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2. Effective community mobilization: evidence from Mali
- Author:
- Maria Laura Alzúa, Juan Camilo Cardenas, and Habiba Djebbari
- Publication Date:
- 03-2025
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Distributive, Labor and Social Studies (CEDLAS)
- Abstract:
- Experts argue that the adoption of healthy sanitation practices, such as hand washing and latrine use, requires focusing on the entire community rather than individual behaviors. According to this view, one limiting factor in ending open defecation lies in the capacity of the community to collectively act toward this goal. Each member of a community bears the private cost of contributing by washing hands and using latrines, but the benefits through better health outcomes depend on whether other community members also opt out of open defecation. We rely on a community-based intervention carried out in Mali as an illustrative example (Community-Led Total Sanitation or CLTS). Using a series of experiments conducted in 121 villages and designed to measure the willingness of community members to contribute to a local public good, we investigate the process of participation in a collective action problem setting. Our focus is on two types of activities: (1) gathering of community members to encourage public discussion of the collective action problem, and (2) facilitation by a community champion of the adoption of individual actions to attain the socially preferred outcome. In games, communication helps raise public good provision, and both open discussion and facilitated ones have the same impact. When a community member facilitates a discussion after an open discussion session, public good contributions increase, but there are no gains from opening up the discussion after a facilitated session. Community members who choose to contribute in the no-communication treatment are not better facilitators than those who choose not to contribute
- Topic:
- Development, Sanitation, Behavior, Public Goods, and Community Initiatives
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Mali
3. Accelerating GBVF Response Through Community-Led Platforms – Lessons from the Scorecard of the Localisation of the National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide
- Author:
- Gugu Resha and Cathy-Ann Potgieter
- Publication Date:
- 03-2024
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
- Abstract:
- his policy brief highlights the findings from the scorecard on the localisation of the NSP-GBVF, emphasising the areas of priority for all state and community-based actors as they continue to implement to objectives of the policy. This brief is intended to be used by organisations and community leaders working to strengthen efforts against GBVF, service providers providing protection, prevention and support to victims of GBV, stewards of safety and gender equality in public institutions, police representatives, CPF coordinators and business leaders seeking to make positive contribution to the efforts against GBVF towards gender justice and a violence-free South Africa.
- Topic:
- Crime, Gender Based Violence, Violence, Legislation, Domestic Violence, Femicide, and Community Initiatives
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
4. The Role of Community-Based Associations in Social Protection: Jordan as a Case Study
- Author:
- Mohammed Bani Amer
- Publication Date:
- 09-2024
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Arab Reform Initiative (ARI)
- Abstract:
- In Jordan, the contributory and non-contributory social protection systems are some of the most important tools of the state and society for promoting social cohesion and addressing the risks that people face in their lives, such as sickness, death, old age, disability, and unemployment. The legislative structure in Jordan attempts to organize the work of all parties concerned with social protection through social security laws and national relief funds, in addition to regulating the roles, objectives, competencies, scope, and governance of charitable associations, which are one of the tools of civil society, to enhance the country’s social protection and strengthen its resilience to risks. This paper discusses the role of cooperatives and community-based associations in Jordan in strengthening the social protection system, examining the positive aspects and challenges through research questions based on the following key questions: Are these associations effective, efficient, and able to fulfill their vision, mission, and goals, or are they ineffective and suffering from issues and challenges that make their role marginal and ineffective? Does the existence of these associations and their encouragement by the state harm the official social protection system, and encourage people to evade the official social protection system and contribution payments given the existence of other forms of protection; and does this result in the state abdicating its responsibilities to these other entities, regardless of whether they create or reproduce negative phenomena and dynamics? This paper emphasizes that reaching a scientific judgment on the NGO sector, in general, requires a comprehensive study of a representative sample of all sectors and types of these associations, taking into account their size, the scope of their work, sources and amount of funding, work strategies, outreach, and other factors. This paper uses the methodology of qualitative analysis and addresses this issue by defining its scope to include two associations: Tkiyet Um Ali, one of the most important associations in Jordan, is based in the capital Amman and has several activities directly related to strengthening the social protection system in Jordan extending to all governorates; and the Arhaba Charitable Society, located in the outskirts of Irbid governorate in northern Jordan, with a specific geographical scope. These two associations will help us to build perceptions and scientific judgments to enable judging the NGO sector and its effectiveness in promoting and contributing to social protection.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Community Initiatives, and Social Protection
- Political Geography:
- Middle East and Jordan
5. Community Governance During COVID-19: Case Studies from Rural Areas of Bangladesh
- Author:
- Tanvir Shatil, Md. Rohmotul Islam, Huraera Jabeen, and Shahaduz Zaman
- Publication Date:
- 01-2023
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- BRAC Institute of Governance and Development (BIGD), Brac University
- Abstract:
- This working paper investigates community-driven initiatives in rural Bangladesh that emerged in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and persisted beyond the crisis. Focusing on the sustainability of these initiatives, the study explores the preconditions for collective actions, the development of community-level governance during the crisis, and the mobilization and longevity of these efforts. Supported by the Institute of Development Studies, the research aims to contribute valuable insights into community governance mechanisms in low-resource areas, offering potential solutions for designing resilient emergency interventions and addressing long-term development challenges.
- Topic:
- Development, Governance, Rural, COVID-19, and Community Initiatives
- Political Geography:
- Bangladesh and South Asia
6. Fighting From the Bottom Up: Community Mobilisation as a Viable Strategy in Combating Banditry in Nigeria
- Author:
- Tope Shola Akinyetun
- Publication Date:
- 10-2023
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Conflict Trends
- Institution:
- The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
- Abstract:
- The incidence of banditry in Nigeria has attracted enormous attention in scholarship, with writers paying attention to the causes of the security impasse and its effect on securitisation, development and national cohesion. Despite the attention garnered, banditry in Nigeria appears to be growing deadlier, especially in the northwest, where it has reportedly killed more than 20 000 people in the last ten years, demanded millions of dollars in ransom, and displaced millions of people after destroying villages. These gangs, which initially only targeted rural areas, have significantly increased their operations to include major cities, interstates, and infrastructure, including train lines and military targets, and their tactics have progressed to include the use of powerful weapons, such as anti-aircraft missiles and explosives.1 Bandits are notorious for abducting schoolchildren and attacking educational facilities. For instance, over 2 600 citizens were slain by armed bandit groups in 2021, an increase of more than 250% from the previous year. At least 360 people were killed by bandits in Kaduna State alone between January and March 2022. More than 100 people were killed on 10 April during attacks on numerous communities in the Kanam Local Government Area, Plateau State.2 The root causes of banditry include poverty, youth unemployment, climate change, bad governance, corruption and the lack of adequate security protection for vulnerable communities.3 The proliferation of small and light weapons, a weak security infrastructure, inadequate leadership, cattle rustling, herder-farmer conflict, and illicit mining operations in the North West are further contributing factors for banditry. In addition to the human cost of banditry, it has a significant economic impact on the country. Banditry and other forms of armed violence cost the Nigerian economy billions of dollars each year. The problem is likely to continue to grow unless effective measures are implemented to address it. Efforts to address the problem of banditry in Nigeria have included both military and nonmilitary approaches. The Nigerian government deployed troops to affected areas and implemented economic and development programmes in an attempt to reduce poverty and provide alternatives to banditry. However, these efforts have yielded mixed results, and the problem persists. Some experts have argued that a more comprehensive and multifaceted approach is needed to address the root causes of banditry in Nigeria and effectively combat the problem. This could include increased investment in law enforcement and the criminal justice system, promoting economic development and reducing poverty, as well as efforts to prioritise community mobilisation.
- Topic:
- Vigilantism, Mobilization, Community Initiatives, and Bandits
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Nigeria
7. Congregations turned to Actors: The case of Christian Local Reconstruction Committees in Nineveh
- Author:
- Mona Hein
- Publication Date:
- 09-2023
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Middle East Research Institute (MERI)
- Abstract:
- Local religious actors can play important roles in the physical and emotional rehabilitation of conflict-affected communities. In this study, the role of the Church-led local reconstruction committees (LRCs) in sustainable community rehabilitation in the Nineveh Plains of northern Iraq was examined on the basis of qualitative field research. The LRCs were formed after the liberation of the Nineveh Plains from the so-called Islamic State to directly engage conflict survivors, reduce dependency on external actors, enhance intra- and inter-community collaboration, and facilitate the rehabilitation process. The study demonstrates that despite complex security and political dynamics, local Church leaders can be strong local actors and drivers of change, particularly in influencing post-conflict rehabilitation and the rebuilding of communities. However, they need to be sensitive to the complex and highly politicised inter-communal and socio-political dynamics. This study concludes by providing a number of practical policy recommendations to local, national and international stakeholders.
- Topic:
- Reconstruction, Christianity, and Community Initiatives
- Political Geography:
- Iraq, Middle East, and Nineveh