Implementing A Sustainable Livelihoods Framework for Policy-Directed Research: Reflections from Practice in Mali

This paper has two objectives. The first is to discuss the experience of carrying out research in a village in Mali as part of a multi-country, comparative research programme on the theme of Sustainable Livelihoods. The second is to place that field-level experience in the broader context of the relationship between research and policy, particularly in terms of the exchange and flow of information between different stakeholders in the development policy process. The process of using the Sustainable Livelihoods framework for planning and implementing an enquiry, and analysing the information this generated, raised a range of questions. On one hand, there were methodological lessons and practical issues: what is the best way to represent complexity? how can the multiple views of different actor groups be incorporated into such a representation? how can such a learning process be effectively managed within the boundaries of available resources? On the other, there were more abstract considerations: what, and who, is this research for? How could this process of research best be transformed into something which usefully serves the needs of the poor, or supports environmentally sustainable practices? These reflections on how a particular piece of research was carried out resonated with some of the current debates about methodological complimentarity, incorporating the needs and perceptions of the poor into anti-poverty policies, and the centrality of institutions, both to livelihoods and policymaking. There is in turn a common thread in many of these debates: how to best occupy the space between top-down and bottom-up, between macro and micro. The framework for research and analysis described here provided opportunities to bridge this gap

Mapping trade policy : understanding the challenges of civil society participation

This paper examines the way that a range of development actors view and engage with the arena of trade policy, focusing in particular on the challenges encountered by civil society actors participating in that arena. The dynamics of civil society participation in the trade arena – what might be achieved, and how – are very different from those that shape civil society participation in processes labelled poverty reduction; this paper explores the differences. To achieve this, we provide an overview of the international trade policy landscape, and discuss factors that shape participation at the interfaces of trade and development policy processes. We go on to present the views and perspectives of two sets of civil society actors – UKbased international non-government organisations, and Ugandan and Kenyan civil society organisations – about their experiences and strategies of engagement and participation. Finally we reflect on some of the challenges of civil society participation in the trade arena: structural complexity and inequities, the exclusion of alternatives to trade liberalisation narratives, and the dynamics of representation

A single trapped ion in a finite range trap

This paper presents a method to describe dynamics of an ion confined in a realistic finite range trap. We model this realistic potential with a solvable one and we obtain dynamical variables (raising and lowering operators) of this potential. We consider coherent interaction of this confined ion in a finite range trap and we show that its center-of-mass motion steady state is a special kind of nonlinear coherent states. Physical properties of this state and their dependence on the finite range of potential are studied

A learning event, February 2016, Manila, Philippines

The technological innovations of the last two decades – cell phones, tablets, open data and social media – mean that governments and citizens can interact like never before. Around the world, in different contexts, citizens have fast-increasing access to information and communications technologies (ICTs) that enable them to monitor government performance and express their views on it in real time. In February 2016, a learning event in Manila, convened by Making All Voices Count, brought together 55 researchers and practitioners from 15 countries. They all work on using new technologies for accountable governance. They shared their diverse experiences, reflected on how they approach transformative governance, and visited Filipino accountable governance initiatives. This report shares some of what they learned.Omidyar Network; the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency; the UK Department for International Development; the United States Agency for International Development

Learning for change in accountable governance programming

Learning reviewThis short paper provides an introduction to some of the different kinds of learning that are important in implementing and monitoring accountable governance programmes. It discusses how Making All Voices Count makes sense of learning, outlines the aims and approaches of the programme’s learning strategy, and sketches some of the different types of learning that it is drawing on to move towards its goal of transformative change in governance. It also provides some tools for learning - asking the right questions, using theory of change as a learning tool, and frameworks for thinking about participation and power.DFIDUSAIDSIDAOmidyar Networ

Which asthma patients should get the pneumococcal vaccine?

Adults between the ages of 19 and 64 years who have chronic lung disease, including asthma, should get the vaccine, as should all patients 65 years and older (strength of recommendation [SOR]: C, consensus guide-lines). Evidence doesn't support routine vaccination of children with asthma or adults younger than 65 years who don't have chronic lung disease to decrease asthma-related or pneumonia-related hospitalizations (SOR: B, 1 retrospective cohort study and 1 retrospective, case- controlled cohort study)

Building safe spaces to support young women’s participation in local governance in Indonesia

Barriers to young (especially unmarried) women’s participation in public spaces include the prevailing view that doing so violates social norms, young women’s often low level of education, and family expectations. Many young women have internalised their marginalisation and lack the confidence to participate in community forums. This practitioner research, carried out by women’s empowerment organisation FAMM Indonesia, brings the voices of young women into the conversation about the allocation of local government resources and social accountability. The paper describes participatory action research carried out in partnership with eight grassroots Indonesian women’s NGOs. Preliminary focus group discussions laid the foundation for a series of movement-building initiative workshops to strengthen rural young women’s leadership capacity, encourage critical awareness and develop their roles as community organisers.DFIDUSAIDSidaOmidyar Networ