Practical Notes

Results-based management (RBM) is well entrenched as a management tool for international development practice. Yet after a decade of its use, many development practitioners view RBM in a negative light, considering it to be a donor requirement that diverts time, energy, and resources away from actually doing development work. This article provides some broad reflections on RBM from a distinctive vantage point: the perspective of the project (or programme) evaluator.

This article describes Learning Platforms, a structured effort by the Dutch-based agency SNV to encourage its expert advisers to engage in reading and analysing academic research related to the context in which they work, and to undertake research of their own.

Rice banks are increasingly used in South-East Asia as a means of addressing seasonal food crises facing poor communities. Despite general agreement about the effectiveness of community-managed rice banks in improving food security, there has been almost no research into their effectiveness in reaching the poorest, or the prospects of sustainability linked to regular repayments of rice.

Cambodia has embarked on a process of decentralisation and democratisation, including the establishment of elected Commune Councils in early 2002. Given the lack of a tradition of encouraging civic participation in public affairs, however, there was initially little general awareness of how to engage with these Councils.

The author provides a matrix examining gender-based financial, economic, social/cultural, and political/legal obstacles to women benefiting from microfinance and enterprise. She goes on to discuss how impact assessment work can be approached in the light of this matrix, highlighting the importance of establishing the nature of gender relations prior to projects, considering the potential outcomes that assessors should look out for, and carrying out gender-sensitive assessment.

Women's groups in Papua New Guinea, often under the influence of colonial and church governance in the past, still have an ambiguous function which serves to isolate women and `women's issues' rather than spread gender sensitivity. The author concludes that the existence of these forums for women actually encourages the continued marginalisation of women from governing and decision-making structures, since women's groups `tend to operate from separate and unequal spheres of influence'.

The author summarises the results of research into the health of older adults in Malawi, India, and Tanzania, which found high levels of malnutrition and anaemia among them, as well as, and linked to, poor functional ability. The data suggests the need for development agencies to specifically consider older adults - who form an increasing proportion of the population - in their programme work, since the problems highlighted arise from poverty-related factors.

This paper examines a Community Banking Scheme set up in Nigeria in 1991, in terms of its financial capabilities - `deposit mobilisation capability, and the value and ratio of its loan portfolio' - and considers four examples of its non-banking development functions. The author believes community banks have much development potential, and, while stating that the Scheme `has had mixed achievements', argues that the growth of non-banking facilities, and increased collaboration with self-help groups or NGOs, should lead to greater success.

The author discusses the importance of rural family poultry (RFP) in Africa as an income generating and/or subsistence asset for families, particularly highlighting the gender dimension of RFP, since women are often the main owners of, and carers for, chickens. RFP development programmes must take account of other demands on women's time, but should aim to keep profits in the hands of women, increase production (for nutritional and financial gains), facilitate setting up co-operatives and, through these, the provision of training and supplies (making use of economies of scale).

MOPAWI is an NGO in La Mosquitia, Honduras, working with indigenous communities in the region to create ecological sustainability and to strengthen technical knowledge and resource management. This paper presents the findings of research into how MOPAWI has `created linkages among the grassroots, the state, and ultimately the international level of politics in practice.' The strategic role of NGOs, and their ability to work across these levels, is discussed.