategic and effective in their research communication and engagement.

R2A is produced by a small editorial team, led by CommsConsult. The staff welcomes suggestions for and contributions to the site.

If you have any queries about this site please contact Andrew Clappison [andrew@commsconsult.org] or another member of the CommsConsult team [info@commsconsult.org]

Who Stole My Cow? Open Data and Praedial Larceny

Mon, 20 May 2013 04:41:15 -0500

Praedial larceny the theft of agricultural produce and livestock - is widely acknowledged as a major threat to agricultural production and food security in developing countries. It robs legitimate producers, stifles incentives for farming entrepreneurs and adversely affects the poor. In Jamaica, this scourge deprives farmers of more than JA$5 billion (US$52 million) each year. At its core, praedial larceny thrives on information asymmetries that limit coordination between stakeholders, such as farmers, law enforcement, and buyers of produce. The free flow and accessibility of information about registered farmers, their production, incidences of theft and linkages between production and market are all a part of the information ecosystem that is needed to combat this challenge.

While the value of data is derived from its usage, the principle of openness is founded on access and participation. Having more relevant and timely access to data for not only policy makers and data scientists, but also farmers, innovators and other intermediaries, will help to create the solutions needed to prevent threats to food security.

one thing is clear: open government data in agriculture will be critical to breaking down the silos that typically create governance bottlenecks. This requires focusing not aggregate macro datasets, but instead opening small, service level indicators, originating from any development partner, that can provide just in time data to inform decision making. Early program prototypes include employment opportunities as data collectors for at-risk youth, and mobile farmer ID verification for law enforcement and buyers of produce.

The Problem with Our Data Obsession

Mon, 20 May 2013 04:29:49 -0500

In his trenchant new book,To Save Everything Click Here,Evgeny Morozov, a writer forSlateand The New Republic,uses the Eightmaps episode to support his claim that Internet-centrism is warping our view of whats truly important. Transparency is ascending at the expense of other values, Morozov suggests, mainly because it is so cheap and easy to use the Internet to distribute data that might someday prove useful. And because were so often told that the Internet has liberated us from the controls that gatekeepers had on information, rethinking the availability of information seems retrograde - and the tendency toward openness gathers even more force.

Harvard professor Lawrence Lessig haseloquently describedwhy having more data about politicians is more likely to mislead people into cynicism than to make politics better. But Lessig seems resigned to the inevitability of such data-gathering projects in the age of the Internet.

The most chilling potential problem is that the data we use to guide ourselves can be incomplete or overly reductionist. Many crimes go unreported, which could fool predictive policing software into thinking a neighborhood is safe. Cops on the beat, however, might be able to tell when things dont seem quite right there and keep an eye out. Morozov fears a future in which such intuitive knowledge about how to deploy resources is overruled by algorithms that can work only with hard data and cant, of course, account for the data they dont have.

Mobile Privacy Disclosures: Building Trust Through Transparency

Mon, 20 May 2013 04:20:43 -0500

In the fourth quarter of 2012, consumers worldwide bought approximately 217 million smartphones, which weigh about four ounces and fit in the palm of the hand. Consumers derive enormous benefits from these devices, which are used to make audio and video phone calls, buy movie tickets, check traffic on the regular commute, browse a digital library while waiting for an appointment, and connect with friends for spontaneous get-togethers.

The mobile ecosystem has changed in other ways, too. The complexity of the ecosystem raises 21st century concerns: When people use their mobile devices, they are sharing information about their daily lives with a multitude of players. How many companies are privy to this information? How often do they access such content and how do they use it or share it? What do consumers understand about who is getting their information and how they are using it?

ICT4Ag 2013 Conference, Plug & Play Day, Kigali, Rwanda, 4 November, 2013: Call for Innovations Opens!

Mon, 20 May 2013 02:55:35 -0500

As a precursor to the ICT4Ag conference being coorganised by CTA, MINAGRI and partner organisations in Kigali, Rwanda, the Plug and Play Day (November 4, 2013) offers participants a valuable and very practical insight into the latest technological developments in the field of ICT for agriculture.

Proposals are being solicited from the general public for apps/tools/solutions developers and techies, who may be interested in demonstrating or teaching others how to use these technologies for agricultural development.

If interested in submitting a proposal for the Plug & Play Day, please follow the link below where you will find the full details and the form for submission of your proposal.

ICT4Ag 2013 Conference, Kigali, Rwanda 4-8 November, 2013: Call for Content Opens!

Mon, 20 May 2013 02:22:09 -0500

Co-hosted by CTA and MINAGRI, and supported by an impressive array of international organisations working in the fields of ICTs and agriculture, this conference taking place in Kigali, Rwanda on 4-8 November 2013, offers participants the opportunity to discover exciting opportunities and cutting edge technologies.

Proposals are being solicited from interested resource persons under a broad range of session topics within the field of ICTs and agriculture. If interested in submitting a content proposal for the ICT4Ag 2013 conference, please follow the link below where you will find the full details and the form for submission of your proposal.

comparison of socio-economic characteristics of ethnic minority vis-a-vis main stream population: New survey evidence from Vietnam

Sun, 19 May 2013 20:56:29 -0500

The ethnic minority people are known to be poor in general, low in education and perform less compared to the main stream population in Vietnam. There is however less evidence backed by field data to compare the overall standards of ethnic minority people and the main stream people. This note based on survey data gathered from 420 households (75% minority and 25 % main stream) corroborates that minority households in general perform poorly compared to main stream population is. Out of the 11 socio-economic variables populated in this survey, it is revealed that ethnic minority people have performed less in 7 while their achievement is higher than the main stream in two variables namely, ownership of income-generating assets and schooling rate. The ownership of household assets by ethnic minority and main stream households show a mixed pattern where a higher number of ethnic minority households owned water storage jars and sewing machines compared to the main stream households.

"Socio-Capitalism" Is This the new order world wants?

Sun, 19 May 2013 08:45:28 -0500

Socio Capitalism is an economic structure which privileges Communities, Individuals, Capitalists and Governments involve together to achieve Economic Goal. Thus Growth Share reaches entire population. Socio Capitalism is a system where capitalist invests and gets due reward. Its role is to invest but functions by communities and its people to promote the project and shared by all involved, encourages involved having equal interest in the growth. Governments role does not merely sticking to running public sectors rather priority is protecting societys interest and social order, obligates thorough watch on financiers and society functioning, market economy and have upper hand on both categories. As socialism and capitalism both together attached to economic order, their endeavour is to make project successful. Unlike socialism socio capitalism encourages energetic challenging behaviour among involved citizens, communities, and investors as incentives and disincentives involved. And unlike capitalism, the objective is profit with social consciousness.

As each individual is a contributor to the objective, would prefer the success to survive. Share of the result shared with all involved according to their capacity. This objective promotes success economy. System helps sliding poverty level down.

System facilitates population to involve in economic and social sectors to build a powerful stable economy. Reluctance of Capitalists investment in agro and rural based industries escaped rural growth causing heavy migration to cities.
Educational Institutions and Societies: Socio Capitalism is a community initiation to explore its resources to benefit people. So educate and train is priority to identify sectors for economic growth. New system encourages introducing new research based education system to identify new resources and sources helping employment generation.
Environment and Society: Communities initiation towards identifying usage of natural and cultural resources to attract tourism and so-on is promotion to environmental importance. Environment- cultural related and small sector opportunities to soar employment opportunities in neighbourhoods.
Health and medical care and societies: Entrance of capitalism in Health and Medical sectors have soared manifold the cost of treatment and medicines reaching beyond ordinary citizens capacity. In Socio Capitalism system each neighbourhood to have health care units with qualified doctors and nurses. Financed by institutions or Government and governed by communities, thus would transform present system to social compatibility.
Layoffs Job cuts contract worker and Capitalism: Job cuts (DWnews) is easy privileged systems of capitalism to hire and fire when want. On the other hand under Socio Capitalism each involved is share holder. An eligible person hired is an asset to the company thus on hire, shares offered at subsidised value. That may be as easy payable or bank finance recommended by the company credibility. These shares are only transferrable during way out or retirement. Unlike socialism pattern workers are equally responsible for functioning.
In fact individuals investing in stock exchange are more or less unproductive as earnings not directed to companies rather exchanged between seller and buyer of shares. In socio capitalism people are encouraged to invest in projects rather than speculative stock exchanges. Careful Government regulation assures secured investments.
The objective of the society shifts to humanity and human needs. Social security and social order is priority as all are linked to each other.
Political and administration systems would have different philosophy to match social needs. Money and vote wouldnt be the criteria rather performance and experience in respective fields would invite candidates to enrol for competition.
Large private sectors too are obliged and have flavour of socio capitalism in regard to employment, production and marketing.

A website that helps save your electricity bill

Sun, 19 May 2013 03:00:55 -0500

Abhishek Jain has come a long way since he left a high-profile job in Deloitte to help Indians save electricity at home. His online initiative, bijlibachao.com, not only helps analyse electricity bills but also calculates how a consumer can save money by choosing the right colour for a room and correctly placing appliances.

An electricity bill is a confusing entity. If the bill is Rs. 2,000 - 3,000, lets go pay it, but how it gets to Rs. 2,000 - 3,000 no one knows, and one just goes and pays the bill. The whole idea is to help them understand why the amount has gone up and help reduce it, said 31-year-old Jain, an alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology and founder of the website.

Appliances such as refrigerators can save electricity if appropriately placed in the house, according to him. It is a well-known fact that refrigerators release heat, but if it is not given ample place, it will not cool properly, affecting its efficiency. Stuffing it with warm food uses up a lot of electricity, risking its efficiency. Such tips are on the website for viewers to read.

The Global Fund should take transparency to another level

Sun, 19 May 2013 02:58:00 -0500

Global Fund transparency, as it is practised today, is more of a barrier to journalists and in-country activists than anything else: intimidating piles of reports filled with obscure language, countless files and downloadable materials that reassure technocrats in donor capitals but that dont say much about the reality of what happens to the funds when they hit the ground. Understanding, processing and making use of this information requires learning about technical jargon, Global Fund internal processes, and the roles and responsibilities of different local partners. One needs to be familiar with web searching techniques and data processing methods, and to have some basic communication skills to translate often indigestible data into a plain, common language that non-technical audiences can understand.

Last, but not least, trying to make the powerful accountable in countries with no such tradition is a risky game for the few activists and concerned citizens who dare to do so. With the rise of the Open Government and Open Data movements in Africa and elsewhere, people may fear less for their lives than they used to, but threats and intimidation are still very much a daily reality for local watchdogs.

This leads to a strange paradox. As I heard recently: That is almost the flip side of transparency. Its very easy to use transparency if actually you want to drown people in information. I know its a tactic for lawyers: just give too much information to people, and it will be difficult for them to really figure out what is important. Certainly, the Global Fund did not create this complexity consciously and voluntarily, but the result is the same: mountains of data and files that have the effect of shielding grantees and the Funds bureaucracy from too much scrutiny.

Bill Gates: Teachers need real feedback

Sun, 19 May 2013 02:54:57 -0500

Until recently, many teachers only got one word of feedback a year: satisfactory. And with no feedback, no coaching, theres just no way to improve. Bill Gates suggests that even great teachers can get better with smart feedback -- and lays out a program from his foundation to bring it to every classroom.

A passionate techie and a shrewd businessman, Bill Gates changed the world once, while leading Microsoft to dizzying success. Now he's set to do it again with his own style of philanthropy and passion for innovation.

Second-Generation Americans: A Portrait of the Adult Children of Immigrants

Sun, 19 May 2013 02:52:51 -0500

Second-generation Americans - the 20 million adult U.S.-born children of immigrants - are substantially better off than immigrants themselves on key measures of socioeconomic attainment, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. They have higher incomes; more are college graduates and homeowners; and fewer live in poverty. In all of these measures, their characteristics resemble those of the full U.S. adult population.

Hispanics and Asian Americans make up about seven-in-ten of todays adult immigrants and about half of todays adult second generation. Pew Research surveys find that the second generations of both groups are much more likely than the immigrants to speak English; to have friends and spouses outside their ethnic or racial group, to say their group gets along well with others, and to think of themselves as a typical American.

Adults in the second generation are doing better than those in the first generation in median household income ($58,000 versus $46,000); college degrees (36% versus 29%); and homeownership (64% versus 51%). They are less likely to be in poverty (11% versus 18%) and less likely to have not finished high school (10% versus 28%). Most of these favorable comparisons hold up not just in the aggregate but also within each racial/ethnic subgroup (e.g., second-generation Hispanics do better than first-generation Hispanics; second-generation whites do better than first-generation whites, and so on).

Research Uptake: A guide for DFID-funded research programmes

Sun, 19 May 2013 02:49:19 -0500

DFID funds research in order to contribute to its overarching goal of poverty reduction. We fund some research which aims to produce new products or technologies which directly improve the lives of poor people. Other research produces knowledge and will only have an impact if it is understood and used to inform decisions. Research uptake includes all the activities that facilitate and contribute to the use of research evidence by policy-makers, practitioners and other development actors.

This guidance note aims to support DFID-funded research programmes as they develop and implement their research uptake strategy. Research programmes which are part-funded by DFID should consult with their DFID programme manager to determine which part(s) apply to them.

Civic Engagement in the Digital Age

Sun, 19 May 2013 02:46:34 -0500

Social networking sites have grown more important in recent years as a venue for political involvement, learning, and debate. Overall, 39% of all American adults took part in some sort of political activity on a social networking site during the 2012 campaign. This means that more Americans are now politically active on social networking sites (SNS) than used them at all as recently as the 2008 election campaign. At that point, 26% of the population used a social networking site of any kind.

The growth in several specific behaviors between 2008 and 2012 illustrates the increasing importance of SNS as places where citizens can connect with political causes and issues:

In 2012, 17% of all adults posted links to political stories or articles on social networking sites, and 19% posted other types of political content. That is a six-fold increase from the 3% of adults who posted political stories or links on these sites in 2008.

In 2012, 12% of all adults followed or friended a political candidate or other political figure on a social networking site, and 12% belonged to a group on a social networking site involved in advancing a political or social issue. That is a four-fold increase from the 3% of adults who took part in these behaviors in 2008.

Digital Panchayat: Vital to Shape India's Future

Sun, 19 May 2013 02:43:21 -0500

The soul of India lives in its villages. More than 69 percent of 1.21 billion Indians, i.e. nearly 830 million people live in different villages. While the urban population has been dramatically increasing in India since the last decade, the rural economy and life is still central to India's existence and identity. This country cannot develop without developing its villages. The digital revolution in each and every Panchayat is a must in a bid to make Indias growth inclusive. Without this revolution, the fully flagged e-Governance for India will only be a dream. There are 245,525 Panchayat offices in India. It includes offices of 525 Zila Panchayats, 6,299 Block Panchayats and 238,644 Gram Panchayats.

As per the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, only 58, 291 Panchayat offices have computers. In Jharkhand, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, barely one or two Panchayats have computer facilities. This is not the end of challenges. The irony is, most computers in the states Panchayats are either non-functional, or there is no trained person to operate them.

Digital Panchayat is a story illustrating how every Panchayat used the believe in a ray of hope. Also, at Digital Empowerment Foundation, we are looking for people in various areas who can help members of Panchayats in order to make them part of Global Digital Revolution.

More Information on the New Funding Model, Please

Sun, 19 May 2013 02:40:12 -0500

This is a plea for the Global Fund to become more active in communicating information about the new funding model to its broad audience of people working on and interested in Global Fund matters.

For a multilateral agency like the Global Fund, the development of a new funding model (NFM) is extremely complex and time-consuming, as is the transition from the rounds-based system. All of this needs very careful planning and attention to detail from all involved. It also needs a good communication strategy to ensure that those affected by the NFM understand what is happening.

Discussion of the design of this new system has been ongoing for at least 12 months, yet new details are emerging with every iteration. In addition, there are elements of the NFM that have not yet been fully defined; some aspects wont be finalised until after the transition period. This is understandable, but it is also frustrating to observe.

Through this period, the biggest complaint that we have heard from people in the field is that they are not being kept informed.

Global Monitoring Report 2013: Rural-Urban Dynamics and the Millennium Development Goals

Sun, 19 May 2013 02:34:54 -0500

The Global Monitoring Report 2013: Rural-Urban Dynamics and the Millennium Development Goals examines rural-urban disparities in the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and how urbanization, if managed well, can contribute to the attainment of these goals. The report provides information about the differences in progress toward the MDGs across geographical areas and recognizes that urban populations are better off than their rural brethren. However, unfettered urbanization can cause migrants and the urban poor to end up in slums where attainment of the MDGs lags. GMR 2013 calls for an integrated strategy to better manage the planning-connecting-financing formula of urbanization. Notwithstanding the importance of urbanization in poverty reduction and MDG attainment, rural areas remain a huge challenge - one that underscores the importance of policies that can improve rural livelihoods.

The rural-urban spectrum ranges from small towns to large cities. The general experience is that poverty is lowest in the largest cities and considerably higher in smaller towns. The MDGs reflect the basic needs of all citizens, and governments should aim to meet them fully in both urban and rural areas. However, resources are scarce, so priorities must be set and trade-offs made. The report argues that the sequencing of actions be tailored to local conditions when it comes to the degree of urbanization and rural-urban differences in MDG outcomes.

The world has met four global MDG targets. New estimates confirm the 2012 reports that MDG 1.a - reducing the $1.25-a-day poverty rate (2005 purchasing power parity) - was reached in 2010, falling below half of its 1990 value. The world also met part of MDG 7.c - to halve the proportion of people without safe access to drinking water - in 2010. MDG 7.d - to improve significantly the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers by 2020 - was also achieved. Finally, the first part of MDG 3.a - to eliminate gender disparity in primary education - was accomplished in 2010. Global progress on the full MDG 3.a (to eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education) is close to being on track. Global Monitoring Report 2013 was prepared jointly by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, with consultations and collaborations with regional development banks and other multilateral partners.

Open Government Data: Helping Parents to find the Best School for their Kids

Sun, 19 May 2013 02:30:39 -0500

I recently relocated my family from Chisanau to The Hague, leading to the difficult experience of trying to find the best primary school for my son in a new city. This challenge finding the right school is probably one of the most important decisions in many parents lives. Parents are looking for answers to questions such as which schools are located in safe neighborhoods, which ones have the highest teacher students ratio, which schools have the best funding, which schools have the best premises or which ones have the highest grades average.

It is rarely an easy decision, but is made doubly difficult in the case of migrants. People residing in the same location for a long time know, more or less, which are the best education institutions in their city, town or village. For migrants, the situation is absolutely the opposite. They have to spend extra time and resources in identifying relevant information about schools.

Open Government Data is an effective solution which can ease the problem of a lack of accessible information about existing schools in a particular country or location. By adopting the Open Government Data policy in the educational field, governments release data about grades, funding, student and teacher numbers, data generated throughout time by schools, colleges, universities and other educational settings.

Special Report: Mobiles for Social & Behaviour Change in India'

Sun, 19 May 2013 02:27:29 -0500

The consultation paper (draft) presents the key areas of emphasis in the growing mobile for development space in India. The purpose is to understand the scope and magnitude of the expanding mobile domain as it is lately linked essentially to advance development and governance objectives and seen as the most democratic technology medium to offer scope to deliver service needs anytime, anywhere. The Paper content has been derived from existing research and field inputs. The paper is intended to assist consultation (Mobiles for Social and Behavior Change) stakeholders to get an overview of issues, scope and relevance in mobile thrust to support development efforts of the government and private players including bilateral agencies and civil society bodies.

A review of 13 practices for this paper indicates the most common sectors for focus are education, health, socio-economic development, and disaster management well within the central focus of MDGs. There is evidence that stakeholders are interested and expressed keenness in using mobiles as service and solution providers, yet there remain vital challenges towards sustaining the pilots and scaling them. The pilot initiatives have highlighted two essential points. One, mobiles have emerged as effective mechanism to derive project impacts in information dissemination, project monitoring / tracking, training of frontline workers and interpersonal communication practices. Second, mobile projects calls for inclusive agenda among stakeholders in multi-stakeholder partnership mode.

Obama Administration Releases Historic Open Data Rules to Enhance Government Efficiency and Fuel Economic Growth

Sun, 19 May 2013 02:23:40 -0500

The Obama Administration recently took groundbreaking new steps to make information generated and stored by the Federal Government more open and accessible to innovators and the public, to fuel entrepreneurship and economic growth while increasing government transparency and efficiency.

Todays actions - including an Executive Order signed by the President and an Open Data Policy released by the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Science and Technology Policy - declare that information is a valuable national asset whose value is multiplied when it is made easily accessible to the public. The Executive Order requires that, going forward, data generated by the government be made available in open, machine-readable formats, while appropriately safeguarding privacy, confidentiality, and security.

The move will make troves of previously inaccessible or unmanageable data easily available to entrepreneurs, researchers, and others who can use those files to generate new products and services, build businesses, and create jobs.

The Global Innovation Index 2012

Sun, 19 May 2013 02:19:26 -0500

In recent months, policy discussions about how to reignite confidence in the world economy have questioned the focus on austerity measures. The economic policy debate is placing renewed emphasis on achieving an appropriate policy mix that fosters growth and employment while promoting sustainable public finances. Policies to promote innovation should feature prominently in these discussions - even if innovation cannot cure the most immediate financial difficulties, it is a crucial element of sustainable growth. Future generations will ask whether the stimulus programmes of 2009 and any upcoming initiatives successfully married short-term demand stimulus with longer-lasting growth objectives. They will also ask whether policy makers seized the opportunity presented by the current crisis to put forward-looking measures in place to lay the foundations for future prosperity. Finally, they will judge whether firms and other innovation actors invested appropriately in the future, and attempt to determine why some emerged from the crisis more strongly than others.

The GII helps to create an environment in which innovation factors are under continual evaluation, and it provides a key tool for refining innovation policies.

How to Note: Assessing the Strength of Evidence

Sun, 19 May 2013 02:14:24 -0500

The Assessing the Strength of Evidence How to Note aims to help all DFID staff appreciate better the strength of evidence they are using to inform their policy and programming choices. DFID is making the guidance publically available, as it may be helpful to researchers and policy makers in government departments, research institutes and funding bodies. Identifying and using high quality research studies isnt straightforward. The note offers some rules of thumb. When DFID writes or commissions evidence, it typically differentiates research on the basis of quality and appropriateness to the question, rather than design and method alone.

DFID is therefore encouraging staff and development partners to be clear about the type of research they are citing to support particular claims. That way, the reader of any evidence summary can form their own view about how appropriate the evidence is for the question at hand.

The note is an integral part of DFIDs commitment to equipping staff with the skills to improve their use of evidence. It forms part of several current initiatives to advance staff analytical skills. There are also plans to help staff use evidence and research. This will allow staff to make more informed decisions about how DFID spends taxpayers money on viable development projects.

ELLA GUIDE: Strengthening Capacities for Climate Change Adaptation in Mountain Ecosystems: The Latin American Response

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:27:55 -0500

Mountains provide a broad range of environmental services including water, energy, soils and biodiversity, and are of vital importance for local populations as well as ecosystems and human populations at lower altitudes. Climate change impacts in mountain ecosystems are therefore affecting large geographic areas and millions of people worldwide. In Latin Americas mountain ranges in Central America and the Andes, strategies to build capacities for climate change adaptation have generally been participative in nature and have aimed at improving natural resource conservation, providing access to new technologies and capturing traditional knowledge and practices. A strong focus has also been on maintaining water resources and agrobiodiversity. This Guide presents a range of experiences, publications and organisations from the region, concluding with lessons that could prove useful to other mountain regions of the world.

Oliver Wyman - How "new form lending" will reshape banks' small business strategies

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:25:11 -0500

you will have to write to Oliver Wyman to get a copy of this very interesting paper by Peter Carroll and Ben Hoffman, but it's worth it. While the focus is on the USA, the paper is a great and concise description of how banks should be looking to transactions records to build the strongest SME businesses, in this era when more and more SMEs do more and more of their business on credit cards. It cites pioneers like Capital Access Network, Amerimerchant and OnDeck Capital, who have been discussed in our Forum. Their key point, which I believe soon will apply equally to emerging markets (particularly for larger banks), is that this is becoming the standard way of driving SME business. The article makes the important point that this approach allows banks to offer different types of credit products for SMEs, in particular standby lines, that SMEs often say they want, but rarely can get with the flexibility and responsiveness needed. They estimate the market for this as approximately 8 million lines for $80-120 billion, with a potential after tax profit of $1.5-2.5 billion. It also notes how this approach not only reduces marketing and underwriting costs, but also loan administration.

the article also points out that third party providers can provide platforms for running such programs for banks (as we well know, as several of them have partcipated in our discussions on emerging markets!)...and it points out that many of these (as is the case for our commenters) also have their own finance companies, opening up possibilities for dividing up markets and leaving the riskier prospects to the platform partners.

overall, a very useful overview of this approach, and just 7 pages! worth a read...write to OW for more...

maybe they will comment further?

matt

Building an Ecosystem for Social Entrepreneurship in Rural Livelihoods

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:50:49 -0500

Bihar has more than 100 million inhabitants and is Indias second poorest state. Ninety percent of the population lives in rural areas and the state has lagged behind in reducing poverty.Jeevika, a rural livelihoods program has been working with community institutions since 2007 and has built an institutional platform by mobilizing 1 million women into self-help groups (SHGs) and higher-level federations. Eventually, the project plans to mobilize 15 million households and reach most poor households in the state over the next 5 years.

Traditionally, both government and the private sector have struggled to reach remote and poverty stricken parts of India, especially eastern states such as Bihar. Even social entrepreneurs and civil society organizations struggle to apply their innovations because of poor reach and lack of absorption,. However, Jeevika, a program jointly supported by Government of Bihar and the World Bank, has built a community-based institutional platform that can reach millions of poor households in Bihar. It is now offering a unique opportunity to social innovators to capitalize on the platform as well as access to financial capital providing enterprises with a chance for a leap.

Soap Opera for Social Change

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:47:54 -0500

Can soap operas educate TV audiences on personal finance issues? Researchers at the World Bank did the test: They integrated messages on personal finance into 2 episodes of South Africa's famous "Scandal!" soap opera. The results was stunning: debt mediat

Obama Administration Releases Historic Open Data Rules to Enhance Government Efficiency and Fuel Economic Growth

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:43:06 -0500

The Obama Administration today took groundbreaking new steps to make information generated and stored by the Federal Government more open and accessible to innovators and the public, to fuel entrepreneurship and economic growth while increasing government transparency and efficiency.