Investigating the impact of systematic reviews funded by DFID

Systematic reviews for international development originated 20 years ago. In 2010 the Department for International Development (DFID) introduced a programme of systematic reviews with a capacity building element that spanned multiple policy sectors. This study traces the impact of these systematic reviews both in the academic research literature and beyond academia, by looking at use within government and other organisations (for example through inclusion in documents, research repositories and decisions beyond academia). Systematic reviews were cited more often in academia than beyond, some for their substantive findings, and some for methodological debate. Beyond academia, of the 86 systematic reviews: 21 informed specific decisions or policies, 25 were cited to enhance understanding, one informed new procedures for embedding evidence in decision making, 19 appeared in existing procedures for decision making, and 21 appeared in portals, maps or databases to enhance knowledge accessibility. Reviews were used by academics (69 reviews), government (20), review advisors (2), other stakeholders (37), or none (14). Three models of knowledge exchange can explain how use of these systematic reviews beyond academia was achieved. Clearly communicated policy implications may lead to greater use for policy decisions (linear model of knowledge transfer). Greater involvement of policy teams in focusing and reporting the review may lead to reviews appearing more relevant beyond academia (relationship model). Organisations using multiple systematic reviews may be distinctive in terms of their investment in capacity of individuals, teams, institutions and a global support system for systematic reviews (dynamic systems model). The three models potentially overlap: a dynamic evidence system supporting policy input may lead to more relevant reviews with clearer implications for policy. Investment in systems and relationships to support the production of systematic reviews looks promising for systematic reviews that provide clearer implications for policy and greater use beyond academia

Urban Governance and Finance in India

Over 330 million people live in Indias cities; 35 cities have a population of over a million and three (Mumbai, Delhi, and Kolkata) of the 10 largest metropolises in the world are in India. Indias cities are large, economically important, and growing. However, neither urban infrastructure nor the level of urban public services is adequate for current needs, let alone to meet growing demands. Dealing with this problem is a formidable challenge. Not only must adequate finance for the provision of services be found but it is critical to ensure that the money spent results in desired outputs and outcomes. To do so, local governance structures also need to be reformed and strengthened. This paper attempts to point the way towards some possible solutions by analysing urban governance and finance in India in the context of lessons drawn from fiscal federalism theory and experiences of governance institutions and financing systems both in India and around the world. No one system of urban governance is likely to work equally well for all urban local bodies. However, the paper identifies some key reforms required to realise both the constitutional intent to encourage citizen participation in urban governance and the economic and politically desirable goal of ensuring greater accountability of urban governments. For example, the paper draws attention to existing ambiguities in the assignment system and underlines the need to undertake activity mapping to ensure clarity as well as to make independent agencies significantly accountable to elected governments in urban areas. The paper also discusses a variety of ways of augmenting the resources of the municipal bodies in the country including essential reforms in the property tax system and adequate exploitation of user charges and fees for various services delivered as well as ways of strengthening and improving Central and State transfers to urban local governments. With respect to financing urban infrastructure, development charges should be used more effectively. More should also be done to utilise public lands more effectively. In addition, to a considerable extent capital expenditure requirements will have to be financed through borrowing so further development of the municipal bond market is important, as is more and more effective use of public private partnerships in some areas.India, urban public finance, urban governance, intergovernmental fiscal relations, property tax, Metropolitan areas, infrastructure finance

Model Districts as a Roadmap for Public Health Scale-up in India

While India has experienced some improvements in health indicators in recent years in terms of Millennium Development Goals 1, 4, and 5, the country still has some of the lowest indicators for reproductive and child health in the world. Public investment in primary health care must increase to achieve health targets, and the health system needs to be reformed to ensure efficient and effective delivery of high quality health services. While the Government of India's National Rural Health Mission (NRHM), launched in 2005, has made great strides in improving access to quality primary healthcare in rural areas, significant gaps remain. The Model Districts project is a joint initiative between the Earth Institute, Columbia University, and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. Its goal is to demonstrate which health and nutrition interventions are required to narrow policy practice gaps in the NRHM in five regionally representative districts across India. The project's strategy is to target interventions and additional public health spending at the intersection of the six building blocks of health systems strengthening (infrastructure, data management, governance, financing, supply chain management, and frontline health worker capacity) and five areas along the continuum of care for mothers and children (antenatal care, safe delivery, immediate postnatal care, early childhood development and nutrition, and routine and sick child care). The Model Districts scale‐up model is supported by a robust baseline and monitoring and evaluation plan, pilot interventions at the block level, growth and expansion to the district level based on learning exchanges within and across districts, and finally national level scale‐up through policy adaptation and replication. This working paper signifies the beginning of the Model Districts project's contribution to research on the health system strengthening requirements for rural India, and is intended for use in policy making and health programming

Urban governance and finance in India.

Over 330 million people live in India's cities; 35 cities have a population of over a million and three (Mumbai, Delhi, and Kolkata) of the 10 largest metropolises in the world are in India. India's cities are large, economically important, and growing. However, neither urban infrastructure nor the level of urban public services is adequate for current needs, let alone to meet growing demands. Dealing with this problem is a formidable challenge. Not only must adequate finance for the provision of services be found but it is critical to ensure that the money spent results in desired outputs and outcomes. To do so, local governance structures also need to be reformed and strengthened. This paper attempts to point the way towards some possible solutions by analysing urban governance and finance in India in the context of lessons drawn from fiscal federalism theory and experiences of governance institutions and financing systems both in India and around the world. No one system of urban governance is likely to work equally well for all urban local bodies. However, the paper identifies some key reforms required to realise both the constitutional intent to encourage citizen participation in urban governance and the economic and politically desirable goal of ensuring greater accountability of urban governments. For example, the paper draws attention to existing ambiguities in the assignment system and underlines the need to undertake activity mapping to ensure clarity as well as to make independent agencies significantly accountable to elected governments in urban areas. The paper also discusses a variety of ways of augmenting the resources of the municipal bodies in the country including essential reforms in the property tax system and adequate exploitation of user charges and fees for various services delivered as well as ways of strengthening and improving Central and State transfers to urban local governments. With respect to financing urban infrastructure, development charges should be used more effectively. More should also be done to utilise public lands more effectively. In addition, to a considerable extent capital expenditure requirements will have to be financed through borrowing so further development of the municipal bond market is important, as is more and more effective use of public private partnerships in some areas.India, Urban public finance, Urban governance, Intergovernmental fiscal relations, Property tax, Metropolitan areas, Infrastructure finance

The Health Insurance Reform In Bulgaria - Financing Models And Status Evaluation

The article presents a research on the specific characteristics of the existing models for healthcare financing worldwide. It also presents a brief overview of the specific characteristics of Bulgaria’s healthcare system and a survey on the need for healthcare reform in hospital care which identifies the bottlenecks in financing medical services for the population. The main problems resulting from the permanent shortage of financial resources and determined by financing methods that prioritize the quantity rather than the quality of the provided medical services are outlined. The degree of effectiveness of clinical pathways as a tool for hospital funding is assessed

The Use of Mobile Phones for Development in Africa: Top-Down-Meets-Bottom-Up Partnering

The African continent currently boasts the highest mobile telephony growth rates in the world, bringing new communications possibilities to millions of people. The potential for mobile phones to reach a large and growing base of users across the continent, and to be used for development-related purposes, is becoming widely recognized, evidenced by the growing number of development-oriented projects, applications, and programs that specifically make use of mobiles. Pent-up demand and limited resources have led to innovative usage and services being developed at the grassroots level. Yet much remains to be done by governments in order to support further growth of telecommunications markets and services, while the private sector, non-profits, and academics all have an important role to play in the development process as well. The phenomenon of top-down-meeting-bottom-up partnerships that are springing up across the continent offers the potential for cultivating the necessary feedback loops between various actors involved in the development process, in order to create relevant applications that meet real needs

GSK Corporate Responsibility Report 2013

This corporate responsiblity report details the philanthropic activities of GSK across four areas of focus: Health for all; Our behaviour; Our people; Our planet. The commitments aim to address unmet global health needs and are aligned with the company's strategic priorities and values

Future of e-Government: An integrated conceptual framework

The information and hyper-connectivity revolutions have caused significant disruptions in citizens’ interactions with governments all over the world. Failures in implementing e-government interventions suggest the lack of an integrated approach in understanding e-government as a discipline. In this study, we present an overarching and integrated conceptual framework of e-government grounded in robust qualitative research to describe the factors that must be integrated to implement e-government successfully. Drawing insights from 168 in-depth interviews conducted with multiple stakeholders in India, this study defines e-government as a multidimensional construct with customer orientation, channel orientation and technology orientation as its antecedents. Building on customer orientation and relationship marketing theories, this study proposes that the most significant factor impacting success in implementing e-government projects is citizen orientation, followed by channel orientation and technology orientation. The study also identifies the digital divide, economic growth and political stability as moderators of e-government. Furthermore, the study proposes the tangible and intangible outcomes of e-government with perceived privacy and shared understanding as moderating conditions. Finally, the study presents relevant theoretical and practical implications with future research directions.publishedVersio

How Cash Transfers Boost Work and Economic Security

There has long been a minority view that providing people with cash is an effective way of combating poverty and economic insecurity while promoting livelihoods and work. The mainstream view has been that giving people money, without conditions or obligations, promotes idleness and dependency, while being unnecessarily costly. Better, they contend, would be to allocate the available money to schemes that create jobs and/or human capital and that produce infrastructure. This paper reviews recent evidence on various types of scheme and on several pilot cash transfer schemes, assessing them by reference to principles of social justice.Food aid, vouchers, cash transfers, economic security, public works, social pensions, disability grants, social policy

COLOMBIA COFFEE SECTOR STUDY.

El presente documento analiza la evolución del sector cafetero colombiano en la última década, periodo en el cual ha perdido valor. Se hace un diagnóstico de las causas que han generado el retroceso del sector y propone unas estrategias de política para que vuelva a ser competitivo en los mercados internacionales. De las conclusiones se destaca la necesidad de mejorar la eficiencia en la producción para poder competir a precios cada día mas bajos en el mercado mundial, se propone una estrategia para desarrollar negocios en los nichos de los llamados cafés especiales a los que se les reconocen primas superiores por parte de los compradores, y en el plano regulatorio se recomienda que la parafiscalidad que afecta al sector sea reformulada para que el impuesto que tributan los cafeteros sea bajo, estable y fijo en el tiempo. Con los recursos que se generen por esta contribución se deberán financiar los programas prioritarios para beneficio de los caficultores. Programas que de manera individual no pueden ser acometidos (Investigación o promoción). El rol de la institucionalidad cafetera deberá ser reformulado. Los recursos del café no deben seguir suplantando los recursos del Estado en obras públicas en las regiones cafeteras, pero la organización cafetera regional puede convertirse en un ejecutor importante de proyectos de inversión con recursos del presupuesto general de la Nación.Economía Agrícola, Comercio Internacional, Economía Institucional