Our curated library is packed full of knowledge, know-how and best practices in the fields of democracy and culture.
Read the latest on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and other critical world events in our library of democratic content. Gathered from trusted international sources, the curated library brings you a rich resource of articles, opinion pieces and more on democracy and culture to keep you updated.
Take a look at curated library below and search by keyword (i.e. Ukraine or authoritarianism) or format (i.e. article or report) and find a tailored list of resources on the topics you're most interested in.
The Citizens’ Charter: Contributions to Poverty Reduction
"This brief discusses various aspects of the Citizens’ Charter approach to poverty reduction. These include incorporating a deeper understanding of poverty dynamics into the program’s architecture, engaging provincial and district level authorities and programs, promoting the strategic use of poverty data to inform policymakers, and testing and then scaling up pro-poor initiatives" (Institute for State Effectiveness, 2019).
CDD Series: Inter-ministerial Coordination
"A foundation of post-conflict state-building is whether the state can deliver services to poor people on a large scale. Successful delivery of services provides tangible incentives for people to prefer stability to conflict. However, poor quality or corrupt service delivery can just as easily add to instability rather than rebuilding the social contract" (Institute for State Effectiveness, 2019).
CDD Series: Elections
"This brief discusses Afghanistan’s community context, the lessons learned from the National Solidarity Program, and the design and outcomes of the new electoral system in the Citizens’ Charter Program. The implications on program design and the need to focus on detail are then reviewed" (Institute for State Effectiveness, 2019).
CDD Series: The Case for Substantive Facilitation
"Afghanistan’s Citizens’ Charter (CC) program is national in scope… the core model of facilitation must be able to adapt to a broad range of socio-economic environments. This brief unpacks the black box of ‘community;’ illustrates why facilitators matter…; lays out the substance of facilitation and the follow up that is needed" (Institute for State Effectiveness, 2019).
CDD Series: Transparency and Accountability
"The comparative advantage of Community Driven Development (CDD) projects when it comes to controlling corruption is that they can harness social controls… to complement the more standard tools of development project oversight…. However, the risk of corruption can be high unless both formal and informal control systems are carefully designed and monitored" (Institute for State Effectiveness, 2019).
CDD Series: Poverty Alleviation
"This brief discusses various aspects of the Citizens’ Charter approach to poverty reduction. These include incorporating a deeper understanding of poverty dynamics into the program’s architecture, engaging provincial and district level authorities and programs, promoting the strategic use of poverty data to inform policy makers, and testing and then scaling up pro-poor initiatives" (Institute State Effectiveness, 2019).
CDD Series: Afghanistan’s Nomadic Kuchi Population
"Afghanistan’s Nomads and Semi-Nomads are highly vulnerable and are generally excluded from development interventions. The Citizens’ Charter intends to work with this population to provide key services. This brief lays out key areas that have to be considered in the design of a pastoralist program" (Institute for State Effectiveness, 2019).
Participatory Development: The Case for Substantive Facilitation
"Afghanistan’s Citizens’ Charter (CC) program is national in scope… the core model of facilitation must be able to adapt to a broad range of socio-economic environments. This brief unpacks the black box of ‘community,’ illustrates why facilitators matter…, lays out the substance of facilitation and the follow up that is needed" (Institute for State Effectiveness, 2019).
Connections 2019: Exploring the Relationship between the Public and the Government
"The Kettering Foundation’s 2019 review of research focuses on the relationship of the public to governments at every level. The relationship between the public and government has been a troubled one for many years as citizens have lost confidence in institutions and institutional actors have questioned the public’s ability to productively address the difficult problems we face" (Matthews et. al., 2019).
Kettering Review Winter 2019
"Public goods are often seen as the domain of institutions and experts. This issue of the Review considers matters a little differently. How might formal public institutions work with informal publics? How can organizations and institutions align themselves with the work of a democratic citizenry to foster a better functioning democracy?" (McAfee et. al., 2019).
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