The Sustainable Livelihoods Approach seemed to appear out of nowhere as one of the three key principles in the Department for International Development (DFID)'s 1997 White Paper 'Eliminating World Poverty: A challenge for the 21st Century' and a triggered a major policy shift within DFID including the transformation of the Natural Resources Department into the Rural Livelihoods Department, the widespread adoption of the principles of the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach throughout DFID and the promotion of the approach by DFID to other donors. This case study traces the role of research in the process leading up to and following the 1997 White Paper.

The research was originally undertaken as part of a larger study of the impact of ESCOR-Funded research projects within , triggered by the need for DFID to have a clearer understanding of how social science research impacts on policy, and by discussions arising from the Harvard Institute for International Development Report on the Future of Development Studies in the UK. The original data was then re-analysed following the Overseas Development Institute’s Context, Evidence and Links framework as part of the ODI Bridging Research and Policy Project.

Key Researchers:
Karin Christiansen, Research Officer, Poverty and Public Policy Group
Tim Conway, Research Fellow, Poverty and Public Policy Group

Further Information:
A Summary of the results of the study
The full Working Paper (Adobe Pdf 484kb)