Putting livelihoods thinking into practice: implications for development management.

YesThe failure of `blueprint¿ development interventions to deliver substantive improvements in poverty reduction has been well recognised over the last twenty years. Process approaches seek to overcome the rigidity and top-down operation of much aid-funded intervention. Sustainable livelihoods approaches (SLA) are one of the latest additions to this family of approaches. As a theoretical framework and as a set of principles for guiding intervention, sustainable livelihoods thinking has implications for development management. Drawing on research exploring the application of sustainable livelihoods principles in ten development interventions, this paper considers how these principles have evolved from continuing debates surrounding process and people-centred (bottom-up) approaches to development management. This research suggests that whilst these principles can improve the impact made by interventions, the effective application of sustainable livelihoods and other process approaches are fundamentally restricted by unbalanced power relationships between development partners

Critical governance problems for farmer-led irrigation: isomorphic mimicry and capability traps

Irrigated agricultural production is viewed as key to the twin challenges of transforming agriculture and adapting to climate change in sub-Saharan Africa. Farmer-led irrigation is currently not well recognised or accounted for, and the current focus on state or public-private irrigation schemes means this activity is largely occurring outside of formal governance mechanisms or is deemed illegal. How do current institutional and regulatory frameworks relate to the apparent boom in farmer-led irrigation, and how do these shape current patterns of response, support, and regulation? To answer this question, we build a conceptual understanding of water governance which draws on critiques of current institutional frameworks for water and irrigation management, specifically using the conceptual ideas of isomorphic mimicry and capability traps, and elements of a problem-driven iterative adaptation (PDIA) approach. We then use three case studies from Tanzania and Malawi to illuminate three critical problems that state institutions encounter in approaching the recognition and regulation of farmer-led irrigation. In our conclusion we argue that current irrigation governance is creating capability traps for existing institutions. Where incremental and context-driven adaptation of governance is practiced this can be avoided, creating better chances of effective support and regulation of farmer-led irrigation development

Sustainable Livelihoods Approaches - Can they transform development?

yesThis paper critically examines the sustainable livelihoods approach (SLA) in the context of broader development debates, using a literature review as a tool to explore the origins, concepts and uses of the `approach¿. Whilst the concept of sustainable livelihoods is valuable in advancing our understanding the complexity and embedded nature of people¿s lives, sustainable livelihoods frameworks and principles are too simplistic to offer many answers. This paper argues that the idea of net sustainable livelihoods has much to offer the current discourse on rights and governance but that this is in danger of being diluted by its conceptualisation as a new `approach¿ to managing development interventions

How does it make a difference? Towards 'accreditation' of the development impact of volunteer tourism.

yesWhilst some argue that volunteer tourism is nothing more than neo-colonialism, we propose that it can (under certain conditions) make a positive contribution to local communities in developing countries and can also contribute to a ¿globalising, humanising civil society¿. We also argue that an increase in volunteer tourism is likely to be an unstoppable trend as international travel and easy global communication make ¿Do-it-Yourself¿ development activities ever more possible. In this chapter, we consider further the conditions required for volunteers to have a positive rather than a negative or neutral impact

Size isn’t everything: narratives of scale and viability in a Tanzanian irrigation scheme

This paper explores tensions over scale and viability in irrigated agricultural development in Tanzania. A revival of ambition to transform African agriculture has reawakened debate over what type of agriculture can best deliver increased production and poverty reduction for rural populations. This paper examines these debates through the lens of an ethnographic study of an irrigated rice farm in Tanzania. With a chequered history of state and donor intervention management, Dakawa, Rice Farm in Mvomero District is now collectively farmed by a cooperative society of ‘small farmers’. It is widely hailed as a success, both of irrigation production, and of ‘small farmers’ in delivering this. However, such narratives of smallness and success obscure a more complex reality in which smallness of scale may be more of a discursive tool than a reflection of empirical reality. Although notions of ‘viability’ and ‘success’ in such development interventions are themselves also contested and depend on perspective, there is evidence that there are fundamental problems of both short- and long-term viability

HIV/AIDS and Community Action: Now I know my Rights!

yesThis briefing presents research on a small project on the use of a rights-based approach by groups of People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Northern Tanzania. It concludes that with support the groups were able to use the 2008 HIV/AIDS act to claim their rights to tackle stigma and access ARV medication. However, the fulfillment of these rights is limited by chronic poverty and structural weakness of the state

Meeting the capacity challenge? The potentials and pitfalls of International University Partnerships in Higher Education in Africa. A literature review.

YesThe central aim of the paper is to examine the nature and function of higher education in Africa, and to explore the potential for partnerships between institutions in the Global North and South to assist in meeting the current capacity challenge. The paper starts with a critical exploration of the contemporary shifts taking place in higher education around the world and how this is transforming academic and professional identities. Following this is an analysis of the rationales that drive the process of ¿internationalisation¿ of higher education. We argue that internationalisation and globalisation present both a challenge and an opportunity for the rapidly expanding systems of higher education in Africa. We then go on to consider how international partnerships might support the development of Higher Education institutions in Africa and we present a critical analysis of the pitfalls and potentials of such collaborations. We also reflect on a long-term collaborative relationship between the Universities of Bradford (UK) and Mzumbe (Tanzania). From this we take the view that robust and strategic long-term partnerships can avoid neo-colonial relationships and offer potential for both partners, but this requires institutional commitment at all levels. This literature review serves as a foundational study, which will feed into further papers reflecting on the evolution and practice of the partnerships in place between JEFCAS (University of Bradford) and HE institutions in Africa

2019 Global Water Research Questions Survey raw data

The survey is broad and cross-disciplinary and covers all parts of the water sector (e.g. water treatment and supply, water resources management, ecosystem services, sanitation, drainage, governance and policy, conservation, water and health). We encourage everyone to submit questions, whether policy maker, practitioner, researcher, industry professional or other water professional, so we can identify priorities for different groups. The questions can be framed in relation to local, regional or global initiatives (i.e. Sustainable Development Goals, industrial strategies, regional priorities etc.)

The potential for scaling up container-based sanitation in informal settlements in Kenya

Kenya has enshrined the right to sanitation in the 2010 constitution. Achieving this requires scaling up infrastructure and models of delivery beyond sewer networks that have previously been the focus. In Kenya, two enterprises, Sanergy and Sanivation, have been providing new forms of off-grid services with container-based sanitation (CBS). This paper uses a political economy analysis to understand the incentives, institutions and power dynamics that are enabling or constraining the potential for such off-grid sanitation models. The paper outlines six core problems to be addressed in the pursuit of scaling up: fragmented governance; sustainability of CBS enterprise models; service delivery planning in informal settlements; personal power rather than institutions in decision-making; vested local interests; and land tenure and political connection. It discusses how stakeholders might work collaboratively to progressively address or recognise these issues

Assets and domestic units: methodological challenges for longitudinal studies of poverty dynamics

Tracking change in assets access and ownership in longitudinal research is difficult. Assets are rarely assigned to individuals. Their benefit and management are spread across domestic units which morph over time. We review the challenges of using assets to understand poverty dynamics, and tracking the domestic units that own and manage assets. Using case studies from longitudinal research we demonstrate that assets can afford useful insights into important change