Saturday, October 24, 2015

How we helped women become agents of change for urban development in India

Article courtesy - How we helped women become agents of change for urban development in India - See more at: http://blogs.adb.org/blog/how-we-helped-women-become-agents-change-urban-development-india#sthash.cNRhJzNq.dpuf



By Prabhjot R. Khan on Fri, 16 October 2015


A female community leader in Bhopal, India.
A female community leader in Bhopal, India.
Sixty-year-old Iqbal Bano heaved a sigh of relief when her slum was finally upgraded after 30 years in the sprawling Indian city of Bhopal.

Iqbal is one of several women who decided to defy their traditional role as water and garbage collectors and became involved as community leaders in an ADB-supported urban development project covering four large cities (Bhopal, Gwalior, Indore, and Jabalpurin) in Madhya Pradesh, one of the country’s poorest states.
The 10-year project rehabilitated and expanded the water supply systems, and improved wastewater collection and treatment systems so for instance women would have more time to perform tasks other than just fetching water. It also included a number of special features that helped mobilize women’s participation in the development and upgrading of their own communities:
  • We developed guides for mainstreaming gender in the project, including an overall gender mainstreaming strategy that was drafted in collaboration with the Water for Asian Cities Program of UN Habitat, a gender action plan to ensure responsiveness to women’s needs, and a gender field manual that spells out how to integrate gender in the Municipal Action Plan for Poverty Reduction.
  • Community mobilization focused on women with assistance from NGOs, and community group committees—73% of whose members are women—were trained in pro-poor governance and collecting baseline information for planning and preparation of project reports.
  • The project converged with other slum improvement platforms such as the Madhya Pradesh Urban Services for the Poor Program by giving priority to the slum areas it covered.
  • We secured a commitment from the municipal government to implement the gender action plan by mainstreaming gender across project initiatives and providing community organizers and sociologists with gender expertise.
Participating in the urban development project, we learned from the beneficiaries, helped women like Iqbal build their self-esteem and self-determination in the face of challenges from their husbands, and other men in their communities.

“Initially we faced a lot resistance from men, who told us to better stay at home,” recalled Nai Basti-Ranjhi, another community leader. “But we were determined because we were the ones facing the hardships in that we had to leave our small children every day without care and hence risk their lives to collect water.”

The efforts of the women—and collaborating men—paid off. Since women were the ones that really knew what the community needed and which solutions would work, project implementers were able to incorporate their feedback into the design, and soon water, sanitation practices and environmental conditions, as well as in hygiene practices at the household and community levels, all improved.

Better access to reliable and quality water services has significantly reduced the workloads of women, who now have more time to attend to other tasks. Safety and health risks stemming from practices such as bathing, washing clothes and defecating far away from home have also been reduced, if not eliminated.

Likewise, participation in the project transformed the role of women from just beneficiaries to becoming true agents of change to help increased understanding of gender issues in water and sanitation, and strengthened institutional capacity in ensuring that men and women could benefit equally from water and sanitation investments.
- See more at: http://blogs.adb.org/blog/how-we-helped-women-become-agents-change-urban-development-india#sthash.cNRhJzNq.dpuf

Saturday, September 26, 2015

CHILD BEGGING IN INDIA – CAUSES, CURRENT SITUATION AND SUGGESTED REFORMS

Poverty is not an accident. Like Slavery and Apartheid, it is man-made and can be removed by the actions of human beings. ~ NELSON MANDELA

CHILD BEGGING IN INDIA – CAUSES, CURRENT SITUATION AND SUGGESTED REFORMS:
Children comprise 50% of the earth’s population currently. Extremely vulnerable children can be seen begging on the streets and this is a glaring reality in every corner of our country. Even Norway, which is considered as one of the richest countries in the world is not free of this evil business. Every country has laid down laws to tackle this issue but success has been minimal. Though our Constitution expresses concern for upbringing children in safe, secure and healthy manner through various provisions but on the ground, all of those are still a long shot looking at the current state of affairs. There are not many studies on child beggars in India, however, with the limited ones available, let us explore the reasons and possible solutions for this in detail:

CAUSES OF CHILD BEGGING:
1.       Abject Poverty leads adults of families into begging and they also coerce their children into this business.
2.       Orphaned & abandoned children and the ones who run away from their native places due to poverty or any other reasons.
3.       Refugees.
4.       Religious sanctions provided by Indian culture & religion, where people believe feeding beggars outside religious places or the ones carrying a God’s picture in a steel bowl with oil is an act of good karma and wards off evil.
5.       Malnutrition.
6.       Juvenile Delinquency & Drug addiction.
7.       Manipulated and exploited by Adults.
8.       Organised Gangs/Begging mafia working who kidnap, buy & sell children (Human Trafficking) and maim them for this purpose.
9.       Psychological & Physical coercion.
10.   Easy money with no labour.
11.   Cross generation begging since no education prevails in many generations of beggars.
12.   No knowledge of their rights and rehabilitation provisions and afraid of their gang-lords.
13.   Nexus between organised gangs and law enforcers.
14.   Failure of Govt. schools to retain children.
15.   Failure of Governance to implement policies for such children effectively.

 INTERNATIONAL, CONSTITUTIONAL & LEGAL PROVISIONS (INDIA) FOR CHILDREN BEGGING:
 1924: The League of Nations adopted the Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child, which established children’s rights as means for material, moral and spiritual development; special help when hungry, sick, disabled or orphaned; first call on relief when in distress; freedom from economic exploitation; and an upbringing that instills a sense of social responsibility.
1948: The UN General Assembly passed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which referred in article 25 to childhood as “entitled to special care and assistance.” In 1959 the UN General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, which recognized rights such as freedom from discrimination and the right to a name and a nationality. It also specifically enshrined children’s rights to education, health, care and special protection. 1979 was declared as the International Year of the Child.
1989: The UN General Assembly unanimously approved the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which entered into force the following year.
1990: The World Summit for Children was held in New York. The leaders signed the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children as well as a Plan of Action for implementing the Declaration, setting goals to be achieved by the year 2000.
1999: The Convention concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour was adopted.
2000: The UN Millennium Development Goals incorporate specific targets related to children, including reducing sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.
2002: The UN General Assembly held a Special Session on Children, meeting for the first time to specifically discuss children’s issues.

INDIAN CONSTITUTION:
Article 15 (3) enables the state to make special provisions for children.
Article 24 explicitly prohibits child labour and hazardous employment of children.
Article 39(f) further directs the state in its policy towards the well-being of the children.
Article 39 ( c ) provides that children of tender age should not be subject to abuse and should be given opportunities to develop in a healthy manner.
Article 45 makes provision for free and compulsory education for children.
Article 47 states that it is the duty of the state to raise the level of nutrition and standard of living and to improve public health. The courts in India have stated that a child cannot be treated as an inanimate object or like a property by the parents.
Exposure and abandonment of children by parents or others is a crime under section 317 of IPC. Kidnapping is a crime under sections 360, 361, 384, 363, 363 A (kidnapping for begging), 366, 367, 369 of IPC.
There are certain crimes against children which are punishable under special and local laws such as immoral traffic prevention act. The child labour act banned child labour in hotels, restaurants and as domestic servants. The Government of India passed the Children Act 1960 to introduce uniformity and to establish separate child welfare boards to handle cases relating to neglected children.
In 1974 the government adopted a National Policy for Children. The Indian legislature has enacted several legislations to improve and protect lives of children. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2000 and its amendment in 2006, and Right to Education Act 2009 are significant in this regard.
Bombay Prevention of Begging Act in 1959 made begging a crime, and extended to other States including Delhi.

CURRENT SITUATION IN INDIA:
In India, by official statistics, roughly 60000 children (the real number is estimated to be much higher) disappear every year and an estimated 300000 child beggars in India. Even some people of the medical fraternity are also involved with the mafia gangs to help maim the children for a huge sum. In spite of a number of policies and laws set up for these purposes of helping such children, the govt. has been a big failure in curbing this due to lack of political will.  Apart from that, the unholy nexus between the begging gangs/mafia and the law enforcers is a big impediment in removing this social evil. Also, there is no coordination at all between the policy makers, bureaucrats and law enforcers as well as civil society and the lack of public awareness in this matter has led to an even more deteriorated situation than before.

REFORMS NEEDED:
· Compulsory schooling for all children which has already been laid down in Law via the RTE Act but the implementation and awareness needs to be spruced up in a major way and also the corruption involved in it need to be checked by a stringent body/mechanism in place.
· Sympathetic teachers and child friendly environment in schools because govt. & MCD schools lack these and that is the reason that the children dropout or abandon studies completely for life. A routine report and regular inspections/meetings need to be carried out for this purpose.
· No alms drive to educate the public.
· Adult guardians as well as those who criminally (mafia/gangs/traffickers) coerce children in to this trade need to be caught upon information gathered, and punished to make an example of to the others in this dirty business.
· Strict and speedy sentences meted out to the criminals as a punishment for kidnapping and maiming of children.
· Welfare policies for child beggars and their families such as monetary help, health and residence etc. 
· Good and more number of orphanage/ shelter homes for children without close relatives and advertise this everywhere for awareness.
· Railways should become more watchful as most of beggars are trafficked through this route and one can see a huge amount of beggars on the railway stations.
· Help to lower income/ poor including temporary emergency assistance and long term skill development for stable income and occupation.
· Increasing awareness of the general public of child helpline numbers and NGOs and Govt. Homes and Laws to help such children.
· Providing an incentive to parents along with counselling to send their wards to schools.

· In depth and a lot more studies and research into this issue to understand it in totality and issues with current schemes & policies. Increased coordination between the civil society, policy makers and implementers/law enforcers to bring their experience and authority to the table and work out a detailed and holistic plan to tackle this menace and eradicate it completely.

Thursday, August 20, 2015

A MUST BUY READ : PUBLIC POLICY - PERSPECTIVES & CHOICES - 5th EDITION

This blog has been referred to by this book. Click on the links provided below to view the same.

Public Policy: Perspectives and Choices, 5th edition

Charles L. Cochran and Eloise F. Malone


      Click here to read this book's introduction.  
"A serious-minded assessment that does not shy from hot political issues ... highly recommended."—Library Bookwatch

"Offers an excellent mix of policymaking theory and policy case studies, with a solid understanding of the US policy process. Few other textbooks provide such a mix."—Frank C. Thames, Texas Tech University

https://www.rienner.com/title/Public_Policy_Perspectives_and_Choices_5th_edition

DESCRIPTION

Drones. "Obamacare." Immigration. The economy. Gun control. Topics in the news on a daily basis, all the subject of heated policy debates. This new edition of Public Policy: Perspectives and Choices—thoroughly revised to reflect a half-decade of significant changes in the policy environment—is designed to give students the tools that they need to analyze and assess the nation’s public policies for years to come.

The authors combine a clear explanation of the basic concepts and methods of the policymaking process with a keen focus on how values influence policy choices. They then apply this foundation to a range of policy areas.

The fully updated text:
• Presents complicated ideas in an accessible way
• Engages with controversies, bringing the study of public policy alive
• Draws on a wealth of “real world” examples
• Provides balanced consideration of liberal and conservative policy positions
• Emphasizes the relationship between individual and national interests

The result is an ideal combination of theory and practice for effectively teaching public policy.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Charles L. Cochran and Eloise F. Malone are professors of political science at the US Naval Academy.

CONTENTS


  • Why Study Public Policy.
  • Tools for Policy Analysis.
  • Polarized Politics: The Policy Context.
  • Political Economy: The Basis of Public Policy.
  • Funding Public Policy: From Theory to Practice.
  • The Politics and Economics of Inequality.
  • Education: A Troubled Federal-State Relationship.
  • Criminal Justice: Responding to Evolving Concerns.
  • Health Care: Diagnosing a Chronic Problem.
  • Housing: Public Policy and the "American Dream."
  • The Environment: Issues on a Global Scale.
  • Rethinking National Security Policy.

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Public Administration in India as a mechanism for social change

Article Courtesy: http://www.lawyersclubindia.com/articles/Public-Administration-in-India-as-a-mechanism-for-social-change-5309.asp#.Va6gmPmqqko


The administration of government, like a guardianship ought to be directed to the good of  those who confer, not of those who receive the trust. - Marcus Tullius Cicero
  
Introduction

Public administration is "centrally concerned with the organization of government policies and programmes as well as the behavior of officials (usually non-elected) formally responsible for their conduct".

Many unelected public servants can be considered to be public administrators, including heads of city, county, regional, state and federal departments such as municipal budget directors,human resources (H.R.) administrators, city managers, census managers, state [mental health] directors, and cabinet secretaries. Public administrators are public servants working in public departments and agencies, at all levels of government.

Public administration in India plays a very important role, not only as an instrument of governance but a mechanism for social change and progress in the country. Public administration today should not only protect its citizens from internal and external damages, but take an active role in the social, political, economic and cultural development of the country.

Public Administration- The Integral and Managerial Views of Administration

According to some, ‘administration’ is the sum total or the whole complex of activities, manual, clerical, technical, and managerial which are undertaken to realize the objective in view, i.e. the implementation of of the policy or policies in a given field, while according to others ‘administration’ is not the sum-total of the activities undertaken in pursuance of a purpose but just one of them concerned with management, which unites and controls the rest of them as parts of a co-ordinated endeavour. The above two views can be categorized regarding the nature of administration as ‘the integral’ and ‘managerial’ views respectively [1].

India is unique in many respects with its diverse culture, languages and many states. People of some states enjoy good prosperity, high literacy, developed infrastructure and rule of law while many are wanting in different degrees in some or all parameters although they are all under a common union government with the same financial, legal and administrative system.

In this article the author has focus on the issue of social change due to the effective public administration system in India. How a system of democratic governance can make public life meaningful and more enjoyable. The administrative system, which initially was considered as against the Rule of Law of Dicey, and how it bring vehement change in the Indian Legal and Social system. The present study will be useful for the legal system which still lacks in several respects of public life. This article may be helpful for the government systems, bureaucrats and rulers who have not been focused on the use and effectiveness of the administration agency.

Governance vs. government

Governance and government are interchangeable in the sense the process of governing, but they differ in other senses. Government often refers to the governing body itself, whilegovernance often refers to the act of governing. So members of a government are engaged in governance[2].

Meanwhile, governance is often the better word for the administration of nongovernmental organizations (corporations, for example), while government works better in reference to the public administration of nations, states, municipalities, etc.

Governance is therefore a vital development issue that government can ill afford to neglect. Government effectiveness and stability, Rule of Law, Public administration, Public finance and outcomes were a few selected governance indicators taken by a study group for evaluating India’s standing amongst different countries. However subjective it could be, this assessment revealed that India compared favorably with many developing countries though it had a long way to go to attain the levels of developed countries[3]. The plus points in our favor are India’s vibrant democracy, unfettered press, fearless judiciary and efficient administrative service.

In the political sciences, governance has been defined as the ‘‘conscious management of regime structures with a view to enhancing the legitimacy of the public realm’’. Today Governance is distinct from Government. Governance is a way to manage power and policy, while government is an instrument to do so. Governance is seen as an alternative to conventional top-down government control, yet issues of legitimacy and accountability abound in the literature on governance.

Public Administration in India

India is a country accepted the notion of social welfare state. The complexities of modern welfare state have resulted in ever growing expansion of the functions of the state; the state today is managing almost the entire life of the community. The Constitution, supreme document of the land has emphasized the need of establishing such governance and government system which should be not only of ‘good governance’ but also of ‘Pro people good governance’. The constitution in its Part IV has laid down some of the principles which are expected to be followed by the state as fundamental in the governance of the country. These principles enunciated the ‘rights of community’, which are to be secured by the government as per its capacity. The well being of the community is becoming increasingly dependent on efficient governmental management i.e. the public administration rather than on the separate efforts of individual.

There is no accepted definition of governance. There is divergence of opinion about the meaning of governance between the conservatives and the liberals, between socialists and the communists. The World Bank, for example, has sought to take a middle position be defining governance particularly as the traditions and the institutions by which authority in a country is exercised. This includes

(i) the process by which governments are selected, monitored and replaced;

(ii) the capacity of the government to effectively formulate and implement sound policies; and

(iii) the respect of citizens and the state for the institutions that govern economic and social communications among them.

In recent years the word governance has become a very fashionable term and is being used in a variety of ways and that covers a large number of organizations both in public and private domains.

Public administration is a great stabilizing force in society. Governments often change, but administration seldom experiences violent change. It provides an element of continuity between the old and the new orders.

Challenges

No theory of governance could be intelligible unless it is seen in the context of its time. India’s democratic experience of the past six decades has clearly established that good governance must aim at expansion of social opportunities and removal of poverty. Good governance, according to the author, means securing justice, empowerment, employment and efficient delivery of services.

However having several benefits one cannot overlook the problems and challenges that are facing by the Indian administrative agencies.  Criminalization of politics and corruption are two major challenges that are faced by the Indian administration. Along with this there are several areas of concern that need to be addressed energetically and calls for synergy of efforts between government, the market and the civil society.

Administration as a mechanism for social change

Though there are several defects in working and manner of exercising of decision making, law making etc. power of administration we cannot deny the significance of the administrative wing. The individual in the society is concerned with public administration at every turn of his life from the cradle to grave.

Indeed, public administration begins to interest itself in an individual even before he is born, in the shape of pre-natal care of the expectant mother, and continues till after his death, e.g. recording his death in the official papers, proving his will, taking care of his property etc. when the child is a few years old, he goes to one of the state schools for his education. After education he enters in to profession, businesses which are subject to public regulation and control of one type or of another. We are all concerned with public administration as the payers of taxes and consumers of the various goods and services it provides.

Social Change Defined

Social change refers to any significant alteration over time in behavior patterns and cultural values and norms. By “significant” alteration, sociologists mean changes yielding profound social consequences. Examples of significant social changes having long-term effects include the industrial revolution, the abolition of slavery, and the feminist movement.

SOCIAL CHANGE-

1. The structural transformation of political, social and economic systems and institutions to create a more equitable and just society. 

2. Proponents target the underlying causes of critical social problems, such as homelessness, discrimination and poverty. 

3. While a variety of organizing and advocacy methods are utilized, social change organizations are characterized by activism, cooperation, persistence, and dedication of their members. (Example: An association of people with developmental disabilities working collectively to address issues of discrimination by empowering its members to advocate for themselves and collectively challenging service providers, government agencies and other institutions to ensure equal access and rights for ALL developmentally disabled people.)

Public administration is a great stabilizing force in society. Governments often change, but administration seldom experiences violent changes. It provides an element of continuity between the old and the new orders. Public administration is not only a preserver of the civilized life as we know it today. But it is also the great instrument of social change and improvement.  
        
In India, the modern democracy has brought in the conception of the welfare state resulting in ever-increasing demands on public administration for more and more services. This inevitably means more of administration than before. In welfare state, the government has undertaken stupendous task of leveling down the economic inequalities, building up a socialist pattern of society free from poverty and starvation, spreading education among all, abolishing untouchability, securing of equality of status, rights and opportunities for women and effecting as all round economic and social development. The burden of carrying out these tremendous social changes in a planned and orderly way rests upon the public administration of the country. If public fails in these tasks, the dreadful alternative is violent revolution.

E-Governance-

E-Governance (Electronic Governance) is the application of information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to the processes of government functioning to accomplish simple, accountable, speedy, responsive and transparent governance. It is transforming the existing government. It integrates people, processes, information and technology for meeting goals of the government.

The aspects of public administration which are highly affected by E-Governance are the delivery of services, decision-making, knowledge management, communication, human resources and financial management and regulations.

The Government of India recognized that the objective of achieving E-governance goes far beyond mere computerization of standalone back office operations. It means fundamentally change how the government operates and this implies a new set of responsibilities for the Executive, Legislature wings and the citizenry. Government departments having maximum interaction with the public were identified for use of IT. Some of these are : electricity, water, rural services, sanitation etc.  A new group-Electronic Governance Group-exists in the Department of Information and Technology, Govt. of India, in order to accelerate the usage of information technology in all spheres of governance.

Right to Information

The growth of democracy and bureaucracy went side by side. As democracy spread, the bureaucracy enlarged its functions and the state became more powerful than before. Therefore the need was felt for making the bureaucracy accountable to the people. Enforcing the accountability of state is based on a fundamental democratic right to know.

The Right to Information Act was passed by the Indian Parliament, which came in to force in Oct. 2005. The object of the Act is to ensure that all citizens are able to seek information which is under the control of any public authority. The idea is to give transparency, accountability and openness in government administration.

Concluding remarks

India’s democracy is at the centre of governance architecture. It creates opportunities, sustains leadership and generates hope. Good governance being central to the Indian democratic experience could be seen more clearly when we look at what is happening in our part of the world. The major shifts in India’s national value system made impact both on the nitty and gritty of administration as well as the intellectual build up of the civil service, the police and the judiciary. This is not the occasion to analyze how it came in the way of India’s successes and failures in the social, economic and political domains, but whenever there is a major shift in political discourse governance gets affected both in its content and emphasis.

The major challenge is to put in place institutional arrangements for service delivery that are workable in a particular district or a region and are made to function in a manner that are intelligible to the local people and that also encourages them to participate. Such institutions would be responsive to the citizenry and reasonably efficient in the delivery of public services.

The concept and practice of good governance in a country demands that there should be constructive mechanisms and procedures that will enable the three principal actors – government, market and civil society – to play in concert and to supplement each other’s capability.

The working of all governments at the Centre and in the States has clearly revealed the existence of powerful interest groups who have a strong vested interest in preserving the status quo. This comes in the way of government becoming the effective agent of change and guarantor of social justice. The entrenched power group always resists attempts to alter the status quo and that too in favour of disadvantaged and poor. The poor are largely unorganized and cannot be mobilized easily because of their large numbers. The leadership at various levels placed in the task of striking a balance between the demands of the powerful interest groups and voiceless poor have rarely gone against the powerful.

Women are key to good governance. Their increasing representation in democratic institutions have provided stability to Indian polity. Women can bring constructive, creative and sustainable solutions to the table. Women participation in economic programmes needs to be augmented for in women we get expendable providers, educators, caretakers and leaders.

Scholars as well as administrators agree that participation of civil society in decision-making, public sector capacity building and rule of law are essential for quality and timely delivery of services.

It is being widely appreciated that good governance is dependant not merely upon good policy advises but more importantly on the processes and incentives to design and implement good policies themselves. Dysfunctional and ineffective public institutions are increasingly seen to be at the heart of the economic development challenge. Misguided resource allocations, excessive government interventions, and widespread corruption have helped in perpetuation of poverty. The weak institutions of governance make an adverse impact on service delivery.

[1] Public Adminsitration in Theory and Practice, M. P. Sharma, B. L. Sadana, Harpreet Kaur, Kitab Mahal, 47th Edn. 2011
[2] http://grammarist.com/usage/governance/
[3] (http://blogs.ivarta.com/The-good-governance-where-does-India-stand/blog-90.htm, The good governance: Where does India stand?  By: K Parthasarathi)

- Mahendra Subhash Khairnar,
Asstt. Professor, Bharati Vidyapeeth’s Yashwantrao Chavan Law College, Karad


Article Courtesy: http://www.lawyersclubindia.com/articles/Public-Administration-in-India-as-a-mechanism-for-social-change-5309.asp#.Va6gmPmqqko

Thursday, June 18, 2015

A GOOD READ - IMPACT EVALUATIONS CRUCIAL FOR EFFECTIVE PUBLIC POLICY.

IMPACT EVALUATIONS CRUCIAL FOR EFFECTIVE PUBLIC POLICY:


Courtesy: Asian Development Blog- See more at: http://blogs.adb.org/blog/impact-evaluations-crucial-effective-public-policy#sthash.ZGxzffSZ.dpuf


By Vinod Thomas on Mon, 01 September 2014
Asian countries are increasingly turning to investing in dedicated development programs rather than relying entirely on economic growth to deliver better social outcomes. Evaluations of their actual impact have not always accompanied such decision making, but where they have, it has made a key difference.
Impact evaluations can  guide policy and investments based on evidence instead of them being driven mostly by special interests.
Evaluations and policy choices intersect in three respects. First, conducting assessments of policies or investments—for example, a social protection initiative—allows them to be expanded on the basis of the results obtained. Second, they bring out the crucial complementary factors that are necessary for development success—for example, road projects can improve inclusion if they are linked with programs addressing education and health care in the same area. Third, there are emerging avenues of action—for example in climate change, where past experience may not provide a sufficient guide for the future.
Careful evaluations in some social areas have given policymakers grounds to expand or wind down a program. For example, assessments of conditional cash transfers have provided a basis to expand these programs in Brazil, Mexico, the Philippines, and elsewhere. 
An impact evaluation of the Philippines’ conditional cash transfer program, which started with 6,000 households in 2008, showed gains in reducing stunting in children, increases in school enrollment and attendance, and increased ante- and post-natal care for women—well worth the program costs. As a result, the program was massively expanded to cover more than 3 million households in 2013.
Impact evaluation initially focused on social programs, where information on beneficiaries, and others before and after a program, is relatively easier to obtain. But it is now expanding into other areas of policy, such as transport, energy, and the environment. All these areas present challenges for analysis, such as separating cause and effect, attribution, and assessing the validity of the outcomes across various locations, beneficiary groups, or policy instruments.
Evaluations have often also highlighted the importance of complementary factors. In many instances, while the intervention did produce results, the gains were limited and full impact was not achieved. Impact evaluations help identify the barriers to achieving better outcomes, or the inadequacies in program design.
One consistent theme has been the limits of poverty-oriented efforts to reach the very poor. An impact evaluation of microfinance in Pakistan and Viet Nam found that there were trade-offs between program impact and targeting of the poor. Pakistan’s program was able to target and include the poor, but the program had very little impact on their welfare. On the other hand, Viet Nam’s mostly non-poor clients enjoyed positive direct impact on income and enterprise employment.
A study on Bangladesh pointed to the gains from rural roads maintenance, but again the benefits missed the very poor. In these and other instances, the presence or investment in related areas such as education, health, and financial literacy proved critical. Rural electrification will not only light communities, but can transform lives if education and income opportunities are promoted.
Among emerging issues, biodiversity and the environment have received relatively little attention from impact evaluation. But where they have been considered, the results have been noteworthy.
An evaluation of forest protection worldwide found that establishing protected areas is effective in reducing the loss of forest cover. But the impact of protected regimes—
rates of deforestation before and after intervention—were sharper in areas closer to communities and economic activities than in settings far from economic activities. 
Studies in Latin America found a strong correlation between forest protection and indigenous land tenure and property rights. While protecting pristine forests is equally important, protection of land competing with other economic uses can have relatively high payoffs too.
The application of lessons to new challenges remains difficult as there are limits to what can be inferred from historic data. Using an impact evaluation based on past experience to guide future action presents a tough challenge when the problems are new. Climate change is a case in point where climate models yield various projections with varying probabilities.
These are some of the challenges of applying impact evaluation to guide policy. These and many others are to be discussed at an international conference on 5-6 September cosponsored by 3IE, the Government of the Philippines and the Asian Development Bank, that will review the growing body of evaluative work directed at policy.