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2. Beyond Consultation: Unpacking the most essential components of meaningful participation by refugee leaders
- Author:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Publication Date:
- 03-2022
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Research on forced displacement reveals a wide gap between policy processes and the people that such processes seek to assist. This paper proposes actionable recommendations on how to operationalize the concept of ‘meaningful refugee participation’ in decision-making processes that affect the lives of refugees. There is a need to go beyond tokenistic participation and to genuinely empower refugees to have influence over the design, implementation and evaluation of refugee-focused programmes. The contributions of refugees themselves must also be enhanced in ways that can help contribute to a paradigmatic shift in the global infrastructure of refugee governance.
- Topic:
- Migration, Governance, Refugees, and Displacement
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
3. Caring in a changing climate: Centering care work in climate action
- Author:
- Seema Arora-Johnson, Maeve Cohen, and Sherilyn MacGregor
- Publication Date:
- 02-2022
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- The global care crisis is being exacerbated by the global climate emergency, with interlocking impacts that threaten lives and livelihoods in all parts of the world. These impacts are particularly severe among rural livelihoods in low-income countries. Climate change intensifies the work involved in caring for people, animals, plants, and places. It reduces the availability and quality of public services in marginalized communities and directly compounds the unfair distribution of unpaid care work that sustains gender inequality. Yet the intersections of climate change and care work have been overlooked in the development literature. Strategies for climate mitigation and adaptation have paid relatively little attention to how care work is affected by climate impacts, nor have they considered whether interventions improve or intensify the situation of carers. Instead, when designing “gender-sensitive” climate actions, the focus has been largely on women’s economic empowerment as opposed to alleviating or transforming existing distributions of care work. The aim of this report is to fill a knowledge gap by examining the points of interaction between climate change impacts and the amount, distribution, and conditions of unpaid care work. We focus on care workers rather than those who are cared for, while stressing the relational nature of care and acknowledging that carers too require care.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Development, Environment, and Migration
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
4. Carbon Pricing: A primer for Oxfam
- Author:
- James Morrissey
- Publication Date:
- 02-2022
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Carbon pricing is not a new phenomenon. Backed by widespread consensus in the economic literature that it is the single most effective policy for addressing climate change, it has been the staple policy priority of many environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Yet carbon pricing has seen limited uptake. Efforts to price carbon have failed in a multitude of contexts. Where they have passed, in most cases, prices have been set too low or covered too little of the economy to effectively address the challenge posed by climate change. As a result, climate advocates have come to question carbon pricing as a primary policy approach. In this context, this paper is not intended to provide novel insights into carbon pricing, nor is it intended to motivate for or against an immediate campaign priority at Oxfam. Rather, this review of carbon pricing is intended to provide a technical background on the topic, considering the concerns that are of greatest salience to Oxfam. The specific aims of the paper are to support Oxfam staff in their deliberation on whether, when, and how to engage on carbon pricing initiatives, as questions around this policy approach shift over the next 20 years. It is anticipated that such reflection would also be useful to a number of organizations whose concerns are similar to Oxfam’s.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Environment, NGOs, and Carbon Emissions
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
5. TOSSD Data for 2020: An overview of key trends in the data in support of sustainable development
- Author:
- Brian Tomlinson
- Publication Date:
- 06-2022
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Data on total official support for sustainable development (TOSSD) take a recipient perspective, in contrast to official development assistance (ODA) data, which take a donor perspective. The TOSSD metric captures development resource flows that are not included in donors’ reports to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Development Assistance Committee, and are intended to link resource flows to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For 2020, 98 donors reported TOSSD data, an increase of six donors from 2019. Reported net disbursements totaled $291 billion, including $62 billion reported only to TOSSD. The top five sectors in TOSSD reporting, accounting for 65% of net disbursements, were energy, donor administrative costs, in-donor refugee costs, health, and government and civil society. For those disbursements linked to one or more of the SDGs, 61% went to the Health, Poverty Eradication, Climate Change, support for Decent Work and Sustainable Economic Growth, Ending Hunger, and Partnerships SDGs. The gender equality SDG was allocated just 4.5% of total net disbursements. TOSSD data provided a foundation of activity level detail to enable further research on allocations to SDGs. The picture that TOSSD data provide could be more complete if additional donors submitted reports to TOSSD, and if all donors reported on links to SDGs.
- Topic:
- Development, Sustainable Development Goals, Sustainability, and Gender
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
6. The Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index 2022
- Author:
- Jo Walker, Matthew Martin, Emma Seery, Nabil Abdo, Anthony Kamande, and Max Lawson
- Publication Date:
- 10-2022
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- The 2022 Commitment to Reducing Inequality (CRI) Index is the first detailed analysis published looking at governments’ policies and actions to fight inequality during the first two years of the pandemic. This fourth edition of the CRI Index reviews the spending, tax and labour policies and actions of 161 governments during 2020–2022. COVID-19 has increased inequality worldwide, as the poorest people were hit hardest by both the disease and its profound economic impacts. Yet the CRI 2022 Index shows clearly that most of the world’s governments failed to mitigate this dangerous rise in inequality. Despite the biggest global health emergency in a century, half of low-and lower-middle-income countries saw the share of health spending fall during the pandemic, half of the countries tracked by the CRI Index cut the share of social protection spending, 70% cut the share of education spending, while two-thirds of countries failed to increase their minimum wage in line with gross domestic product (GDP). Ninety-five percent of countries failed to increase taxation of the richest people and corporations. At the same time, a small group of governments from across the world bucked this trend, taking clear actions to combat inequality, putting the rest of the world to shame.
- Topic:
- GDP, Inequality, Tax Systems, Pandemic, and COVID-19
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
7. Tracing US Development Flows: A Study of the Traceability of US aid to Ghana
- Author:
- Marc J. Cohen, Mecuria Tigist, and Simon Parrish
- Publication Date:
- 01-2018
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- More than 600 development organizations publish to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) Standard. IATI provides up-to-date and reliable aid data to improve accountability, coordination and effectiveness. Aid flow traceability throughout the implementation chain is a key part of this. This research report shows that, using 2013-2015 IATI data, it is only possible to verify that 7% of US aid to Ghana ($28m) arrived in the country. It concludes that this traceability gap stems from limited IATI reporting by the international NGOs and firms that implemented most aid activities. To enhance traceability, the US government should require its implementers to publish to IATI.
- Topic:
- Humanitarian Aid, International Cooperation, Governance, Accountability, and NGOs
- Political Geography:
- North America, Global Focus, and United States of America
8. Safe but Not Settled: The Impact of Family Separation on Refugees in the UK
- Author:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Publication Date:
- 01-2018
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Refugees in the UK often find themselves separated from their families by their brutal experiences of conflict and persecution, just at the time when they need each other the most. This separation can drag on for years or sometimes indefinitely because of the UK’s restrictive rules on refugee family reunion. This joint report by the Refugee Council and Oxfam is one of the first to look at how family reunion and ongoing forced separation from loved ones affect the ability of refugees to successfully integrate into UK society.
- Topic:
- Migration, Refugee Crisis, Displacement, Conflict, Borders, Family, and Humanitarian Crisis
- Political Geography:
- United Kingdom, Europe, and Global Focus
9. Managing to Adapt: Analysing Adaptive Management for Planning, Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning
- Author:
- Harash Desai, Gabriele Maneo, Erica Pellfork, and Annika Schlingheider
- Publication Date:
- 03-2018
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Adaptive management is at the heart of ‘Doing Development Differently’. It emerges from stakeholders’ calls for development programmes to be more flexible and responsive to their contexts. Whether it becomes a mainstreamed practice depends on how much it is embraced by donors and implementers alike, especially in funding, design, monitoring, evaluation, and learning cycles. This report was developed by a group of students from the London School of Economics as part of their Master’s degree programme, in partnership with Oxfam Great Britain. It presents a collection of case studies from Oxfam and other agencies to illustrate concrete examples of how programmes can incorporate adaptive practices at different stages of the planning cycle. It also offers practical suggestions to development actors to support adaptive practices. It argues that PMEL for adaptive management entails flexible funding mechanisms; iterative design processes; developing locally owned approaches; and creating an enabling environment for learning.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, NGOs, Management, and Strategic Planning
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
10. Transformative Leadership for Women’s Rights (TLWR): Lessons and Recommendations from Oxfam’s Experiences
- Author:
- Ines Smyth
- Publication Date:
- 04-2018
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- The aim of promoting gender equality and women’s rights as integral parts of development efforts is enshrined in the key strategies and plans of many organizations. This is the case for the individual affiliates that comprise Oxfam International (OI), and the Oxfam confederation as a whole. This report sets out to assist Oxfam to better understand and learn from the Confederation’s work in this area to date. The purpose of the report is to provide an initial mapping of work on transformative leadership for women's rights (TLWR) in order to offer suggestions, impetus and a programmatic framework for the development of an ambitious global program on TLWR. It is intended to complement and drive Oxfam’s efforts to bring about the transformation of the pervasive gender inequality that limits women’s wellbeing, confidence and potential, reproduces negative masculinity traits, and contributes to the inequity dominant in contemporary societies.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Gender Issues, Leadership, and Feminism
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
11. How Decent is Decent Work? Using SenseMaker to Understand Workers’ Experiences
- Author:
- Irene Guitj, Franziska Mager, and Becca Smith
- Publication Date:
- 05-2018
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Decent work for all is a shared global concern. It is enshrined in Sustainable Development Goal 8, ‘to achieve full and productive employment, and decent work, for all women and men by 2030’. Countless initiatives by companies, governments, CSOs and global aid agencies are dedicated to making this happen. These efforts are labelled as ‘decent work’, ‘inclusive businesses’, ‘responsible sourcing’ or ‘economic empowerment’. They share a concern for raising the standards of working conditions – globally, nationally, and across sectors. SenseMaker is a research method that analyses the experiences of large numbers of people to help understand their perspectives on a specific issue or question. This paper shows what is possible when using SenseMaker to capture and understand workers’ perspectives. It aims to inspire anyone working in the private sector, within civil society organizations and government agencies responsible for strengthening decent work, inclusive business and responsible sourcing.
- Topic:
- Development, Labor Issues, Sustainable Development Goals, Private Sector, and Sustainability
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
12. Measuring Unpaid Care Work in Household Surveys
- Author:
- Martin Walsh
- Publication Date:
- 06-2018
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Caring for people and domestic work, such as cooking, cleaning and fetching water, is essential for personal wellbeing and survival. But across the world, care work is overwhelmingly done by women, which restricts their opportunities for education, employment, political engagement and leisure.
- Topic:
- Labor Issues, Homeownership, Labor Market, and Care
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
13. Equity and Quality in an Education Public-Private Partnership: A study of the World Bank-supported PPP in Punjab, Pakistan
- Author:
- Momina Afraid
- Publication Date:
- 08-2018
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Public-private partnerships (PPPs) in education are increasing in profile as countries grapple with serious challenges of educational access and quality—and as donors such as the World Bank turn to this approach as they advise countries on potential solutions to these barriers. Evidence is still limited on the impacts of this policy approach, however, and the academic literature that looks at equity and inclusion raises profound concerns. This study seeks to understand the impact of the PPP initiative in Punjab province, Pakistan, on key dimensions of equity, education quality, and democratic and social accountability. It was conducted over a period of two months, through field visits in a sample of 31 schools across five districts of the province (in both rural and urban/slum areas) and all four programs run by the Punjab Education Foundation (PEF). The study provides an in-depth view of how the sample schools are operating and are incentivized within the framework of the PEF programs, raising serious concerns about equity, quality, and accountability that need to be considered more broadly in the push to expand PPPs.
- Topic:
- Education, International Cooperation, World Bank, Public Sector, and Private Sector
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
14. Wash Interventions in Disease Outbreak Response
- Author:
- Jelena Allen
- Publication Date:
- 02-2017
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Water, sanitation and hygiene interventions (WASH) are commonly implemented as part of emergency response activities (i.e. in response to disease outbreaks) in low and middle-income countries. But what does the existing evidence tell us about what works? How does the use of WASH interventions reduce disease outbreaks? What are the programme design and implementation characteristics associated with more effective programmes? What is the cost effectiveness of WASH interventions in emergency outbreak situations? What are the barriers and facilitators to WASH interventions in outbreaks? This evidence synthesis identifies, synthesizes and evaluates the available evidence in order to find a response. It is accompanied by a stand-alone executive summary and evidence brief. It forms part of a series of humanitarian evidence syntheses and systematic reviews commissioned by the Humanitarian Evidence Programme.
- Topic:
- Health, Sanitation, Public Health, and Humanitarian Crisis
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
15. Local Humanitarian Leadership and Religious Literacy: Engaging with Religion, Faith, and Faith Actors
- Author:
- Carleigh Berinot, Robert Brodrick, Tara R. Gingerich, and Diane L. Moore
- Publication Date:
- 03-2017
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Local humanitarian leadership is built upon the premise that humanitarian action should be led by local humanitarian actors whenever possible, yet this research finds that secular humanitarian INGOs do not engage systematically with local faith actors in their local leadership work. Based primarily on interviews with humanitarian INGO staff, this research also found that neither secular nor faith-inspired international humanitarian organizations have a sufficient level of religious literacy to enable them to understand the religious dimensions of the contexts in which they work and to effectively navigate their engagement with local faith actors.
- Topic:
- Religion, Leadership, NGOs, Humanitarian Crisis, and Faith
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
16. Building Resilience: A Meta-Analysis of Oxfam’s Resilience Effectiveness Reviews
- Author:
- Rob Fuller and Jonathan Lain
- Publication Date:
- 10-2017
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- Oxfam’s Effectiveness Reviews evaluate the impact of the organization’s projects on the lives of those they are intended to help. This research paper uses statistical meta-analysis to summarise the results of all 16 Effectiveness Reviews carried out under the theme of resilience between 2011 and 2015. The paper finds that projects evaluated had a significant positive impact overall, as measured by an index of contextually-appropriate indicators of resilience. However, there are important differences in impact between different regions of the world. The meta-analysis also reveals a difference in the level of resilience by the gender of the head of household, and provides some insights into the resilience measurement approach.
- Topic:
- Climate Change, Disaster Relief, Food Security, and Resilience
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
17. Measuring Impact: A Meta-Analysis of Oxfam’s Livelihoods Effectiveness Reviews
- Author:
- Rob Fuller
- Publication Date:
- 11-2017
- Content Type:
- Research Paper
- Institution:
- Oxfam Publishing
- Abstract:
- This paper presents the results of a meta-analysis examining the overall impact of 23 livelihoods projects evaluated as part of Oxfam GB’s Effectiveness Reviews between 2011 and 2016. Results show a statistically significant, positive impact on the welfare of participants, measured by household consumption and wealth. Analysis indicates an increase in household consumption of approximately 6.6% (95% confidence interval from 1.6% to 11.9%). While some projects had more positive results than others, these differences are not explained by regions, whether the country has lower-income or middle-income status, whether households were initially poorer than average, nor by project scale, budget or duration. However, there is some evidence that female-headed households have tended to benefit less from the projects than male-headed households. Projects that targeted a specific agricultural product or products (such as vegetables, coffee or dairy production) were generally found to be successful in promoting production and sales.
- Topic:
- Agriculture, Gender Issues, Food, Economic Growth, Farming, and Empowerment
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus