This paper describes an empirical application of a strengths-based approach (SBA) to assess changes in gender equality, and draws out implications for research, evaluation, and wider development practice. We outline what constitutes a strengths-based approach and present a case study where a participatory methodology informed by appreciative inquiry was used to investigate gender outcomes of two water, sanitation, and hygiene-focused development initiatives. We consider the value and limitations of taking an explicitly strengths-based approach to assessing gender outcomes, and also propose that there are important arguments for why SBAs might be usefully applied in addressing (not just assessing) gender equality.

This paper reflects on the Occupy London encampment as an example of pre-figurative political action. The paper articulates the major media-political criticism of Occupy as “unwieldy” and “in search of a narrative” (Anonymous 2012), before drawing on case studies of two of the Occupation's components – the Tent City University and the Welfare and Well-being Group – to suggest that this criticism fails to understand the intentional choice that “directionlessness” represented. Indeed, the refusal to adopt formal leadership or any pre-defined ideological goal was a conscious strategy which pointed towards the kinds of possible future(s) desired.

Time poverty methodologies are a response to the failure of income-based measures of poverty to reflect gendered aspects of well-being. However, national time use surveys normally fail to examine issues around women and men's qualitative evaluation of their time uses, or the extent of their control over their own time. The result could be distorted policy responses which lose sight of the original intentions of time poverty as a tool to reveal gendered elements of well-being. This paper draws on the findings of a qualitative survey to asses a rural health promotion programme in Kyrgyzstan to demonstrate this point.

With the ruefully anticipated breakdown of the Mullaperiyar dam in Kerala as the central issue, this article debates the decommissioning of large dams in India. Drawing on other examples of dam breakdown and decommissioning cases from India and the USA, the author argues that dams that have failed to deliver on their promises or are in an unsafe condition should be selectively decommissioned.

After decades of civil war and internal conflicts, Cambodia is on the path of democracy. The country, despite steady economic growth in the last decades, is facing challenges around poverty, exclusion, and inequality. The contributions of civil society in the past two decades, in development and deepening democracy, were significant, but civil society is now facing new challenges in the face of pro-neoliberal policies of the State. The relationships within civil society are characterised by both cooperation and competition, but its relationships with political society, media, and academia are underdeveloped. Civil society's strategies and capacities require transformations to continue to be relevant in the future.

Non-governmental organisations face increasing demands to be accountable and transparent. Both need sound and timely evidence. Ensuring that these demands are satisfied is a key responsibility of governance, but fulfilling this requirement is a frequent weakness. A comprehensive approach to self-analysis – known as GATE – can make governing bodies more effective by better leadership of organisational responses to such demands. GATE works by: (1) making common sense connections to visualise the links between internal operations and generation of results, reputation, and resources, which makes complexity understandable and manageable; and (2) using a question-based ‘alignment’ resource to guide discussion and decision-making.

There is a general problem of enrolment to basic education in northern Ghana. Available statistics indicate that from 2000–05 only about 42 per cent of qualified applicants of school-going age in the Northern Region were enrolled in basic schools. This paper assesses the implementation of the programme in the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly. The findings showed that, whilst the programme has increased primary school enrolment, the major impediment to the implementation of the programme is cash flow constraints.

The indigenous plants and fish of Niger are incorporated into the Songhai people's daily life but are largely underemphasised in development programmes. In this paper we describe the culturally appropriate foods of Tallé, Niger. Based on information obtained from 42 participants using interviews and focus groups, we identified 11 commonly consumed fish species, 22 plant species, and nine factors that made them culturally appropriate: taste, perceived health effects, economic value, use as snacks or staple, storability, seasonal availability, use in celebrations, abundance, and cultural identity. We conclude with a discussion of how local knowledge can be incorporated into development programmes.

Learning is a critical component of organisational effectiveness, particularly in the complex world of development NGOs. Drawing from the literature on organisational learning, this article highlights the key dynamics of a strong learning organisation and proposes an integrated ‘leverage-learning’ model adapted to the NGO context. This model integrates learning domains that are critical for greater effectiveness, or leverage. The model is then applied to evaluate the effectiveness of the learning culture and commitment of a specific development NGO, World Vision Burundi. The model shows promise as an heuristic tool to evaluate NGOs and help them become more effective in aid delivery.

Support for capacity development accounts for about 25 per cent of all international donor assistance. Yet there have been few evaluations to assess the effectiveness of this support. This paper presents the findings and lessons of an evaluation on Dutch support for capacity development that has tried to avoid some of the shortcomings of earlier evaluations. Dutch capacity development support has been effective in a number of cases. However, for sustainable capacity development it is crucial that donors reconsider their policies and practices in such a way that they facilitate endogenous capacity development, local resourcefulness, and downward accountability.