Influence and Accountability

This is a report of a seminar organised by the One World Action in London in May, 2002. The seminar drew on a study by the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, of efforts to improve the responsiveness of public service providers to the needs of service users, particularly the poorest women and men, and on the experience of twelve public sector and NGO practitioners from India, Uganda, South Africa, the Philippines and Zambia

Housing Policy, Production and Consumption in Harare: a Review

Articles describes urban housing policy issues in ZimbabweThis article analyses housing policy, production and consumption in Harare. It reviews most (hopefully all) of the recent literature on urban housing in Zimbabwe, most of which is on the low-income sector in Harare. The principal aim of the article is to synthesize what is known about urban housing in Harare and, having determined the state of our knowledge, to point out directions for future research. In addition, current policy problems are highlighted and their implications for the production and consumption of housing explored. The article is in two parts. Following a brief theoretical discussion, Part I focuses on the production of housing in Harare. Part II (to be published in the next issue of Zambezia) will focus on the consumption of housing in Harare, and will conclude with an outline of the main findings of the study and directions for future research

Roundtable: Pentecostalism and Development

This article revisits central questions arising from Pentecostal actors’ development practices. These were raised during the final panel discussion of the 2014 GloPent conference on “Pentecostalism and Development”. The four panel participants, all development actors from various organisational and religious backgrounds, considered whether Pentecostal approaches to development work are distinctive, as well as identifying various benefits that can be gained from the engagement of Pentecostal churches in development and some challenges that arise during collaboration between development actors and Pentecostal churches. The discussion was conducted through two rounds of statements by the panel participants, complemented by editorial comments and reflections. It concludes that neither the Pentecostal approach to development nor Pentecostal churches’ links with development actors are necessarily distinctive. However, more exchanges are needed between Pentecostal organisations and their members, development practitioners working with Pentecostal churches and scholars of the Pentecostal movement to improve development work among Pentecostals, links between Pentecostals and other development actors and scholarly awareness of the most salient issues

Financial Self-Help Associations among Far West Nepalese Labor Migrants in Delhi, India

Labor migration to India is the most important source of income for people in Far West Nepal. To better understand the effects of labor migration, a research analyzing why and how migrants invest their money in financial self-help organizations was undertaken. Fieldwork was conducted in the communities of origin in Nepal and migrant communities in India. Based on the study, the paper provides an overview of the existing financial self-help associations, their strengths and weaknesses, accessibility and possibilities of benefits and losses for the migrants and their families. The major conclusion is that migration helps to improve income or security but can also undermine a household's financial situation by perpetuating debt and dependency

Understanding the role of religions in development: the approach of the RAD Programme

Recognition of social diversity and difference has, over the last few decades, had a profound impact on development theory. Concerns of the different needs, roles and experiences of various gender, disability, age, and ethnicity groups have started to shape how theorists and practitioners alike engage with development issues. Until very recently, however, the literature has been peculiarly silent on the role and place of religion. In this working paper, which introduces the University of Birmingham's state-of-the-art Religions and Development Programme (RAD), the reasons for this relative neglect of religion are explored alongside a delineation of RAD's central research questions