Livelihood strategies and performance indicators: Understanding irrigation from water-users' perspectives: A Collaborative Research Project of the International Irrigation Management Institute, and the International Institute for Environment and Development

Water usersParticipatory rural appraisalFarmer participationPerformance indexesIrrigation managementGenderSocial aspectsHealthResearch methodsResearch projects

Maskless photolithography using UV LEDs

A UV light emitting diode (LED) with a maximum output of 372 nm was collimated using a pinhole and a small plastic tube and focused using a microscope objective onto a substrate for direct lithographic patterning of the photoresist. Movement of the substrate with a motorised linear stage (syringe pump) allowed lines in SU-8 to be pattered with a width down to 35 {micro}m at a linear velocity of 80 {micro}m s-1, while in the dry film resist Ordyl SY 330, features as narrow as 17 {micro}m were made at a linear velocity of 245 {micro}m s-1. At this linear velocity, a 75 mm long feature could be patterned in 5 min. Functional microfluidic devices were made by casting PDMS on a master made by LED lithography. The results show that UV LEDs are a suitable light source for direct writing lithography, offering a budget friendly, and high resolution alternative for rapid prototyping of features smaller than 20 {micro}m

Adaptive Programming in Fragile, Conflict and Violence-Affected Settings. What Works and Under What Conditions? The Case of Institutions for Inclusive Development, Tanzania

Adaptive Management involves a dynamic interaction between three elements: delivery, programming and governance. This case study focuses on a large DfID governance project, the Institutions for Inclusive Development (I4ID), a five-year initiative in Tanzania. The study forms part of a research project to examine whether and how adaptive approaches can strengthen aid projects promoting empowerment and accountability in fragile, conflict and violence-affected settings (FCVAS). The research examines some of the assertions around the adaptive management approach and explores if and how adaptive approaches, including rapid learning and planning responses (fast feedback loops and agile programming) are particularly relevant and useful for citizen empowerment and government accountability (E&A) in FCVAS

Realist Evaluation : an overview

This report summarises the discussions and presentations of the Expert Seminar ‘Realist Evaluation’ with Gill Westhorp, which took place in Wageningen on March 29, 2011. The Expert Seminar was organised by the Wageningen UR Centre for Development Innovation in collaboration with Learning by Design and Context, international cooperation

Balancing Inclusiveness, Rigour and Feasibility: Insights from Participatory Impact Evaluations in Ghana and Vietnam

This paper by Adinda Van Hemelrijck and Irene Guijt explores how impact evaluation can live up to standards broader than statistical rigour in ways that address challenges of complexity and enable stakeholders to engage meaningfully. A Participatory Impact Assessment and Learning Approach (PIALA) was piloted to assess and debate the impacts on rural poverty of two government programmes in Vietnam and Ghana funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). We discuss the trade-offs between rigour, inclusiveness and feasibility encountered in these two pilots. Trade-offs occur in every impact evaluation aiming for more than reductionist rigour, but the pilots suggest that they can be reduced by building sufficient research and learning capacity.UK Department for International Developmen

Charismatisch gereformeerd : een systematisch-theologisch gesprek tussen prof. dr. C. Graafland en de gereformeerde traditie over de bijzondere charismata

Masterthesis gereformeerd protestantism

Monitoring and evaluation framework for the Rural Territorial Dynamics program

Spanish version available in IDRC Digital Library: Marco para el seguimiento y evaluación del programa Dinámicas Territoriales Rurales (DTR)This document describes the conceptual base and operational elements of the system of monitoring and evaluation (M & E) proposed for the Rural Territorial Dynamics Program (RTD) of Rimisp (Rimisp – Centro Latinoamericano para el Desarrollo Rural). The Annexes provide additional conceptual background material, suggested templates for the preparation of progress reports and the work plan for 2009. The RTD (or DTR Dinámicas Territoriales Rurales) program consists of six individual components, with a M & E system that can cover various characteristics and links that cross over each component. The Program is an ambitious and dynamic research program which requires a scaleable approach

Marco para el seguimiento y evaluación del programa Dinámicas Territoriales Rurales (DTR)

Versión en inglés disponible en la Biblioteca Digital del IDRC: Monitoring and evaluation framework for the Rural Territorial Dynamics programEste documento describe la base conceptual y los elementos operacionales del sistema de seguimiento y evaluación (SyE) propuesto para el Programa Dinámicas Territoriales Rurales (DTR) de Rimisp. El sistema de SyE tiene tres propósitos centrales para audiencias específicas de tipos específicos de información. En primer lugar, fortalecer la gestión estratégica del Programa DTR hacia el logro de efectos programáticos. En segundo lugar, apoyar la función de rendición de cuentas del Programa para cumplir las exigencias de las agencias financiadoras y del Comité Asesor del Programa. Y por último, proporcionar comprensiones detalladas sobre lo que es un programa experimental y a gran escala y como un enfoque alternativo para el financiamiento de investigaciones orientadas al desarrollo. El Programa DTR consta de seis componentes particulares, de ahí que el sistema de SyE deba abarcar las diversas naturalezas y vínculos que atraviesan a cada componente, y el marco para el sistema de SyE dará lugar a una selección de documentos públicos, entre los que se incluyen informes anuales de avance del sistema de SyE, informes de medio término e informes finales. Los Anexos proporcionan material adicional con antecedentes conceptuales, plantillas sugeridas para la elaboración de informes de avances y el Plan de Trabajo para el año 2009

Black-box Mixed-Variable Optimisation using a Surrogate Model that Satisfies Integer Constraints

A challenging problem in both engineering and computer science is that of minimising a function for which we have no mathematical formulation available, that is expensive to evaluate, and that contains continuous and integer variables, for example in automatic algorithm configuration. Surrogate-based algorithms are very suitable for this type of problem, but most existing techniques are designed with only continuous or only discrete variables in mind. Mixed-Variable ReLU-based Surrogate Modelling (MVRSM) is a surrogate-based algorithm that uses a linear combination of rectified linear units, defined in such a way that (local) optima satisfy the integer constraints. This method outperforms the state of the art on several synthetic benchmarks with up to 238 continuous and integer variables, and achieves competitive performance on two real-life benchmarks: XGBoost hyperparameter tuning and Electrostatic Precipitator optimisation.Comment: Ann Math Artif Intell (2020