Livelihoods Connect: Policy, Institutions and Processes Dimension of Sustainable Livelihoods from DFID

Welcome to the PIP Sub-Group

The Policy, Institutions and Processes (PIP) dimension of the sustainable livelihoods framework comprises the social and institutional context within which individuals and families construct and adapt their livelihoods. It includes the complex range of issues associated with participation, power, authority, governance, laws, policies, public service delivery, social relations (gender, caste, ethnicity), institutions (laws, markets, land tenure arrangements) and organisations (NGOs, government agencies, private sector). The PIP dimension comprises the social and political aspects typically endogenous to the norms and rules of the wider society, whereas the vulnerability context principally comprises exogenous trends and events (shocks, seasonality, economic trends).

		Latest Developments:
		Unpacking the PIP Box: Word SYNTHESIS
		Hill Agricultural Research Project (HARP) Nepal - Lessons for the Policy, Institutions and Processes Dimensions of the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach: Web / Word
		Transforming Bureaucracies and Understanding Policy Processes for Sustainable Livelihoods Post-it Board Item
		Phase II of the PIP Subgroup
		Outcome of the April PIP Workshop Word

The PIP Sub-Group's pages are intended as a forum for the interchange of ideas in this area. One component of this is to provide the opportunity for email discussion. Another is to make available online materials that can help to stimulate discussion and debate on different aspects of PIP. Yet another is to provide links to published and unpublished work that is available on other websites or in journals and books.

Work in progress, networking tools and background information on the Policy, Institutions and Processes Subgroup already available online includes:

A PIP Workshop was held on 11 April 2000 at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) London. Participants from the PIP Network will discussed activities to date and future directions for the PIP Subgroup, as well as considering the use of the internet to facilitate the implementation of this aspect of the sustainable livelihoods approach.

Phase II of the PIP Subgroup

There is continued ever growing demand from DFID country offices for PIP experience and issues. DFID has moved the PIP work into a second phase: more details of which are outlined below.

Meanwhile, to consolidate the work undertaken in phase I a synthesise of all the work undertaken has been produced: Unpacking the PIP Box: Word

Phase II: Steve Ashley, who has been steering a path between phase I and II of the work, Ian Goldman, David Watson and Jane Clark met in DFID to share preliminary ideas of phase II. The underlying principle adopted for Phase II is for it to be client led and to work with clients to capture their experiences and learning from country and regional programmes.

What does this mean for the existing group? The group has established a valuable network of interested people and DFID would like to maintain this expertise. However, until DFID identifies collaborators in country programmes the activities of the existing network will be on hold. It is hoped that the group members will all work together in an expanded team later in the year. Thanks to all group members for all the work undertaken in Phase I.

(Jane Clark - DFID SLSO)