SIID 6th

Annual Postgraduate

Conference

Thursday 12th

March 2015

“Reflecting on development: Global

narratives, local realities”

#SIIDCon15 @SIIDgroup

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Welcome to the Sheffield Institute for International Development (SIID) 6th Annual Postgraduate Conference. SIID is a flagship interdisciplinary research institute within the University of Sheffield that brings together researchers, partners, students and stakeholder groups to develop new approaches to development research.

In its sixth year, the SIID Postgraduate conference brings together graduate researchers from across the UK to showcase their exciting and varied work in Sheffield. In reflection of the theme, this year’s conference is organised to allow postgraduate students in International Development and allied fields to meet, network and learn from each other in a constructive and supportive environment.

We really hope you enjoy the day! Organising Committee: Chris Flower Vidya Sagar Pancholi Sarah Peck

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Directions for SIID Postgraduate Conference 2015 This year’s conference is being held in the ICOSS Building: Interdisciplinary Centre of the Social Sciences (ICOSS Building) 219 Portobello S1 4DP Sheffield Trams are available from Sheffield Railway Station. The nearest tram stop is ‘University of Sheffield’ stop on either the blue or yellow routes. Car parking is not available near the ICOSS building

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Further travel information can be found at: http://www.shef.ac.uk/visitors/mapsandtravel Taxi Service: Mercury Taxi – 0114 2662662 City Taxi – 0114 2393939 Accommodation: Nearby accommodation can be found at the following: http://www.theharley.co.uk/ http://www.premierinn.com/en/ (Angel Street, Sheffield) http://www.ibishotel.com/gb/hotel-2891-ibis-sheffield-city/index.shtml http://www2.travelodge.co.uk/index.php (Sheffield Central) http://www.rshostels.co.uk/facilities.php Contact details: Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any problems on the day. Call Sarah Peck on 07866547851 or Vidya Pancholi on 07707039905.

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Provisional outline for the day

9.30-10.00 Welcome & Registration, Tea & Coffee

10.00-11.00 Introduction & Keynote Address

Prof. Diana Mitlin, University of Manchester, Professor of Global Urbanism

11.05-12.05 Panels 1 & 2

Panel 1 – The next generation: childhood, youth & education Garima Jaju, University of Oxford: Madrasa educated Muslim youth and the struggle for employment Wafa Al Madani, University of Sheffield: Migration and everyday lives: play and parenting in intercultural contexts, Bahrain Harry Pettit, London School of Economics: ‘Just get the first job’: solving the crisis of the educated unemployed in Egypt Chaired by Dr. Chasca Twyman In the conference room

Panel 2 – Institutions, governance and foreign aid Christiana Anaxagorou, University of Sheffield: The effects of foreign aid and institutions on the composition of public finance in developing countries Munetsi Mandere, Nottingham Trent University: Institutions as tools of public policy – an evaluation of SEA-Sub-saharan Africa post-war development Ioanna Ntampoudi, Aston University: Thinking together with Landes about development: views from debt-ridden Greece Chaired by Dr. Tom Goodfellow In the boardroom

12.05-12.20 Tea & Coffee Break

12.20-13.20 Panels 3 & 4

Panel 3 – Community matters: bottom-up approaches to development Sarita Panday, University of Sheffield: Community Health Workers; mobilising communities through mother’s groups to improve maternal health in Nepal Maria Panta, Canterbury School of Architecture: Architectural approaches to adaptation through the use of local materials and community-driven initiaives in Ghana Amee Yostrakul, University of Leicester: Microfinance: what can money achieve in a rural village? Chaired by Caroline McCalman In the conference room

Panel 4 – Global health challenges Aisha Giwa, University of Sheffield: Procreation in Nigeria: a qualitative exploration of contraceptive decision making among couple in North-Central Nigeria Georgina Pearson, London School of Economics: Researching public health; neglected tropical diseases among fisherfolk in rural Uganda Hibbah A Saeed, University of Sheffield: Determinants of dietary behaviour in minority ethnic groups in Europe: a systematic mapping review Chaired by Dr. Julie Balen In the boardroom

13.20-14.00 Lunch

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14.00-14.30 Getting published in international development Dr. Dan Hammett In the conference room

14.35-15.35 Panels 5 & 6

Panel 5 – Cities of the Global South Sheila Kamunyori, London School of Economics: Informal people and the formal state: conflicting rationalities in a slum upgrading project in Nairobi Mary Mwangi, University of Sheffield: Urban growth in sub-Saharan Africa: conflicting interests in the application of planning laws and regulations in middle income residential developments in Nairobi Vidya Sagar Pancholi, University of Sheffield: Measuring impact of urban reforms on the extent and degree of decentralisation: a case of Kalyan Dombivilli, India Chaired by Dr. Seth Schindler In the conference room

Panel 6 – Development interventions – what really matters? Emmanuel Adu-Ampong, University of Sheffield: The global narratives vs. local realities of ‘institutions matter’: insights from the tourism-poverty nexus in Ghana Jo Clarke, Leeds Trinity University: Empowerment and power associated with sport and international development: realities from Cameroon Kat Eghdamian, University of Oxford: Rethinking religion in humanitarianism beyond identity politics Chaired by Caroline McCalman In the boardroom

15.35-15.50 Tea & Coffee Break

15.50-16.50 Panel 7

Panel 7- Innovations in rural development Rebecca Joy Howard, University of Leeds: What are these things called carbon credits? Judith Krauss, University of Manchester: Stakeholder drivers and stakeholder representations in cocoa sustainability initiatives: congruencies and divergences Sandra Pointel, University of Sussex: SE4ALL: what perspectives for Ghana Rachael Taylor, University of Sussex: Shaping adaptive capacity in Northern Ghana: political economy, participation and agency Chaired by Prof. Paul Mosley In the conference room

16.50-17.15 Close and round-up of the day Dr. Chasca Twyman In the conference room

17.15 onwards Drinks & Nibbles

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Room locations for activities:

Conference Room Located on the first floor of the ICOSS building, the Conference room will be the venue for the following activities:

Keynote Address Panels 1,3, 5 & 7 How to get published in International Development Close & Round up of the day

Boardroom The boardroom is located on the ground floor of ICOSS and will be the venue for the following sessions:

Panels 2,4 & 6 Entrance Foyer ICOSS’s entrance foyer will be the venue for:

Welcome and Registration Morning and Afternoon Tea/Coffee breaks Lunch

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Abstracts

Panel 1: The next generation: childhood, youth and education

Garima Jaju, University of Oxford, garima.jaju@lincoln.ox.ac.uk Madrasa Educated Muslim Youth and the Struggle for Employment In international media and policy circles, madrasa education is seen as antithetical to employment. It is seen as promoting ghettoization and further marginalization of poor Muslims by providing them with an education which has poor prospects in the labor market leaving them to “choose between fanaticism and the begging bowl”. It is argued that reform efforts must be undertaken to mainstream madrasas and bring the involved population ‘in step’ with the current times, such that they can better access “substantive freedoms” that education offers. Aliyah University in West Bengal is a typical example of a localized manifestation of this global discourse that emphasizes reform in madrasa education through degree recognition, degree equivalence and curricula reform. Focusing on undergraduate and graduate Arabic and Theology students, my study asks how this reform effort has brought the students closer to “substantive freedoms” as captured in their employment aspirations. My analysis plays out on three levels - the individual, the institution/ “structuring structure” (Bourdieu) and the state. Using Bourdieu, Ferguson and Appadurai, the three levels are critically studied in a relational and dialectical manner. I show in my analysis how the process of obtaining the envisioned ‘freedoms’ is not as straightforward as is claimed, and is heavily mediated by local cultural, social and political factors.

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Wafa Al Madani, University of Sheffield, arp04wa@sheffield.ac.uk Migration and everyday lives: play and parenting in intercultural contexts, Bahrain. International migration has a vital role in developing a new pattern of experience and life in cities. This paper addresses the local reality of everyday outdoor spaces in Bahrain, a diverse city due to migration. I focus on interactions relating to play and parenting in parks. The social dynamics of these mundane places highlight some of the challenges of being together in areas of high population change and super-diversity. Bahrain, typical to many large cities in the Gulf region and beyond, has been affected by emergent tides of globalisation and urbanisation. Bahrain has initiatives to increase number and quality of urban public open spaces for better life quality. The paper sets out some findings from a PhD research study that explores the role of public open spaces in Bahrain in shaping transcultural relationships and engendering both positive and negative social interactions. Investigating this, eight urban sampling contexts with formal and informal public open spaces have been selected. The research follows a qualitative methodology using observation, short onsite interviews, and extended go-along interviews. A different pattern of uses has been mapped with people of different migrant and non-migrant backgrounds. The issue of children’s play and different parenting styles has emerged as a key flashpoint of contention. Parents’ arguments often relate to differing views of freedom, responsibility and risk in public gardens. Parental concerns are also related to how anti-social behaviour is constructed and how moral judgments on ‘others’ can be seen through small details of play and use of playground, which all resulted in excluding some social groups from some local public gardens. These local concerns reflect a global focus of urban conflicts in transnational spaces. Finally, the research challenges a benign view that proximity leads to positive interactions and distils some of the cultural problems of ‘common ground’.

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Harry Pettit, London School of Economics, H.Pettit@lse.ac.uk ‘Just get that first job’: ‘solving’ the crisis of the educated unemployed in Egypt How is Development tackling and ‘solving’ youth unemployment? This paper puts the spot light on NGOs offering ‘professional’ employment training to unemployed educated youth in Egypt, with the goal of getting them into ‘decent’ employment. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in one organisation, it critiques the valorization of vocational ‘soft skills’ training and ‘career guidance’ within development practice as a ‘solution’ to unemployment across the Globe. This logic has now spread to an Egyptian – and wider MENA – context in order to confront increasing levels of youth unemployment in recent years, particularly amongst the educated. The paper, in examining this new, as yet unexplored frontier, adds to a wealth of work which highlights the disciplinary and neoliberalising effects of training and guidance programs in both national and international policy frameworks. Within this literature, there has been an overwhelming focus on discursive content of policy documents, rather than in depth analysis of the programs themselves, and the process through which these programs actually produce ‘success’. This paper opens up that process to explore how participants are subjected as ‘professional’, ‘confident’, ‘committed’ employees and autonomous managers of the self who are capable of climbing an unstable private sector ladder. They are simultaneously ‘interpellated’ as free agents who can achieve their ‘career’ goals, but who also must ‘adapt’ their aspirations to economic constraints. I demonstrate how these programs perform as a ‘technology of power’, disciplining potentially ‘risky’ youth to enter and stay in the labour market, and shifting the responsibility of ‘success’ onto the youth themselves. Rather than lifting them up as it feigns to do, I argue that it operates as a mechanism through which inequality is secured in neoliberal Cairo.

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Panel 2: Institutions, governance and foreign aid

Christina Anaxagorou, University of Sheffield, canaxagorou1@sheffield.ac.uk The effects of foreign aid and institutions on the composition of public finance in developing countries This paper investigates aid fungibility and particularly how the effect of aid on several types of government expenditure changes with the quality of institutions in developing countries. The existing literature focuses on health and education expenditure and yields mixed results on fungibility, however, corruption and institutions are not considered in such models. This paper employs an interaction term between foreign aid and the quality of institutions in a panel of developing countries over the period 2002 – 2012. Using appropriate GMM techniques, the conditional effect of aid is estimated for total public spending, as well as for the composition of public spending, focusing on the sectors of health, education and infrastructure. Evidence of fungibility is found for total public spending, conditional on a low quality of institutions or high corruption, but looking at the composition of spending does not shed light on the overall result of fungibility. The results are robust to outliers, alternative specifications, an extended sample and an alternative measure for institutions. Additional checks could be made in the future by investigating other characteristics of developing countries and look at how the conditional effects of institutions change accordingly.

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Munetsi Mandere, Nottingham Trent University, n0088787@ntu.ac.uk Institutions as tools of public policy- an evaluation of SEA-Sub-Saharan Africa Post War Development In general it can be argued that the institutional framework that a country or region designs plays a significant influence in the crafting and application of, indeed the success of public policy. Drawing on the lessons of South Asian developmental state concept in which specific institutions where designed that target certain key public policy areas such as education, health, domestic savings, rural development and aligned infrastructures such as roads, transport and ports I evaluate selected southern African situation. The idea is to articulate the key role of institutions in the crafting of public policy that in turn help fuel development strategies. The key question is whether institutional analysis can help explain development failures in Africa by probing public policymaking relative to development strategies. This is done through addressing the question of our understanding of institutions, our views about public policy and what is it that the Asian development state did that can help illuminate institutional role in public policymaking and application. I draw conclusions that in public policy and development strategy-making institutions do matter as they delimit or even help create possibilities that are necessary for development and its sustenance.

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Ioanna Ntampoudi, Aston University, ntampoui@aston.ac.uk Thinking together with Landes about Development: Views from Debt-ridden Greece In his seminal book, The Unbound Prometheus, David Landes (1969) points out the dramaturgical dimension of technological advance and industrialization, stating that economic development is a ‘great drama’ and a maturation process for nations since it acts like a ‘rite of passage’ that separates the ‘boyish’ nations from the ‘manly’ ones. Landes further adds that the explanations that are offered for the failures and successes of national economic trajectories are crucial for the self-esteem of national societies and their members. This paper intellectually follows these insights from Landes and critically reflects on the metaphors and narratives that contemporary discourses on development construct and promote. The paper however does not simply mean to reflect on the nature and character of our conceptions of economic development, but also attends to apply the product of these reflections to the case of Greece, a country that during the last years has been marked by the dramatic failure of its economy, resulting in the aforementioned loss of national self-esteem, further diminished and intensified by culturalist arguments that place blaming on the national culture for the roots of the crisis. These applications are further enriched by empirical data from qualitative interviews with political, academic and media elites in Greece who contribute their own opinion on the question: how important is economic success for the international identity of a country, is it the most important factor, and what can sustain national self-esteem when the economy is failing?

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Panel 3: Community matters: bottom-up approaches to development

Sarita Panday, University of Sheffield, s.panday@sheffield.ac.uk Community health workers: mobilising communities through mother’s group to improve maternal health in Nepal Background: community Health Workers (CHW) known as Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHVs) are providing maternal and child health services in Nepal. This paper highlights the functioning of CHWs to improve maternal health in village of Nepal. Methods: Between May and September 2014, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 CHWs including four focus group discussions with 19 CHWs. Results: All CHWs (n=20) interviewed were female and most of them were working for more than 10 years. Their main role was to create awareness through regularly conducted mother’s group for health meeting where women gathered together to discuss relevant maternal and child health issues. CHWs provided education and awareness services including preventive, promotive and curative services whilst many CHWs showed greater interest in providing medicines to the people. CHWs showed greater interest in their work in area where partner organisation was supporting them with finance, training and supervision in the group meeting, which was not available to CHWs working with government support alone. The most common attribute across the group was running a saving credit to attract women participation in the meeting. CHWs themselves had support from their home and they were motivated to their work. Some CHWs were aged and illiterate which caused difficulty to write and report their activities from the meeting. Conclusions: While CHWs’ role in mobilisation of women in villages of Nepal is undoubtedly important, it requires regular training in facilitating the group meeting, financial support and monitoring the group activities for the success of mother’s group meeting.

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Maria Panta, Canterbury School of Architecture, University for the Creative Arts, mpanta@students.ucreative.ac.uk Architectural Approaches to Adaptation through the use of Local Materials and Community-Driven Initiatives in Ghana The work described in this paper is part of an ongoing research project into climate change adaptation projects in the Global South. The paper explores the work of community-driven initiatives involved in small scale climate change adaptation projects in Ghana. This will be illustrated through a school canteen construction project in the village of Abetenim, southern Ghana. Drawing on my fieldwork experience in Ghana and my role as a community architect and participant in an Earth Architecture project through a non-profit organisation (NGO), the paper discusses how the process of selecting building materials addresses the significance of institutional support in the implementation of the project.

Additionally the paper looks at the difference between the larger narrative and the “on the ground” experience through direct involvement in community architecture and building. It investigates how the NGO’s prescriptive narrative of using local materials like earth, in the construction of new projects can be adapted and translated into the local reality.

The fieldwork questions the existing level of indigenous knowledge and local skills in coping with adverse climatic conditions and poverty. Simultaneously it reflects on the need to integrate social, physical and cultural change in order to effect broader changes in the community. Based on ethnographic analysis of the above programme, the research focuses on the need to understand the local context in order to come up with solutions which can contribute to longer-term sustainable adaptation.

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Amee Yostrakul, University of Leicester, wy37@leicester.ac.uk Microfinance: what can money achieve in a rural village? In the last decade microfinance studies have shown little or no impact toward poverty reduction as claimed in the mid-1970s. Many impact studies on micro-credit focuses on measuring the poor’s standard of living, but have overlooked an important element of credit - its social aspect. This paper examines the governance and lived experience of the poor in relation to micro-finance schemes in a rural village in Thailand. I draw upon illustrations from my ethnographic study in Roi-et, where Thailand’s Village and Revolving Fund and another self-initiative micro-credit scheme were examined. The study focuses on how a microfinance institution was organised, set-up and operated on the micro level. Adopting the notion of money structures, and is structured by social relations, it is suggested that the circulation of micro-credit shapes social relationships within the context of the village and that the governance of micro-finance vehicles such as the Village Fund facilitates social changes that impact upon the powerless. Keywords: Micro-finance; micro-credit; Thailand; money; social relations; poverty; Village and Revolving Fund; Village Fund; governance

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Panel 4: Global health challenges Aisha Giwa, University of Sheffield, agiwa1@sheffield.ac.uk Procreation in Nigeria: A qualitative exploration of contraceptive decision-making among couples in North-Central Nigeria Reproductive decision-making, including the use of contraception are important in improving the fertility outcomes of women and reducing maternal mortality rates in Nigeria. However, issues around the initiation, discussion and use of contraception within marriage are governed by structures that influence women’s agency in the decision making process. Using qualitative methods, this paper explores the agency attached to the use of contraception. Twenty semi-structured interviews and five focus group discussions were conducted in households with wives within their reproductive age group in Kwara State. In this paper, distinctions were made within spousal communication to include active and passive inclusion in the decision making process. Narratives from these couples highlight the economic and sexual basis of decision-making and, gender based norms that interact with their relationship as a couple and their fertility goals. Available methods and real or perceived narratives from their social networks on the effectiveness of contraception influences their method of choice as a couple thus, highlighting the permeability of the household. Social networks which also include service providers are influential in the way couples construct contraceptive information and subsequently, use of contraceptive services. Future research is needed to better understand the leverage of peer influence and strengthen counseling and advocacy to manage its effect on the decision making process.

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Georgina Pearson, London School of Economics, G.F.Pearson@lse.ac.uk Researching public health: neglected tropical diseases among fisherfolk in rural Uganda In global health, neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) have come to the forefront as a group of diseases of poverty, ‘other’ diseases within Millennium Development Goal 6 (to ‘combat HIV/AIDs, malaria and other diseases’). For some NTDs, such as intestinal helminths, safe and effective treatment is available and with donations of drugs and funding by private philanthropists and governments they are administered to communities at risk. The premise behind such strategies is to reduce the burden of disease in a population and whilst the rationale is compelling, the reality of implementing these policies has been contested. Research into the social responses to such programmes has provided insights into these local realities (Allen & Parker 2011; Parker et al 2012; Parker, Allen & Hastings 2008). From this, Parker and Allen (2012) have called for a biosocial approach. The question arises: How can we better assess and understand the local realities of global health priorities? Drawing on this literature and long-term ethnographic-epidemiological fieldwork on NTDs amongst rural fisherfolk in Uganda, this paper looks at the question within the context of people whose livelihoods make them vulnerable to NTDs. The paper critically reflects on a cross-sectional epidemiological survey carried out across 12 fishing sites along the river Nile and some of the methodological issues that arose. Here, anthropology provides a means to engage in a critical analysis on the process of information gathering that ultimately informs public health policies.

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Hibbah A Saeed, University of Sheffield, hasaeed1@sheffield.ac.uk Determinants of dietary behaviour in minority ethnic groups in Europe: A systematic

mapping review

Background: Europe has a growing population of minority ethnic groups whose dietary behaviours are of public health concern. Objectives: To identify the factors influencing dietary behaviour among minority ethnic groups living in Europe and establish the interrelations between these factors.

Method: A number of health databases were systematically searched to retrieve quantitative and qualitative primary research into factors influencing dietary behaviour among minority ethnic groups published between 1999 and 2014. Supplementary search methods including citation follow–up technique and expert consultation were also employed. Minority ethnic groups were defined as immigrants from low and middle income countries and population groups from the former Eastern Bloc Countries who commonly migrate to other parts of Europe. Narrative synthesis was used to analyze the extracted data.

Results: 35 papers met the inclusion criteria. Most of the included studies were conducted in Northern Europe, i.e. Britain (n=11), Norway (n=6) and The Netherlands (n=5).The most common minority ethnic groups studied were Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. Dietary behaviour is influenced by a range of inter-related factors including food availability and access, religious beliefs, migration status, husband’s preferences and taste.

Conclusion: Despite the growing number of minority ethnic groups in Europe, this review revealed a limited number of studies on these populations. There is therefore the need for more tailored research that will inform interventions for minority ethnic groups.

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Panel 5: Cities of the Global South Sheila Kamunyori, London School of Economics, s.w.kamunyori.lse.ac.uk Informal People and the Formal State: Conflicting Rationalities in a Slum Upgrading Project in Nairobi Planning approaches employed in many African cities seek to regularise and formalise informal spaces. Slum upgrading as one such planning intervention aims to formalise informal settlements by providing tenure security. The rationality behind slum upgrading is that increasing tenure security, either de jure through providing title deeds or de facto through actions such as improving infrastructure to basic services, increases the social inclusion of slum dwellers. Assumed to be uncontested, this technocratic rationality sets the tone for planning interventions in informal spaces. This paper argues that, on the contrary, this technocratic rationality is contested by the everyday rationality of informality, and that this contestation leads to unexpected outcomes. Through a qualitative, case study approach, this paper analyses how this contestation has shaped the outcomes of a slum upgrading project in an informal settlement in Nairobi. The research finds that while tenure security is enhanced in some situations and for some dwellers, it makes the situation more insecure for others pushing them further into informality and social exclusion. This research contributes to both planning practice and theory. First, it informs planning practice by underscoring that planning interventions that are predicated on technocratic solutions need to be balanced with an understanding of the everyday dynamics, or rationality, of the people in informal spaces. Second, planning theory, developed largely from experiences in cities of the North, is informed by the kind of context-dependent knowledge produced by this research to develop conceptualizations that are more consistent with the planning experiences in African cities.

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Mary Mwangi, University of Sheffield, trp12mmm@sheffield.ac.uk Urban growth management in sub-Saharan Africa: conflicting interests in the application of planning laws and regulations in middle income residential developments in Nairobi The phenomenon of non-compliance with urban planning laws and regulations is one of the on-going issues of concern for sub-Sahara Africa cities. It creates informality in urban development in that the resulting developments have aspects which are perceived to be outside formal planning stipulations. Although there is non-compliance with planning laws and regulations by developers in middle income residential developments, this group appears to have been neglected in research. Plans are only effective if they are implemented appropriately (Wheeler, 2004); if planning powers are preventative rather than powers that initiate development, the actual developments and development patterns depend on the developers, guided by market forces (Pickvance ,1977). It was of interest to this research to find out why non-compliance is tolerated or ignored by planners, and to identify what rules developers find practical and/or sensible and are respected, and which ones they choose to ignore. The project used embedded case study design within Nairobi. Qualitative interviewing was aimed at finding out underlying motives and desires of planners and developers. Going by the failure of the current planning systems, the research expects to find that perceptions towards non-compliance with planning laws and regulations for the middle income residential settlements need to change. It could also lead to conclusions that non-compliance does not necessarily equate to inappropriate housing developments for middle income group settlements. References

Pickvance, C. 1977: Physical planning and market forces in urban development. Quoted in Taylor, N. (1998). Urban planning theory since 1945. Sage Publications Limited.

Wheeler, S. (2004). Planning for sustainability: Creating livable, equitable and ecological communities. Routledge.

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Vidya Sagar Pancholi, University of Sheffield, VSPancholi1@sheffield.ac.uk Measuring impact of urban reforms on the extent and degree of decentralisation: a case of Kalyan Dombivili, India Since last couple of decades, there is an emerging trend of decentralisation of government and India is no exception to such a trend. A wide set of literature brings out that a basic objective in the decentralisation of government is to empower locally elected municipal bodies both administratively as well as financially in order for them to render local services that are responsive to the local needs (Bagchi 2003, Woolman & Goldsmith 1990). Studies that measure decentralisation in India, however, are mostly comparative and target a limited set of parameters. This paper, attempts at a comprehensive examination of the extent and degree of decentralisation of government by analysing one particular case. Using mixed methods of research which combine both quantitative (mainly, trend analysis and ratio analysis) and qualitative research methods (mainly interviews with key respondents), the study measures decentralisation of government in Kalyan-Dombivli (KD), a fringe sub-city to Mumbai. The study brings out that over the past seven years (since the beginning of the centrally sponsored urban renewal program), even though the local body in KD had higher resources for local development, its functional authority, fiscal autonomy, and accountability has been significantly recentralised towards the higher level governments. The case analysis, therefore, brings out key lessons in terms of need for focusing on the empowerment (functional and fiscal) of the local bodies and creating accountability structures that are effective and responsive to the local citizenry.

References:

Bagchi, S. (2003). Decentralised Urban Governance in India: Implications for

Financing of Urban Infrastructure. 1-

28.http://www.mumbaidp24seven.in/reference/31SoumenBagchi.pdf

Woolman, H., & Goldsmith, M. J. (1990). Local Autonomy as a Meaningful

Concept. Comparing Local Government in the United States and in the United

Kingdom. Urban Affairs Review, 26, 3-27.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/004208169002600101

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Panel 6: Development interventions – what really matters? Emmanuel Adu-Ampong, University of Sheffield, e.adu-ampong@sheffield.ac.uk The global narratives vs. local realities of ‘institutions matter’: insights from the tourism-poverty nexus in Ghana Across much of the social sciences, the importance of institutions in explaining socioeconomic and political outcomes has been well established. The global narrative and mantra of ‘institutions matter’ is however less entrenched within tourism studies. This is especially the case when questions are raised with regards to tourism’s role in local economic development and poverty reduction. There is an inadequate analysis of the extent to which state and non‐state institutions shape tourism development policies and consequently the extent to which tourism contributes to LED and poverty reduction. In this paper, I build up arguments about the particular ways in which institutions shape development outcomes by focusing on the tourism‐poverty nexus in Ghana. The key argument in this paper is that there is a need to go beyond this global narrative of ‘institutions matter’ by focusing on the local realities of how institutions are shaping outcomes. As with many buzzwords in the social sciences, this global narrative has come to be used to obfuscate rather than illuminate the messy local realities of how institutions are shaping socio‐economic and political outcomes. I therefore particularly focus on unpacking the specificities of how the processes of communication, collaboration and coordination are constrained by key institutional arrangements in the tourism sector of Ghana. This enables a better understanding of how institutions matter for the tourism‐poverty nexus. This paper is based on an earlier completed research (Adu‐Ampong, 2014) and ongoing research for my PhD that is focused on interactive governance of the tourism‐poverty nexus in Ghana. References:

Adu‐Ampong, E.A. (2014) Divided we stand: institutional collaboration in tourism planning and development in the Central Region of Ghana, Current Issues in Tourism, DOI: 10.1080/13683500.2014.915795

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Jo Clarke, Leeds Trinity University, J.Clarke@leedstrinity.ac.uk Empowerment and power associated with sport and international development; realities from Cameroon. Sport is increasingly being used as a tool to ‘empower’ individuals and communities within the global south (Banda et al 2008; Right to Play 2008; Levermore and Beacom 2009; Jeanes 2011). This paper, based on a PhD plan, poses key questions with regards to the power dynamics and subsequent opportunities for empowerment associated with the emerging sport-for-development sector. Global north sport NGOs are increasingly reliant on northern volunteers, often unskilled and unexperienced individuals (Brown and Hall 2008) who fundraise to travel thousands of miles to volunteer delivering sport-for-development programmes in global south communities. This northern domination has resulted in an unequal power balance between the NGOs and host communities (Levermore and Beacom 2009), which has in turn led to the call for an increase in global south led literature (Guest 2009), which prioritises local meanings and experiences of individuals and communities as related to development through sport programmes. The PhD seeks to explore the impact of sport-for-development programmes on local communities and individuals in Cameroon as the chosen case study country. Importantly, the research will critically interrogate the assumption that local actors benefit from such programmes, and place the debate into the broader narrative of neo-colonialism theory. This research will take an ethnographic approach, utilising interviews and observations with actors from the global north and global south from two identified NGOs working in Cameroon. References:

Brown, F., and Hall, D. (2008). Tourism and development in the Global South: The issues. Third World Quarterly. 29(5), 839–849.

Guest, A.M., (2009). The diffusion of development-through-sport: analysing the history and practice of the Olympic Movement’s grassroots outreach to Africa. Sport in Society. 12 (10), 1336–1352

Jeanes, R. (2011). Educating through sport? Examining HIV/Aids education and sport for development through the perspectives of Zambian young people. Sport, Education and Society. 18 (3), 388-406.

Lacey, A., and Ilcan, S. (2006). Voluntary Labor, responsible citizenship, and international NGOs. International journal of comparative sociology. 47 (1), 34-53.

Levermore, R., and Beacom, A. (2009). Sport and international development. London, Palgrave Macmillan.

Right to Play (2008). Harnessing the power of sport for development and peace: recommendations to governments. Toronto, Right to Play International Offices.

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Kat Eghdamian, University of Oxford, khatereh.eghdamian@wolfson.ox.ac.uk Rethinking Religion in Humanitarianism Beyond Identity Politics: Lessons Learnt From Religious Minorities Among the Syrian Refugee Population in Jordan The Syrian humanitarian crisis, now entering its fifth year, is the largest political, humanitarian and development challenge of our time. While it is evident that religion was a significant factor in the cause and effects of the crisis, critical analyses of the role of religion and its implications have been largely absent from development discourse. For development practitioners seeking to engage with religion ‘on the ground’, there is a dominant approach to ‘contract out’ such roles and responsibilities to faith-based organisations. This approach is often justified as an effective means for engaging with a plurality of religious identities and groups. Yet, this view that religion is a form of identity politics has significant implications for the ways in which humanitarianism is experienced. Drawing on qualitative data obtained during two months field research in Jordan, this paper argues that the Syrian humanitarian crisis not only offers valuable lessons on the challenges of engaging with religious plurality in humanitarianism, it sheds light on the need to rethink religion beyond identity politics in such contexts. Doing so, however, requires a recasting of core assumptions in the theories and methodologies of development, calling for a rethinking of the ‘contracting out’ approach that dominates such engagement to date. In particular, it raises questions as to the nature of religion beyond conflict and the conceptualisation of religious plurality beyond difference. It argues towards a more holistic, inclusive, and constructive notion of religion, rather than reproducing discourse on difference through identity.

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Panel 7 – Innovations in rural development Rebecca Joy Howard, University of Leeds, R.J.Howard12@leeds.ac.uk What are these things called ‘carbon credits’? This presentation will tell the story of research on a biogas programme being implemented in Kenya by Dutch NGOs and a farmer extension organisation. While the rationale for the programme is ostensibly about biogas sector development and solving energy needs at the household level, the programme also intends to generate carbon credits from the biogas units installed. This intention has not yet been explicitly communicated to all the various actors involved, but the people who are installing the biogas digesters are beginning to catch wind via various channels, and some even cited ‘carbon credits’ as one motivating factor for installing biogas. Meanwhile, programme staff have not agreed between them how the carbon component will be played out- both in terms of who will do the work of generating credits from the biogas digesters, and more controversially, where to channel carbon revenues. Interviews carried out at the various layers of this programme, from the head offices of the Dutch NGOs up to the smallholders’ farmyards around Mount Kenya, have unveiled controversies and differences in vision and priority, and offered opportunities to relay information back and forth. Introducing myself as a researcher looking at ‘carbon projects’ has opened the gate to conversations about carbon credits, what they are, how they are generated and where the revenues should be going. This has generated research data and programme-relevant stakeholder insight, but also ethical reflections- have I been brokering knowledge, or muddying the waters?

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Judith Krauss, University of Manchester, Judith.Krauss@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk Stakeholder drivers and stakeholder representations in cocoa sustainability initiatives: congruences and divergences Given growing concerns concerning the chocolate sector's long-term future, increasingly more private-sector, public-sector and civil-society stakeholders have become involved in initiatives aiming to make cocoa production more 'sustainable'. While ‘sustainability’ is a frequently used term, the socio-economic, environmental and commercial priorities different cocoa-chocolate stakeholders associate with it vary considerably, ranging from improving livelihoods via addressing global environmental challenges to safeguarding cocoa supply long-term. By contrast, the narratives stakeholders employ to advertise their engagement predominantly revolve around mission-driven objectives such as improving producer livelihoods or protecting the planet. In this way, the commercially tinged motives of safeguarding supply and high cocoa quality, which are key drivers given long-term projections of cocoa demand outstripping supply, rarely find prominent mention, despite their key role in shaping producers’ and cooperatives’ realities. This paper aims to explore the links and interactions between the drivers underlying stakeholders’ engagements, the way stakeholders represent them narratively, and the way both combine to produce realities on the ground. It argues that while commercial drivers are increasingly prominent, representations prioritise the socio-economic and environmental dimensions, with the narratives different stakeholders employ demonstrating divergences just as actors’ underlying socio-economic and environmental drivers. The paper builds on perspectives from stakeholders across the cocoa-chocolate production network, including cocoa producers, cooperatives, NGOs, development agencies, chocolate companies and consumers. It draws on the author's doctoral research in cocoa sustainability initiatives incorporating conservation or carbon measures, encompassing semi-structured interviews, focus-group discussions, documentary analysis and participant observation in producer countries and Europe.

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Sandra Pointel, University of Sussex, S.Pointel@sussex.ac.uk SE4ALL: what perspectives for Ghana? Access to modern energy services is crucial for both human and economic development. While discourses linking energy and development date back to at least the 1950’s and many interventions seeking to promote energy access in developing countries have taken place since, results have been mixed. Today, more than 1.2 billion people around the world still lack access to electricity while 2.8 billion people rely on traditional fuels for cooking, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa or developing Asia. Meanwhile, concerns with climate change and rising greenhouse gas emissions have led to increasing policy debates and academic research on how to achieve sustainable energy transitions, both in developed and developing countries. In an attempt to address the dual global challenges of energy access and climate change, the United Nations declared 2014‑2024 the “Decade of Sustainable Energy for All” (SE4ALL). While this global narrative may provide an opportunity to reconcile long-lasting tensions between climate change and development, key policy and governance challenges remain as broad concepts of low carbon development and sustainable energy access are yet to resonate with national development aspirations. Building on an historical case study of energy developments in Ghana, this paper seeks to understand how concepts around sustainable energy may translate in practice. It suggests a systemic analysis of energy access challenges, providing an emphasis on the link between energy services and needs. A policy narratives analysis approach help to identify parallel concerns of energy access and energy security but different framing of problems, which recasting may help further exploration of sustainability issues and address apparently intractable issues related to climate change mitigation and development.

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Rachael Taylor, University of Sussex, rt22@sussex.ac.uk Shaping Adaptive Capacity in Northern Ghana: Political Economy, Participation, and Agency This paper examines how understandings of adaptive capacity are formed and the consequences of diverse framings of adaptive capacity. The concept of adaptive capacity is examined in the context of agricultural development interventions in semi-arid Northern Ghana. The research focuses on understandings of adaptive capacity within two case study projects: one facilitated by a non-governmental organisation and the other facilitated by an international agricultural research institute and the Ghanaian Ministry of Food and Agriculture. Data analysis identifies a contrast between formal understandings of adaptive capacity and the practice of enhancing adaptive capacity within agricultural development interventions. Discourse analysis of policy documents shows that national policies inherit understandings of adaptive capacity from international funding and governance bodies. National policies and associated agencies then enforce understandings of adaptive capacity on the local-level institutions responsible for facilitating agricultural development interventions. Thus, formal understandings of adaptive capacity are developed through a chain-reaction driven by political economy. However, within the two case studies the practice of enhancing adaptive capacity differs to formal framings because of the existence of multiple understandings. The role of farmer participation within both case study projects and the complexities of human and social agency transfer the practice of enhancing adaptive capacity to a local framing. In this local framing, the farmers’ engagement with project facilitation and collaborative governance shapes the way adaptive capacity is enhanced. Through participation and social agency the two case studies are enhancing adaptive capacity in indirect and unintentional ways.

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