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Shaping policy for development

An overview of Lagoro IDP camp in Kitgum District, northern Uganda, 20 May 2007. Manoocher Deghati/IRIN

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The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) is the UK's leading independent think tank on international development and humanitarian issues.

G8 leaders at the Lough Erne summit. Source: flickr/President of the European Council http://www.flickr.com/photos/europeancouncil/9075308302
Opinion

ODI Director Kevin Watkins takes a look at the G8 communique and finds some good news but can’t help asking when we will see further progress on the tax agenda

Busan, Republic of Korea's Largest Port City. UN Photo/Kibae Park (http://www.unmultimedia.org/photo/detail.jsp?app=1&lang=en&id=490/490550&key=8&query=cargo%20ship&lang=en&sf=date)
ODI Opinion

Two mega deals on global trade will be discussed by G8 members but they must remember to abide by a principle of ‘do no harm’ says ODI’s Yurendra Basnett.

Lough Erne Ireland - summit location for 2013 G8. Flickr, Guillaume P. Boppe
ODI Opinion

Ahead of the G8 summit ODI researchers explore key issues for transparency and development.

Prime Minister and African leaders at 'Open for Growth' G8 event. Flickr, G8 UK Presidency
ODI Opinion

Beneficial ownership, at arm's length, transfer mispricing… what does it all mean? As G8 leaders gather at Lough Erne Francesca Bastagli sets out 10 tax terms we need to know.

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Events

  • Do accountability mechanisms deliver results?
    21 June 2013
    Do accountability mechanisms deliver results?

    The author and commissioning agencies of a new report,  'Improving Impact: do accountability mechanisms deliver results?', will present the findings from their research in Myanmar and Kenya.

  • UK launch: Country Policy and Institutional Assessment Africa
    01 July 2013
    UK launch: Country Policy and Institutional Assessment Africa

    ODI and The World Bank, in collaboration with the Office of the Chief Economist of the Africa Region, host the launch of the Bank's Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA), 2013 Africa report.

  • Aid and the military: future bedfellows?
    03 July 2013
    Aid and the military: future bedfellows?

    The ODI and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Overseas Development host a panel discussion exploring stabilisation and peacebuilding. What role should/can the military play in peacebuilding?

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  • Nutrition for growth: The potato farmer's tale. Martin Malungu/HarvestPlus
    ODI Opinion
    Nutrition for growth: mainly good news

    Three cheers for the hunger and nutrition summit says Steve Wiggins, even if they may have missed a trick.

  • The proportion of people living in extreme poverty has almost halved. Development Progress
    Animation
    Why development progress matters

    Progress is happening faster than at any other time in human history. This animation sets out how the Development Progress project aims to uncover the 'what', 'where', 'how' and 'why' of progress.

  • Portrait elderly woman, Mexico. Curt Carnemark / World Bank
    ODI Background Note
    Don't forget the data

    If old age, disability and mental health issues are to be included in the post-2015 agenda we need to get the data right. This research explores current available data and sets out how to broaden survey coverage.

  • Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa is a bustling centre of business and trade. Simon Davis/DFID
    ODI Opinion
    G8: The development dividend

    ODI Director Kevin Watkins spells out what's at stake for developing economies when the G8 meet next week and identifies five issues to watch out for in the communique.

     

  • Communities attempt to flee the flooding, Sindh, Pakistan. Tariq Masood Malik/Oxfam
    IPS News
    Behind the climate finance headlines

    Despite developed nations delivering billions of dollars in Fast Start Finance, conflicting ways of counting has resulted 'in major differences between the scale and objectives of contributions', says Smita Nakhooda.

  • Co-chairs of the High Level Panel in London. Flickr, DfID (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dfid/8147175093/)
    The Guardian
    3 out of 4 is pretty good

    The High-Level Panel report on post-2015 has been published, Claire Melamed takes a look at what’s in and what’s out.

  • Crop diversification in lower Nyando, Kenya. Flickr, CGIAR Climate (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cgiarclimate/8553083727/)
    Research report
    Linking smallholders to markets in Africa

    Smallholder access to markets is critical to reduce poverty and hunger in low-income countries. This new research examines evidence from 31 countries across sub-Saharan Africa.

  • Trees cocooned in spiders webs after flooding in Sindh, Pakistan. Flickr,  Russell Watkins/Department for International Development (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dfid/5571181942/)
    ODI Infographic
    Finance failing on disaster risk reduction

    New figures reveal poor commitment from the international community on financing disaster reduction and preparedness.

  • Students take a break between classes at Hanoi University. Vietnam
    ODI Project Briefing
    Why young people should be seen and heard

    As the youth population grows in developing countries, we must support young people as catalysts for poverty reduction, good governance and economic growth.

  • Women in Pakistan wait to vote. Flickr, Rachel Clayton/Department for International Development (http://www.flickr.com/photos/dfid/8735821208/in/photostream)
    ODI Opinion
    What prospects for Pakistan?

    Reflecting on recent elections, Maryam Mohsin asks whether Pakistan's politicians can live up to their promises.

  • G8 flags. Flickr, Downing Street (http://www.flickr.com/photos/downingstreet/3704535050/)
    ODI Opinion
    Tax, development and the G8

    As tax avoidance hits the headlines, Dirk Willem te Velde says the G8 offers an 'opportunity to reset the debate on tax and achieve a step-change in helping developing countries raise tax revenues.'

  • Building a road in Sierra Leone. John Heine / Africa Governance Initiative
    Research report
    Unblocking results: can aid be more politically savvy?

    How can aid better support developing country governments to deliver public services? This report proposes a new way to deliver aid that incentivises performance in the public sector.

  • Siegfried Modola, IRIN, 2011
    HPG Policy Brief
    How can we support displaced people in cities?

    With camps full and half of all refugees and internally displaced people living in urban areas, Simone Haysom looks at how humanitarians can approach this new operating environment.

     

  • Clearing the rubble from destroyed building in Syria (ICRC / T. Voeten)
    HPG event
    Monitoring protection: asking the impossible?

    In today's armed conflicts, civilians bear the brunt of hostilities. Humanitarian agencies strive to provide protection - but how do we measure its impact? Join ICRC and HPG for a discussion on 5 July

  • Women at a community meeting discuss the reconstruction of their village (© Nugroho Nurdikiawan Sunjoyo / World Bank)
    HPG event
    Leadership in crises: the launch

    Leadership is tested in times of crisis, when it is most needed. But how can leadership be fostered? Join us for a discussion on the importance of leadership in humanitarian crises.

  • The Volga Relief Society, Portland, 1921
    Research Reports And Studies
    A Global History of Humanitarian Action

    While knowledge of the past has direct operational, analytical and strategic implications, the humanitarian sector has a notoriously poor understanding of its history. Delve into our account of the history of the international humanitarian system to discover more. 

  • Soldier discusses plans for new buildings with community leaders in Helmand, Afghanistan (© Kate Holt/IRIN)
    HPG Working Paper
    Stabilisation in Afghanistan

    What have we learnt from Afghanistan – the longest running experiment in stabilisation? Ashley Jackson and Simone Haysom examine civil-military dialogue and stabilisation in Afghanistan over the last ten years.

  • Woman in Kibera holds poster asking for improvements. Source: Gates Foundation
    Blog series
    Eradicating extreme poverty: how do we measure it?

    Development Progress kicks off a debate over how a post-2015 framework ought to measure poverty, with a series of blogs from Martin Ravallion and others.

  • A small shop selling items made from grass, baskets, brooms etc. South Africa
    ODI Working Paper
    EU aid in South Africa

    Drawing on analysis of South Africa, this research explores what the EU's new aid policy approach means for middle-income countries.

  • Manilito A. Duran, Dumaguete, Philippines. Arnaldo Pellini arnaldopellini.com
    Toolkit
    Navigating political economy

    Understanding political and economic contexts is essential in improving development outcomes. This framework enables practitioners to diagnose specific problems and identify feasible change processes in response.

  • Smallholder farmers from Swaziland’s eastern Lubombo District are using conservation techniques to grow crops other than maize. Mujahid Safodien/IRIN
    Research Report
    Smallholder farming: key to food security and nutrition

    Using country case studies, this paper investigates the contribution of smallholder agriculture to food security and nutrition.