OPM developed a sourcebook and e-learning course for applying social analytical concepts and tools to the study policy reform
We carried out a study on the political economy of sanitation for the World Bank and WSP, launched at the World Bank's 2011 Water Week
See our Briefing Note on 'Using Household Surveys for Gender Analysis in Developing Countries'
We evaluated the value of Poverty and Social Impact Analysis (PSIA) for the UNDP, based on a study of five countries in Africa
Our services
We focus on poverty analysis, policy analysis and participatory governance, underpinned by qualitative and quantitative techniques.
There is now wide recognition that poverty is much more than a simple lack of income and productive resources. And addressing poverty requires much more than good economic policy and positive economic growth. In this context, social development can be defined as a transformative process which aims to reduce poverty and vulnerability by: increasing inclusion and equity in access to resources services and opportunities; building the asset base of different individuals and groups (including non-material assets); empowering people in their relationships with political, economic and social institutions (both formal and informal).
“Empowerment” has become a commonly used term within international development discourses and is often seen within donor and government project, programme and policy documents. A decade ago the 2000/01 World Development Report recognised that empowering poor people – by making state and social institutions more responsive to them – is key to reducing poverty. More recently, empowerment has been increasingly recognised as a development objective in its own right and not just as a means to an end. But as with many other terms, it is often understood in multiple ways and this complicates its usage, with the danger that its use in development policy becomes more rhetorical than meaningful.
Particular groups of people and individuals remain excluded from the resources, services and opportunities which could help them move out of poverty. Even within contexts of strong overall developmental progress, inequity in development outcomes remains. The basis of this exclusion and inequity can include a complex range of political, social and economic factors, but at its core it is about power dynamics within households, communities and society. Understanding and addressing these dynamics and the institutionalised barriers that result from them is crucial to reducing poverty and vulnerability.
Policies aimed at addressing poverty have progressed significantly over recent decades. For instance former residual welfare strategies have been replaced by social protection poverty reduction policies, which incorporate wider aims and concepts around risk reduction and mitigation. At the same time the limitations of poverty analysis and measurement based solely on income or consumption have also been increasingly recognised. This has led to widening understandings of poverty which incorporate a range of other concepts, such as livelihoods, vulnerability and risk. These help widen the focus to a multi-dimensional understanding of poverty and emphasise the role that assets and capabilities have in improving social and economic well-being.