Articles

This paper introduces the special issue. It first places the protection of children in the context of development studies. It goes on to outline current international trends in the protection of children and raises questions about them. Finally, it introduces the papers in the issue and highlights how they speak to the questions raised.

The full article is available here:

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09614524.2012.672962

The present article follows on from the practical note in Development in Practice 20(7): 879–886 that looked at seven common early lessons learnt from the inclusion of disabled people in World Vision programming work across four countries, based on socially inclusive principles. Externally led evaluations and technical support work undertaken between December 2010 and July 2011 in Armenia, Ethiopia, India, Sierra Leone, and Senegal have yielded seven further common lessons.

The present study aimed to aid government sector managers in Iran in their understanding of sustainable development mechanisms. Research was undertaken with 338 managers selected randomly from seven government ministries. The findings revealed that the rules and devices of public participation, voluntary environmental certification systems, scientific cooperation, and education were all priorities for moving towards sustainable development.

Impact and sustainability of programmes are critical issues facing the development community. Heifer International has honed its approach over more than 60 years. Heifer's approach includes: use of holistic, values-based, and affirmative community development process; Heifer's Cornerstones – values and principles to guide work, including ‘passing on the gift’; and measurement of impact at three levels – values, attitudes and knowledge; living conditions; and policy and systems change.

Citizenship has gained considerable popular currency in development and is increasingly being used to represent its objectives and outcomes. The popular conceptualisations of citizenship have not remained unaffected by neo-liberalism, which has established itself firmly as the dominant development framework. In mapping the neo-liberal influences in conceptualisations and expressions of citizenship – evidenced in the work of 11 NGOs in India – the present article interrogates its limitations and effects on development outcomes.

The commercialisation of water services in Kisumu, Kenya has resulted in fewer managerial changes than had been anticipated. Challenges include perceived political interference, inequitable treatment of different groups of residents, and little inter-agency coordination. A survey was conducted, focusing on the informal settlements, to help understand the root cause of the management flaws.

Food security is a key aspect of human development. The present article explores the shortcomings of agricultural interventions in two districts in eastern Uganda. Our study shows that these interventions have achieved only minor successes in relieving rural poverty and strengthening food security. Programmes that support prominent farmers with the aim of commercial development are unlikely to touch the poor. Food insecurity is related to the gendered division of agricultural work, control of cash income and the cycle of planting, harvest and crop sales for poor farmers.

Despite the growing interest in performance measurement and evaluation of international NGOs (INGOs), little is known about actual INGO evaluation practices. The present article, based on a survey of 38 US INGOs, examines the process of evaluation practice, as well as the purposes and dissemination of the results. The findings on evaluation purpose, dissemination of results, and formal feedback mechanisms suggest that INGOs typically develop stronger formal accountability measures for donors and staff-members than for beneficiaries.

As agências de desenvolvimento enfrentam o desafio de medir e relatar os resultados de suas contribuições para promover o desenvolvimento equitativo e sustentável. Como parte disso, as agências fazem previsões ambiciosas de objetivos de desenvolvimento e então comprometem-se a medir o que elas não conseguem alcançar no final de seus programas ou projetos.

Aid effectiveness has been an important subject in discourses around Afghanistan's reconstruction and development. NGOs are important players in this discourse and there are contradictory views about their function, accountability and effectiveness. The present article gives an overview of the context in which NGOs have operated in Afghanistan since 1979, when the Soviets invaded the country.