This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies looks at what a ‘good’ digital welfare state might look like. The introduction of ‘digital-by-default’ welfare and social protection systems in the UK and beyond has delivered efficiencies and cost savings for governments and can be convenient for recipients. But, given the rapid pace...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies examines civic power in just transitions. This paper reveals that opposition to mineral extraction is a pervasive global phenomenon, spanning diverse sociopolitical contexts and posing major challenges for the political sustainability of the energy transition. Using data from the Global Database of Events, Language...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies puts forward six guiding principles for building solidarities for gender justice. Significant progress on gender equality has been made in past decades, but in recent years gender and sexual rights are increasingly under threat from a global wave of gender backlash. This is not...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies explores whether there was a famine in Gaza in 2024. Three assessments by the international community concluded that there was ‘a risk of famine’ in December 2023, that a famine was ‘imminent’ in March 2024, but that this threat had receded by June 2024...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies looks at the risk and reward of taxing mobile money in Africa. Mobile money is a booming industry in Africa, with potential benefits for economic development and financial inclusion. Facing strong fiscal headwinds, a growing number of African countries have introduced taxes on mobile...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies looks at risk communication and community engagement for Mpox vaccination in Eastern DRC. This brief presents social and political considerations for the design and implementation of vaccination-related risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) strategies for mpox in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies presents the political context of Bangladesh and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the country. This report synthesises findings on accountability and citizen–state relations in Bangladesh from the Covid-19 Learning, Evidence and Research Programme in Bangladesh (CLEAR). To do this, it refers to...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies describes the scale of the food insecurity facing populations in South Sudan. The Republic of South Sudan has experienced chronic food insecurity for decades and particularly in the last five years. This chronic food insecurity is a result of a combination of factors, including...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies provides an overview on the Covid Collective research platform. This report provides an overview on the Covid Collective research platform, how it was operationalised, and the learning which emerged from the three-year programme. The foundation of the Covid Collective’s theory of change was the...

This report from UK think tank the Institute of Development Studies looks at urban residents’ experiences of poverty and the support they received since the Covid-19 pandemic. The Covid-19 pandemic led to a large increase in poverty in Bangladesh, especially in urban areas. Rising food prices and high inflation rates further compounded already high levels...