IDLGroup

VISIT FRR

Social Development

Our Approach

theIDLgroup believes that social exclusion and inequality are issues that require urgent action.  Our work in social development embodies our commitment to social justice, poverty eradication and empowerment.  We consistently look for ways to facilitate meaningful participation of stakeholders and their representatives in the key processes that influence their lives – to enhance their ‘voice’.  

We see social development skills as an essential component of any successful development intervention.  Poverty cannot be tackled effectively without rigorous contextual analysis: the poorest cannot be effectively reached without a sophisticated understanding of vulnerability and social differentiation, and service delivery institutions will not be effective unless they are accountable to poor people.

The way we workWomen's meeting in Orissa, India

theIDLgroup works to address inequality and social exclusion by combining our academic and field research experience with substantial policy and programme design skills.  At the micro-level we use participatory research methods and field-based livelihoods assessments to improve existing policies and to inform new ones.  At the meso level we develop approaches that create functional relationships between citizens, the state and service providers.  At the macro level we support national governments and international agencies to develop pro-poor policies and programmes, using our social analysis skills and in-depth understanding of aid instruments, development processes and political economy to build lasting relationships that will deliver positive change for poor people and enable them to chart their own futures.

 

Core Competencies

Our core competencies include innovative programme design, monitoring and evaluation, training and facilitation, as well as qualitative and quantitative research skills that span pro-poor policy, social analysis and gender. Specialist skills within the theIDLgroup’s social development consultants include poverty and social impact analysis, vulnerability and social protection, community-driven development, gender, civil society, and improving participation, voice and accountability.  Our consultants have provided social development inputs to a wide range of sectors, including health, education, HIV/AIDS, agriculture, livelihoods, social inclusion, anti-corruption, and women’s empowerment.

Recent examples of tHEIDLGROUP’s social development work include:

  • evaluation and design of social programmes in the Philippines,  Indonesia, Ethiopia,and Georgia

  • voice and accountability work in West Africa, the Horn of Africa, and Eastern Europe
  • improving access to basic services for the poorest in Sudan, Nigeria and Malawi
  • gender, rural growth and livelihood studies in Bangladesh
  • strategic advice to State Accountability and Voice Initiative in Nigeria
  • social assessments and support to the recovery process in Eritrea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone
  • scoping and evaluation of civil society initiatives in Ghana  and Vietnam and the Balkans
  • evaluations of disability and social inclusion projects in India and Nepal
  • strategic evaluation of Women's Land Link Africa
  • training and development for social development professionals