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Geographical
Experiences - Indonesia Transforming Structures and Processes
(Peter Bazeley /1999) HTML
How
can project design bring about institutional reform that better
recognises the demands of poor people within a livelihoods context?
How can pilot based community policies be scaled up to influence
micro-macro links? This paper investigates 'Decentralisation
of Livestock Services in Eastern Indonesia' (DELIVERI), a DFID
funded project that aims to move away from 'technical fixes'
to more fundamental changes to the way business is carried out
throughout government. The project aims to influence transforming
structures and processes so that more people focused approaches
become the norm rather than the exception. The author looks
at the concepts, progress, and issues of the project and highlights
lessons for future projects aimed at institutional change.
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Pro-Poor
Livestock Development (Steve Ashley / 2000) PDF
What
does the experience of livestock development to date tell us
about institutional approaches to development support? How can
livestock development effectively contribute to the livelihoods
of the poor? This paper reflects upon the often limited success
of livestock projects to enhance the livelihoods of the poor
and notes how sustainability is difficult to achieve given that
pro-poor policy often conflicts with the wider policy and institutional
environment. This report depicts key institutional factors inhibiting
the success of these projects at the level of service delivery
organisations, national level and in the international arena
and makes recommendations for institutional change.
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Forest
futures: improving institutions for better rural livelihoods
(Mary Hobley and Dermot Shields / ID21 Development Reporting
Service) PDF
How can forest-based livelihoods best be improved? Key constraints
lie in the institutional environment - in the relationships
between and within the forest department, forest users and the
political environment. This Overseas Development Institute paper
focuses on the Western Ghats Forestry Project (WGFP) in Karnataka,
India, to illustrate the processes involved and the problems
of supporting change within the institutional environment in
which rural livelihoods are formed.
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Micro
to Macro: Policies and Institutions for Empowering the Rural
Poor (Ian Goldman / 2000) DOC
What
are the roles of institutions at different administrative levels
in affecting people's livelihoods? How can the relationships
between institutions be changed to support livelihoods more
effectively? This paper reports on four studies conducted for
DFID by Khanya, a Southern African NGO, with partners in government
departments in Zambia, Zimbabwe and two South African provinces.
The studies investigated the institutional issues involved in
promoting a Sustainable Livelihoods approach to development.
The paper looks at the relationships between micro, meso, and
macro institutional levels and considers roles and linkages
at each level which could promote sustainable livelihoods.
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Experiences
of Community-Based Planning : Lessons from Uganda, South Africa
, Zimbabwe and Ghana NEW
(CBP
Partners/ Contact Ian Goldman)
Four-country comparative report DOC
Individual reports: Zimbabwe
DOC, Uganda
DOC, South Africa
DOC, Ghana DOC
These project papers are taken from the same project as above
focussing on community-based planning systems. Three key governance
requirements were found to be critical if poverty was to be
addressed:
(i) poor people must be active and involved in managing their
own development ; (ii) the need for a responsive, active and
accessible network of local service providers: (iii) at local
government level services need to be provided responsively
and local governments should be held accountable for quality
delivery of the services. These papers discuss the background
to community based planning and decentralisation, the experiences
in each country, and lessons learnt.
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Improving
micro-meso links - Participatory planning as a critical ingredient
of Sustainable livelihoods
(CBP partners /Contact Ian Goldman) PDF
Participation is one of the livelihoods principles. A key
area for participation is in the planning process, where priorities
are decided and resources allocated. This paper reflects on
experience in four countries which have been involved in a
four country action-learning process around community-based
planning, including Uganda, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Ghana.
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Improving
micro-meso links - Rethinking service delivery towards community-based
approaches
(Khanya / CARESA Lesotho) DOC
(1MB)
This report is the outcome of a symposium organised by CARE
and Khanya on community-based workers as an approach to service
delivery, drawing together experience across the region. This
is being taken forward in a DFID-funded project in Uganda, South
Africa, Kenya and Lesotho, which is drawing on international
experience and developing and testing improved approaches to
the application of these models.
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Farmers'
Organisations and Agricultural Technology: Institutions that
give Farmers a Voice (Karim Hussein / 2000) DOC
In
what kind of institutional environment do farmers' organisations
operate most effectively to support their livelihoods? This
paper reports on a study of 16 farmers' organisations in West
and Central Africa and considers how the institutional environment
can be changed to further respond to farmers interests and priorities
and improve downward accountability. Factors considered are
both external (decentralisation of relevant ministries, changing
legislation, donor funding priorities); and internal (capacity
building, developing formal contractual arrangements, facilitating
linkages with private sector) amongst others.
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Hill
Agricultural Research Project (HARP), Nepal: Lessons for the
Policy, Institutions and Processes Dimensions of the Sustainable
Livelihoods Approach
(Karim Hussein / Sarah Montagu / 2000) DOC
How does the policy and institutional environment constrain
agricultural research? Do competitive research funds improve
agricultural extension services? This report describes the situation
of the Hill Agricultural Research Project in Nepal, set up in
1996 to provide support for institutional change in the public
sector Nepal Agricultural Research Council (NARC). Institutional
support to NARC was focused on the management of research, the
development of mandates for all hill stations, and improving
information flows both within and external to NARC. One tool
for this was a new competitive research funds system. This experience
highlights several issues for policy and institutional change
around sustainable livelihoods.
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Governance
and Sustainable Livelihoods (Peter Newell / 2000) DOC
What
do approaches to governance offer the sustainable livelihoods
approach? How can rules and underlying power structures be changed
to achieve a positive sustainable livelihoods outcome? This
paper draws on literature on environmental governance to explore
such questions. Environmental governance is concerned with creating
systems of incentives and penalties which encourage effective
and sustainable natural resource use. This paper brought together
some useful early lessons in carrying forward thinking about
governance approaches and livelihoods.
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Sustainable
Livelihoods and the New Institutional Economics (Jamie Morrison
/ Andrew Dorwood / Jonathan Kydd / 2000) DOC
How do institutions affect the opportunities for and constraints
on peoples' livelihood development? What insights does the New
Institutional Economics (NIE) bring to the analysis of livelihoods?
NIE looks at the transaction activities and costs incurred in
productive/ production activities and in market functions. In
particular it looks at the institutions involved in maintaining
or changing the contractual arrangements that mediate these
activities and costs. This paper identifies a number of ways
in which NIE supports and enhances sustainable livelihoods analysis
in particular in the area of institutional arrangements.
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Critical
Linkages: Livelihoods, Markets and Institutions
(Andrew Dorward / Nigel Poole / Jamie Morrison / Jonathan
Kydd and Ian Urey / 2002) DOC
This
paper argues that there is a gap in institutional analysis
within SLAs - a lack of emphasis on markets and their roles
in livelihood development and poverty reduction. The omission
is important as it can lead to a failure to identify and act
on market opportunities and constraints and on related institutional
issues. The paper explores these arguments in more detail
and suggests ways in which they may be addressed, using an
example from a desk study of rural market development in Africa.
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Sustainable
Rural Livelihoods and the Chars Livelihoods Programme: Progression
or New Departure? (Chars Livelihoods Programme Team / 2004)
DOC
This
paper presents an overview of the Chars Livelihoods Programme
(CLP). A rural development programme by definition requires
shifts in national policy, changes in working of rural institutions,
and participation of people in the decision-making and implementation
process It sets out the problem context for the design; summarises
the CLP approach, and highlights a number of key concepts underpinning
it. Similarities and differences between the CLP and other approaches
to livelihoods-based rural development are also discussed.
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Policy
Reform and Sustainable Livelihoods |
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Policy
is defined as a 'course of action designed to achieve particular
goals or targets'. Processes of policy-making are rarely products
of rational decision-making , but of history , politics, decision-making
and negotiatin by different stakeholders. These papers explore
issues of how to ensure that policies do not constrain the poor
but enable them to achieve sustainable livelihoods. |
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Influencing
Policy Processes for Sustainable Livelihoods: Strategies for
Change (James Keeley / 2002) PDF
How
do policy processes work? How can policy promoting sustainable
livelihoods best be influenced? This paper draws on research
carried out in Sub-Saharan Africa and in Bangladesh. It examines
common understanding of the nature of policy processes, and
suggests that policy processes are often distinctly non-linear,
inherently political and contested, and more haphazard than
suggested by conventional, linear 'agenda setting - decision-making'
understandings. In addition it highlights that policy agendas
often compete and overlap.
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Analysing
Policy for Sustainable Livelihoods (Alex Shankland / 2000)
Order
How effective is the sustainable livelihoods (SL) approach in
guiding effective policies to combat poverty? How can the SL
approach bridge the gap between macro-level policy analysis
and micro-level livelihoods? While top-down policy analysis
often ignores the realities of how policies affect people, bottom-up
approaches such as sustainable livelihoods analysis often generate
information that is too locally-specific to be useful in policymaking.
Shankland examines the challenges of connecting the two approaches,
and proposes ways of identifying entry-points for policy-focused
sustainable livelihoods interventions.
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Organisational
Change and SLAs |
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The
use of SLAs can encourage organisations to change structures,
systems and culture in order to reflect and implement a truly
people-centred approach. This was noted in the Livelihoods Approaches
Compared review:
"This
review.. highlights the need for significant organisational
change if SLA are to become routine in development practice.
Development institutions and national governments are usually
organised along sectoral lines, hindering the adoption of multi-sectoral
approaches. Institutional structures and management procedures
may need to change to fit flexible people-centred SLA - sectoral
departmental biases, priorities and mandates need to be re-examined"
(Hussein 2002). These papers explore issues of how organisations
can change to support a SLA approach. |
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Organisation
Change and Sustainable Livelihoods (Mary Hobley / 2000)
DOC
How do organisations need to change in order to support
a sustainable livelihoods approach? How can this change be implemented?
This paper by Mary Hobley draws on both business management
approaches and experience within development organisations.
It explores the internal change process necessary to put livelihoods
at the forefront of service providers' and donors' organisations.
Experience has shown that without internal change, there will
be little or no change in an organisation's external relationships
with service users. Where changes are required in the kinds
of services delivered and the manner in which they are delivered,
fundamental changes in the way an organisation operates are
also necessary.
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Changing
Organisations for Sustainable Livelihoods: a map to Guide Change
(Kath Pasteur / 2003) PDF
What outcomes does change for sustainable livelihoods aim to
achieve? What paths should be taken during the change process?
In this booklet Kath Pasteur draws together insights from research
on organisational change in India and Bangladesh published separately,
providing an overview of issues arising there, and in case study
literature from Indonesia, Philippines, and Zimbabwe.
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Changing
Organisations for Watershed Management in India: from policy
to practice (Kath Pasteur / 2002) PDF
This
booklet is a case study to accompany "Changing Organisations
for Sustainable Livelihoods: A Map to Guide Change". It
examines the process of change in the Government of Andhra Pradesh
Rural Development Department (AP RDD) towards more participatory
approaches in its watershed development programme.
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Changing
Organisations for Agricultural Extension in Bangladesh: strategies
for change (Kath Pasteur / 2002) PDF
This
booklet is a case study to accompany "Changing Organisations
for Sustainable Livelihoods: A Map to Guide Change". It
draws lessons from the experience of the Bangladesh Department
for Agricultural Extension (DAE) in its attempts to bring about
organisational change to support a more people-focused, holistic
and partnership-based approach to its work. It also highlights
relevant lessons for those undertaking similar change processes
in other organisations and identifies potential challenges faced
by development agencies as they move from traditional projects
towards supporting processes of organisational and policy change.
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Using
the Livelihoods Approach to Conserve Biodiversity and Improve
Livelihoods : Guidelines for WWF Nepal ( WWF Nepal/2003 )
DOC (1MB)
These guidelines are a practical introduction of how
to use the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA) within WWF
Nepal's work. They are relevant to those focusing upon environmental/
biodiversity work and wishing to be more livelihoods oriented
within different stages of their work. They comprise two-page
guidance sheets to be used when relevant for different aspects
of work for example strategic planning or programme design,
designing & implementing activities, reporting and communication
and monitoring and evaluation. Each section ends with a list
of resources: sources of more information on the different aspects
of the approach, useful tools, and examples of where it has
been used.
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Inter
- Agency Experiences and Lessons (Vanda Altarelli / Alice
Carloni / 2000) HTML
Can
the Sustainable Livelihoods (SL) approach be refined to help
reduce poverty? How can development agencies work together to
improve the effectiveness of the SL approach? This paper, a
synthesis of issues and lessons shared at an inter-agency forum,
highlights the potential of SL approaches to improve development
policy from its inception to implementation. The paper also
assesses the relative merits of different SL approaches in programme
design, and explores how to strengthen the capacity of participating
agencies to apply SL approaches. It concludes by identifying
issues that need to be resolved if SL approaches are to be successfully
institutionalised.
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