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There is growing consensus among policymakers, institutions and movements that GDP is not fit for purpose as the pre-eminent economic metric. Alternatives are urgently needed to facilitate the transition to a new economic model that supports a radically more equal, kinder, greener and feminist world in the present, while offering redress for historical damage and inequalities., However, despite growing experimentation, most efforts are insufficiently bold and remain mostly on paper, with only a few notable but relatively small-scale and still-developing exceptions., To dismantle GDP, different social movements will need to coalesce around key metrics that prioritise far greater equality, and align with feminist and decolonial values while challenging the systems of power and narratives that are holding GDP in its dominant place. Only in this way are alternatives likely to deliver the economic transformation needed to put people and planet first., Les responsables politiques, les institutions et divers mouvements s’accordent de plus à plus à dire que le produit intérieur brut (PIB), en tant que principal indicateur de la santé économique, n’est pas un outil satisfaisant. Il est urgent de trouver des alternatives pour la transition vers un nouveau modèle économique favorisant un monde radicalement plus égalitaire, bienveillant, vert et féministe et proposant des mesures de réparation des dommages causés par le passé et des inégalités qui en découlent. Toutefois, malgré de nombreuses expériences, la plupart de celles-ci manquent d’ambition et ne sont pas appliquées, à l’exception de rares propositions en cours de développement, notables mais d’envergure relativement restreinte. Pour détrôner le PIB, divers mouvements sociaux devront travailler à la création d’indicateurs clés qui privilégieront l’égalité, intégreront les valeurs féministes et décoloniales et remettront en question les systèmes de pouvoir et les discours qui perpétuent l’utilisation du PIB. C’est la seule manière pour ces alternatives d’entraîner la transformation économique indispensable pour protéger la planète et les êtres humains avant tout.

Bringing a feminist intent to research, monitoring and evaluation practices leads to defining these as tools to contribute to transforming the lives of women, girls and non-binary people, and to bringing about social justice. This has meant putting gender and power at the centre of our practice, which has in turn shaped the technical choices made specifically in quantitative impact evaluations. This paper focuses on describing how these technical choices, as well as ethical considerations, are changed by this feminist intent. The paper also presents the lessons learned and questions raised along the way, which may be useful for MEAL and research practitioners, as well as programme managers. How can we bring intersectionality to the fore? What does it mean to go beyond the gender binary? How can this work be transformative?

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic was an unprecedented event in the modern era. Earlier studies demonstrated how ‘critical junctures’, which comprise major historical events and emergencies, often play an essential role in social change. This paper seeks to explore whether the COVID-19 pandemic would prove to be a similar pivotal moment, and what lessons and insights we could gather for positive social change., The research set out to find key insights on how individuals, communities, and organizations in civil society were responding to the pandemic in low-income populations at the intersection of multiple inequalities. These lessons could inform how donors, governments and NGOs might reshape their efforts to reduce emerging or deepening inequalities, and how civil society organisations and community-based organisations could amplify their positive impacts., Over 18 months, from September 2020 to March 2022, the ‘Emergent Agency’ research convened a global conversation between activists, development practitioners, researchers, and academics to better understand the phenomena that were taking place in response to the pandemic. The research collected more than 200 case studies and held a series of webinars and conversations in thematic clusters to uncover what these responses could teach us. The research project was enabled with funding from The Atlantic Fellows for Social and Economic Equity programme (AFSEE) of the London School of Economics., The findings from the collaborative research have been summarised in two main documents, - this research report, which retraces the steps of the study, its methodology and main findings;, - and a brief, which summarizes key points that we believe are important for those working in international and national NGOs, and donor agencies.

How is our understanding of development changing? What are the implications of these changes, whether practical or conceptual, for the future role of international non-government organizations (NGOs)?, This short paper summarizes the main global trends in international development and then examines some pressing questions for international NGOs. It highlights the folly of simple, linear interventions and the merits of alternative approaches, such as bringing together stakeholders to find joint solutions (convening and brokering), or rapid iteration based on fast feedback and adaptation., For Oxfam, this new thinking would mean relinquishing a command-and-control approach across all aspects of its work in favour of embracing a systems approach.

In ten years' time, more people will be living in cities than ever before in human history. If we want to live in a sustainable and inclusive world, we must commit to promoting the development of sustainable and inclusive cities. Of the three billion urban residents of the world today, one billion live in slums, vulnerable to disease, violence and social, political and economic exclusion. Although there are good examples of responses to urban poverty, cities continue to grow, and to grow poorer. The authors of this paper examine the trends in urbanisation and urban poverty and call for improved research and a more coherent programmatic approach to addressing urban poverty and vulnerability. They suggest that urban public space needs to be regenerated in order to encourage local participation in development, and to reduce the ecological impact of urban lifestyles. Urban development strategies need to be incorporated into the global development agenda on issues such as trade, environment, and migration. The paper argues that civil society, national governments, the private sector and the international development community should harness the positive features of urbanisation (such as the potential for progressive changes in social, political, and economic relations) to create a more inclusive and sustainable global society

The unprecedented turmoil in the world's financial markets has resulted in a significant loss of trust in the global financial system. Financial institutions and the market as a whole have been criticised for short-termism, for lacking transparency, and for not being properly accountable to regulators or to wider society. The credit crisis has also raised wider questions about the proper role of investors in society, both in terms of the specific investments that they make and the manner in which they use their influence to ensure that the positive social and environmental impacts of their investment activities are maximised, and the negative impacts minimised. Oxfam sees that the current crisis offers the opportunity to rethink the contribution that investors can make to eradicating global poverty. Oxfam believes that investors have a critical role to play in poverty alleviation, through supporting economic growth, building infrastructure, and helping to create a vibrant, entrepreneurial private sector. Oxfam also believes that investors can play a wider role through encouraging companies to attain higher standards of corporate responsibility performance. However, the influence of investors (or of investment more generally) has not been unambiguously positive. For example, concern has been expressed about the negative consequences for development of volatile capital flows (as seen in the 1997 Asian financial crisis), the negative social and environmental impacts of many large infrastructure projects, the emphasis of investors on short-term profit rather than the creation of long-term successful and sustainable businesses, and the downsides of trade and investment liberalisation. It is in this context that Oxfam has launched a new project, 'Better Returns in a Better World'. The project's objectives are: to analyse the role that institutional investors can play in poverty alleviation; to encourage investors to take account of poverty issues in their investment decisions; and to identify the key barriers to long-term investment in developing countries. This discussion paper is the first part of the project. It has three objectives. The first is to make a case for why investors are of critical importance to the development agenda. The second is to provide an analytical framework for the project. The third is to identify some of the core questions that the project will seek to explore.

There are three core aspects of the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) - scope, parameters and implementation - which must all be strong for the ATT to achieve its intended objectives of saving lives through preventing irresponsible arms transfers. This paper addresses implementation, an area somewhat neglected so far in the debate. This practical guide is intended to support law-makers, licensing officers, customs officials, and other agencies and individuals involved in establishing and implementing national control systems for international arms transfers. This guide will also be useful during the negotiations of the ATT. The guide acknowledges that there is no 'one size fits all' solution. It provides a clear framework and outlines the core principles and elements from different systems, giving examples from a number of countries. This guide strengthens Oxfam's campaign for a global, legally binding, Arms Trade Treaty, and is written with Oxfam's partners for the launch of preparatory talks on the ATT.

This document is intended as a resource for Oxfam staff and for other organisations concerned with influencing and monitoring national policy making in developing countries to the benefit of the poor. The document will focus on policy making in low-income countries, because current donor conditionality demands civil society participation in planning and in the implementation of plans under the new Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper programme (PRSP) introduced by the World Bank and IMF. However, many of the areas covered will be useful to organisations working in middle-income, or even developed countries.

Oxfam's Global Agricultural Scale Up Initiative (GASUI) was launched in 2005 with the aims of reducing poverty for millions of smallholder farmers, particularly women; driving economic growth by linking farmers into new and wider market opportunities; and advocating for increased donor, government, and private sector investment to support smallholder farming. For Oxfam, 'scale-up' refers to increasing both the reach and quality of Oxfam's agricultural programming and thereby demonstrating to governments, donors, and development actors how agriculture can contribute to economic development and poverty reduction. The initiative's main strategy is to empower smallholder farmers to organize and engage effectively and equitably in agricultural markets and value chains. This overview is the first of nine Programme Insights papers in the 'Small Farmers, Big Change' series contained in this volume. The papers draw on learning from GASUI and on wider learning from Oxfam GB's agricultural markets-based programming, as well as from programmes implemented by Oxfam India.

This paper discusses Oxfam's advocacy work in Honduras on women's political rights, and women's leadership and empowerment in the political sphere. Beginning with an overview of the constraints that women face if they wish to participate in politics, the paper then goes on to discuss Oxfam's advocacy and campaigning activities during and after the 2005 election period. These include lobbying and advocacy on political reform, campaigning to encourage people to consider voting for female candidates, and promoting women's leadership and political empowerment.

Sub-Saharan Africa has some huge problems to resolve if it is to achieve gender equality in education, and fulfil the Millennium Development Goals related to education and gender. Conversely, the region also has some of the most innovative and enterprising examples of initiatives that promote gender equality in education. This paper focuses on sub-Saharan Africa and considers some of the most significant obstacles that African girls face in achieving the education that is their right. The paper then reviews the most significant initiatives - those that are 'gender-neutral' and those that have a specific focus on gender equality - that have enabled African countries to overcome these obstacles.

This paper highlights the fact that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) do not directly address the issue of adult basic education and literacy, in spite of these being essential for achieving the Millennium targets. It explores the potential of adult basic education with gender equality to be transformatory for individuals, and for groups working to address key issues, such as gender-based violence, and HIV/AIDS. The role of governments and other key agencies in relation to gender equality and adult basic education is also explored. The paper concludes with a discussion of how to develop longer-term approaches to gender equality, adult basic education, and literacy.

This is the first of nine papers in a series on Education and Gender Equality, which have been developed from the work of the Beyond Access: Gender, Education, and Development, project.1 The focus of the series is on how to ensure not only equal access to a basic education for boys and girls, but that gender equality is a key part of the practice of that education. With greater numbers of girls enrolling in schooling, much needs to be done to ensure good quality education for all children. How can NGOs, policy-makers, and researchers work together to ensure that all girls and boys have access to an education that is equitable and of good quality, and to ensure that they develop the knowledge and skills they need to achieve what they want for their lives? This introductory paper frames the issues and challenges to be faced in achieving gender equality and quality Education For All (EFA). These issues and challenges are taken up in more detail in subsequent papers.

This paper illustrates the challenges involved in providing good-quality gender-equitable education for children who are beyond the reach of mainstream, formal education. It focuses on children of nomadic and pastoralist households, identifying specific issues in providing schooling for them, and drawing on lessons from approaches and initiatives by various agencies (government and non-government). The paper explores specific forms of discrimination that nomadic and pastoralist girls experience in relation to education, and highlights the need for deeper gender analysis in order to inform policy making.

One in five people in the UK lives in poverty. They suffer not just from low incomes, but from discrimination and prejudice. Their voices are rarely heard, especially by those in power. This paper describes a unique experiment to bring the voices of those living in poverty to the attention of the UK government as part of the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion. ‘Get Heard’ was one of the largest projects of its kind ever undertaken in the UK and is viewed as a model of good practice within the European Union. The paper explains how the project worked, and draws out the lessons learned for the future.

This paper shows how CODEMUH (Colectiva de Mujeres Hondureñas), a grassroots women’s collective in Honduras, mobilised a popular movement around labour rights in the country’s textile factories, or maquilas. Focusing on occupational health, CODEMUH ran a campaign which included research, training, and advocacy workshops for the women themselves, building alliances locally, nationally, and internationally, and involving key journalists and the media. The paper explains the challenges and the strategies used to overcome them. It also outlines the lessons learned when women have greater capacity to advocate for changes in policy and practice at corporate and national levels.

This paper is part of set of 12 in a series drawing on Oxfam GB’s global programme of work on the theme of ‘the right to be heard’. The focus of this series of papers is on how the right to be heard can strengthen the participation of people in poverty in formulating public policy, and enable them to hold decision-makers accountable. The other Oxfam themes are the right to a sustainable livelihood, the right to basic services, the right to life and security, and the right to equity. Together, these themes provide an integrated rights-based approach to Oxfam GB’s core purpose of overcoming poverty and suffering. The right to be heard is about the right to be an active participant in political processes; it is about being able to speak up and be listened to by those in power. Put a different way, it is about enabling people to actively draw on their civil and political rights to achieve their social, economic, and cultural rights. It is about finding ways to ensure that governance structures are responsive to the needs and wishes of poor people. These papers touch on some elements of how this can be achieved.

The right to participate in decision-making at the local, national, and international level is one which women are often denied, whether as active citizens or as leaders. In particular, women living in poverty often have very little opportunity to influence decisions and policies that will have a direct influence on their lives and livelihoods, and on the welfare of themselves and their communities. This paper is part of a set of ten papers which bring together lessons and experience on women's leadership and participation from Oxfam GB and its partners.

In this sixth instalment of the Going Digital Series, we share our experiences of using computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) software, which was researched and piloted following the outbreak of COVID-19 and the subsequent need for improved remote data collection practices., CATI is a survey technique in which interviews are conducted via a phone call, using an electronic device to follow a survey script and enter the information collected., This paper looks at the experience of piloting the technique in phone interviews with women in Kirkuk Governorate, Iraq.

Agricultural trade has always been one of the most sensitive international trade issues. Governments around the world have long been reluctant to abandon policy instruments that give them influence over domestic prices and allow them to raise revenues. The most commonly cited justification for government intervention in agricultural trade is food security, since if domestic prices are too high, poor consumers may not be able to buy enough food, and if they are not high enough, producers will not produce enough food. The food security argument is stronger in some countries (e.g. food insecure developing countries) than in others (e.g. largely urbanised developed countries). This study looks briefly at the agriculture and trade policies of six different developing countries, each of which has enjoyed unusually high rates of economic growth and development. They are South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Chile and Botswana. Their experience may shed further light on the extent to which governments should retain their powers to intervene in trade as opposed to relinquishing them in favour of market liberalisation., Executive summary, Overview, Introduction, Overview of country studies, Lessons for other developing countries, Case studies; Indonesia, South Korea, Malaysia, Viet Nam, Chile, Botswana

Despite being considered one of the most economically successful countries in Latin America, Chile is marked by high levels of social inequality. Women working in the agricultural and fish-farming sectors are particularly marginalised, and often work in unacceptable conditions, with little opportunity to challenge exploitative practices or to influence political decisions. This paper describes Oxfam GB's strategies to increase women's leadership and participation in economic and political sectors. It looks at the impact of these strategies and presents lessons learned.

Because of deep-rooted gender inequalities, and because of the large population of South Asia, the region has the highest number of out-of-school girls in the world. This paper outlines some of the issues confronting practitioners, policy makers, and researchers in girls' education in South Asia, and explores what they can do to move towards high-quality and gender-equitable education for all.

In the mid-1980s, the Australian government embarked on the first initiative to analyse government budgets from a gender perspective. In 1995, South Africa and the Philippines became the second and third countries to attempt gender-responsive budget exercises. By 2003, there had been similar initiatives in more than sixty countries. This paper uses the gender-response budgeting approach to explain how governments and donors can promote gender equality in education through their decisions on financing.

Failure to achieve gender equality in education is often blamed on 'weak capacity'. This paper illustrates the ways in which individual, organisational, and institutional capacity all play important roles in producing positive results for girls. It is essential to recognise that these different forms of capacity are related, in order to prevent the disappearance of policies and strategies produced with the aim of achieving gender equality in education.

Why do some countries succeed in promoting gender parity and equality in education while others do not? The answer often given is 'political will'. All too often, however, no further explanation is offered. There has been little effort to understand why governments are unwilling or unable to change their policies and priorities to achieve equal access to education for girls and boys, as expressed in the third Millennium Development Goal. This paper considers the concept of political will and explores the role that it plays in improving gender parity and equality in education.

The Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) is the world’s largest civil-society movement calling for an end to poverty and inequality. It has involved millions of people in mass protests and has had some significant successes in changing policies and promises on aid, trade, and development and in articulating the voices of poor and marginalised people. This paper examines the movement’s strategies and achievements, and looks at the challenges that remain.

Despite its booming economy and burgeoning middle classes, India is a country where hundreds of millions remain in severe poverty. In 2004 a new government was elected largely due to its promise to improve the lives of the poorest and most marginalised people by creating health centres, schools, and jobs. Also in 2004, the World Social Forum in Mumbai brought a diverse range of Indian organisations together, who later formed Wada Na Todo Abhiyan, the ‘Keep Your Promises’ campaign, to ensure a collective movement for change. This paper explains how the campaign succeeded in mobilising hundreds of thousands of people in India to pressure the government to deliver on key promises, and in demonstrating the huge demand of people across India for social justice and a better future for all the nation’s children.

Millions of people around the world cannot open a bank account, obtain credit, vote, own or inherit property, get a job or a passport, access health care, or sometimes even go to school. The reason? Because they do not have a birth certificate. Until recently, thousands of babies born to single mothers in Peru were denied the right to a name because they were not registered by both their parents. This paper shows how the Alliance for Citizen Rights, a network of non-government organisations, public organisations, women’s groups, childhood organisations, academics, and politicians, worked together to change the law and challenge deeply held prejudices against women.

Guatemala signed a peace accord in 1997, after 36 years of conflict. But the legacy of violence continues to haunt its population, especially indigenous people and women, who face ethnic and gender-based discrimination. A culture of impunity dominates the government’s legal system. Only 3 per cent of violent deaths are ever investigated. Violence, especially violence against women, is escalating. Indigenous people in Guatemala have their own traditional justice system, which operates alongside that of the state, although not on an equal legal footing. This paper looks at the relative successes of traditional conflict-resolution mechanisms, and examines how indigenous women are using Indigenous People’s Defence Organisations to seek justice.

This paper shows how the ‘Driving Change’ project in Indonesia used advocacy and capacity-building to ensure that the voices of poor people, especially women, became part of government planning processes to alleviate poverty. It focuses on people’s participation at village level as a key entry point, leading to advocacy for policy change at district and national levels. It also shows the successes and challenges of this kind of work for pro-poor policy development, and the need for deeper participatory approaches on poverty reduction.

The collapse of the Soviet Union led to difficult times for the independent state of Georgia, as it made the transition from a centralised to a market economy, and from a communist to a democratic system. People had no experience of making decisions, even at local level, or of participating actively in local government. Since 2002, Oxfam GB has worked with the Association of Disabled Women and Mothers of Disabled Children with initial support from the Association of Young Economists of Georgia, to implement budget-monitoring projects in Zugdidi District, one of the poorest regions of the country. This paper shows how this process helped communities build the confidence to work directly with local government officials to build a new kind of civil society.

Corruption drives poverty, powerlessness, and exclusion in societies where having little cash or influence means no access to basic entitlements, public services, justice, or even physical security. But corruption is not an isolated issue. It is part of a set of societal, economic, political, and cultural systems that deny people in poverty access to rights and resources. For this reason, Oxfam sees work on corruption as integral to rights-based work which seeks to increase the power of people in poverty to demand change, and the accountability and capacity of governments to deliver it. This paper examines Oxfam’s approach to corruption and its work in several different countries. It also outlines key corruption issues for those working in development.

The legacy of years of violent political turmoil and entrenched ideas about gender roles makes it very difficult for women in Haiti to be active in the political arena, despite the fact that many have already proved themselves to be dynamic and able leaders of their communities. This paper describes the work of women's-rights organisation Fanm Yo La in mobilising women to vote and to hold their elected representatives to account, and in supporting women candidates before and after election.

President Hastings Banda held office in Malawi from 1964 to 1994. He discouraged any kind of participation in political decision-making, often under pain of death or imprisonment. Today, 15 years later, people in Malawi are still afraid to speak out. They do not have the experience or structure to engage effectively in local advocacy work. This paper shows how the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP), supported by Oxfam, set about building confidence and economic literacy in local communities. Through learning about budget monitoring, ordinary men and women were able to begin to engage with those in power on order to improve their communities. If elections happen as proposed in 2009, these people will be in a good position to bring about real change on the ground.