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The report examines how gender-sensitive programming in urban India can enhance climate resilience and people's empowerment. Using the ACCCRN project in Mahewa ward, Gorakhpur, as a case study, it finds that while the project began as gender-blind, its evolution toward a gender-sensitive implementation phase significantly improved the sustainability of interventions in water, sanitation, and agriculture. The study highlights that urban gender dynamics differ from rural ones due to weaker social cohesion and higher dependence on external services. It concludes that women's active participation as agents of change, rather than mere recipients, drives better outcomes, though deep-seated patriarchal structures and a lack of gender-disaggregated data in planning remain significant barriers.

The document assesses the adoption and effectiveness of youth policies across Africa, highlighting a lag in adoption compared to global trends. It identifies critical failures in data collection, policy design, and state implementation capacity, while noting successes in creating youth representative bodies. The author argues that for youth policies to succeed, they must be evidence-based, realistic regarding state capacity, and supported by partnerships with non-state actors.

The paper investigates the impact of the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) on governance in Africa by comparing Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) scores between 2003 and 2015 for reviewed members, non-reviewed members, and non-members. It finds that while APRM members generally performed better than non-members, there is no significant difference in progress between those who underwent a full review and those who merely joined. The author suggests this indicates a 'self-selection' bias where states already inclined toward reform join the APRM, rather than the mechanism itself causing the improvement. The paper also notes a trend where economic and corporate governance gains often occur alongside stagnant or declining political freedoms, specifically citing Rwanda and Mali as contrasting case studies.

In November 2013, RENAC conducted a three-day training session in Nairobi for Kenya Power and the Rural Electrification Authority (REA) to improve the design of tenders for PV-diesel hybrid mini-grids. The initiative aimed to address the high costs, supply chain risks, and environmental impacts associated with diesel-only power in rural Kenya, where the electrification rate was only 5% in 2013. The training covered system engineering, energy audits, and tendering, establishing a knowledge base to scale up renewable energy solutions in remote areas.

The document examines the systemic marginalisation of African communities affected by mining, highlighting the gap between official policy and the reality of environmental degradation, forced relocation, and health hazards. It details specific tools for empowerment, such as community protocols in Kenya and Zimbabwe, paralegal interventions in Sierra Leone, and strategic litigation regarding silicosis in South Africa. The text emphasizes the disproportionate burden on women and the necessity of moving beyond narrow legal definitions of 'indigenous peoples' to protect all customary landholders through the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).

The paper estimates that Chinese financiers provided US$86.3 billion to African governments and state-owned enterprises between 2000 and 2014, a figure lower than many common beliefs. The authors argue that Chinese lending is driven by business interests—specifically generating construction contracts for Chinese firms—rather than a primary desire to secure natural resources. While transportation and energy are the largest sectors receiving funds, approximately one-third of the loans are secured by commodities or exports to mitigate risk in unstable environments. The authors warn that while a debt crisis has not yet occurred, rising debt levels and the unlikely nature of policy bank debt cancellation pose future risks.

The document examines the complexities of land tenure in Africa, highlighting the tension between customary and statutory systems. It argues that while formal titling is a long-term goal, the immediate priority should be adapting informal systems to provide legal security, improving state administrative capacity, and addressing gender-based barriers to land ownership to foster economic development and reduce conflict.

The report finds that global geothermal operating capacity reached 13.3 GW across 24 countries by January 2016, with a forecast to reach 18.4 GW by 2021. While international growth is supported by COP21 commitments and the Global Geothermal Alliance's goal of 65 GW by 2030, the U.S. market has nearly stalled at 3.7 GW of nameplate capacity due to cheap natural gas and unbalanced tax incentives. The report highlights that only 6-7% of global geothermal potential has been tapped and emphasizes the need for increased public financing to drive private investment in developing nations.

The author contends that the Doha Development Round is 'dead' following the Nairobi Ministerial, a failure attributed to a shift in global power from a US-led hegemony toward a multipolar system including China and India. To prevent the fragmentation of the multilateral trading system caused by 'megaregional trade agreements', the paper suggests moving away from the 'single undertaking rule' and the 'consensus principle'. Instead, it proposes a 'plurilateral' approach where smaller interest groups negotiate sectoral agreements and link regional deals to the WTO dispute settlement mechanism. The author specifically urges emerging economies like South Africa to embrace plurilaterals to advance their trade interests, noting that the traditional North-South divide has been replaced by more complex interests, with countries like China, Brazil, and India now also utilizing agricultural subsidies.

The paper examines the 'wicked problem' of aligning poverty eradication with climate mitigation and adaptation. It proposes 'climate compatible development' as an analytical framework that integrates mitigation, adaptation, and economic transformation. The author emphasizes that achieving 'zero poverty, zero emissions' requires strong policy leadership, careful design to manage winners and losers, and cross-government implementation to avoid 'pilot phase syndrome'.

The paper examines the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) as a catalyst for Ethiopia's transition toward a low-carbon, 'green' economy and its ambition to become a primary electricity exporter in East Africa. It details the dam's technical specifications, its integration into Ethiopia's Growth and Transformation Plans, and the role of regional bodies like the Eastern Africa Power Pool (EAPP) and the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA) in facilitating energy trade. The author argues that while the GERD offers a significant opportunity for regional integration, its success depends on overcoming hydro-hegemonic tensions with downstream states, improving trans-boundary environmental assessments, and harmonizing national energy policies across the region.

The study identifies a strong desire for citizen involvement in energy planning in Migori County, where energy use is dominated by biomass and kerosene. It proposes a participatory framework consisting of six key activities to move away from top-down planning and better meet local energy needs.

The document argues that while sub-Saharan Africa's financial sector has grown rapidly, limited access to formal financial services persists. It identifies a lack of purposeful leadership at middle and senior management levels as a constraint to financial sector development. To address this, Financial Sector Deepening Africa and Creative Metier have implemented a project since 2013 to build internal capacity through executive coaching, which serves as a critical tool for leaders to resolve complex business challenges and improve business performance.

The document outlines 'Stage 3' of the Impact-Oriented Measurement (IOM) system, focusing on 'Step 7: Developing a credible narrative'. It advocates for the use of contribution analysis—rather than strict attribution—to demonstrate how FSD interventions lead to systemic changes in financial markets. The process involves triangulating bottom-up monitoring (e.g., project results chains) with top-down evidence (e.g., national household surveys and landscape studies) to convince a 'sceptical observer' of the programme's impact. It also provides methodologies for aggregating quantifiable results and conducting Value for Money (VfM) assessments by monetizing sectoral benefits, such as reduced depositor losses in the SACCO sector in Kenya.

The document provides a framework for FSD programmes to move beyond basic accountability indicators in logframes toward a system that measures systemic market change. It recommends integrating IOM into strategy development, investment decisions, and annual reviews, while advocating for a collaborative partnership with an independent learning partner to balance rigour with operational learning.

The document provides a framework for FSD programmes to set up an Impact-Oriented Measurement (IOM) system. It details a two-step process for 'Stage 1: Clarity of Purpose', which involves ensuring the programme's Theory of Change (ToC) is evaluable and developing specific impact measurement questions. The guide emphasizes the importance of 'nesting' project-level results chains within thematic and overall programme ToCs to capture systemic change and avoid overstating causal contributions. It also introduces 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' approaches to measuring impact, ranging from high-level economic growth to direct intervention effects.

The document outlines a methodology for FSD programmes to move beyond traditional project-level monitoring toward an Impact-Oriented Measurement (IOM) system. It emphasizes the need to bridge the evidence gap between direct project outputs and long-term market changes by tracking intermediate progress indicators, systemic changes (such as adoption, scaling, and replication), and top-down sector trends. The guide advocates for a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative data from sources like FinScope with qualitative narrative reporting to capture complex market dynamics and resilience.

The document outlines a two-step process for measuring change in financial sector development: assessing causality and contribution (Step 5) and developing a research agenda (Step 6). It emphasizes a pragmatic, evidence-based approach to attribution, acknowledging that FSDs act as market facilitators and cannot claim full credit for changes. The guide details 'bottom-up' (intervention-focused) and 'top-down' (sector-level) analysis, offering a menu of methodologies ranging from light-touch monitoring and theory-based approaches (e.g., contribution analysis, outcome harvesting) to rigorous quantitative statistical methods (e.g., experimental and quasi-experimental designs). It also defines the role of research in filling knowledge gaps, informing strategy, and contributing to global learning on the links between financial inclusion, economic growth, and poverty reduction.

The document introduces the Impact-Oriented Measurement (IOM) framework, designed to help Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) programmes move beyond traditional monitoring of outputs toward measuring medium-to-long-term systemic changes in financial markets. It advocates for a 'sweet spot' between monitoring and evaluation, utilizing a Theory of Change (ToC) to track causal pathways. The framework employs a dual 'bottom-up' (project-centric) and 'top-down' (sector-wide) approach to evidence collection, emphasizing the need to measure systemic change—defined as transformations in market structures or dynamics that benefit large numbers of poor people. It provides a seven-step implementation process, ranging from ensuring the ToC is evaluable to developing a credible contribution narrative, and suggests a mixed-methods approach to data collection and causality analysis.

The document examines the complex hybrid of customary and statutory landholding systems across Africa, utilizing data from the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). It highlights that while weak property rights hinder economic growth and agricultural productivity, the administrative costs and institutional limitations of full formal titling make it an impractical immediate solution. Instead, the author proposes a gradual approach: strengthening informal tenure security, improving state administrative capacity through computerization, and investing in rural infrastructure to boost land value and productivity.