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Glossary of Terms
Glossary of Terms
Advocacy is the deliberate process of influencing those who make policy decisions. CARE’s use of advocacy will always: * Improve the livelihood(s and/or lives) of significant numbers of people. * Target policy makers and implementers at levels above the household. * Be rooted in CARE’s field experience and core values.
Source: “Advocacy Tools and Guidelines: Promoting Policy Change,” Sofia Sprechmann and Emily Pelton, CARE, January 2001, p. 2.
Broad scale of impact
The program must define what
means, but, in general, we mean at least at national scale or for a whole marginalized population group. Impact should occur across three areas of unifying framework (human conditions, social position, enabling environment) and impact should be seen and evaluated over an extended period of time.
Context analysis seeks to analyze the context within which we operate. The context shapes and gives meaning to many things, and can explain dynamics of poverty that a specific to a given context – or different from another context. The context can be taken to be very local, regional, national or global.
The external context that affects the organization provides the forces to which we must react. It will include Historical, Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental factors. Each of these may lead to the need for change, for example declining economic conditions or new legislation.
As well as the external context, there are many contextual factors within organizations that can lead to the need to change or decide upon our programs and strategies to address poverty. These might include our strengths, weaknesses, competencies, identity (our credibility and legitimacy in a given context).
can be defined as the structural environment that recognizes and reinforces mutual rights and obligations. It is made up of interrelated conditions necessary for fostering just societies. Some of the interrelated conditions include: (a) good governance -- elected national and local governments which are responsive to constituents and are empowered to serve them; (b) sound legal, regulatory, political and institutional frameworks; (c) pro-poor policies; (d) institutionalized mechanisms for transparency and accountability; (e) conducive private sector social accountability mechanisms; (f) strong civil society participation (freedom of expression, association and negotiation); (g) freedom from conflict, etc.
(Gender Equity Building Blocks - this is outmoded given our focus on rights and the structural institutions - but I include it because it's the last "official" statement I can find on gender analysis): The study of how gender identities shape individual choices and opportunities in relation to material resources, social, political, and economic activity within a given community or group. Gender analysis is a process that also includes determining what strategies, institutional changes and related resources are required or available for resolving a given problem and decreasing the disadvantage.
(Alternate - would welcome Lori's further revision): Gender Analysis is study of how prevailing gender ideologies shape social organization, behavior, and outcomes in a given context. It seeks to understand the norms of masculinity and femininity across diverse social groups, and to understand how these norms give rise to differences in male and female aspirations, beliefs, resources and opportunities, choices and outcomes. There is no "set" formula, but a "good" gender analysis traces causes and consequences of gender differences at individual, collective and institutional levels, and across all domains of life - including social, cultural, economic, political, legal and religious. For a human rights and development agency, gender analysis also includes determining what strategies, institutional changes and related resources are required or available for resolving inequities that arise when gender differences are transformed into unjust gender
are aspects of quality of life, well-being, and opportunities. These include the necessary material conditions for a good and healthy life (including secure and adequate livelihoods, income and assets, access to enough food and clean water at all times, health and education security, physical security, shelter, access to goods and services, etc).
Needs definition- Maliha
Impact population group
impact population group
for a program is the specific population group (or groups) whose lives should show a measurable, enduring improvement as a result of the program. The impact group should be at least at national level (including work with partners, and policy advocacy – not just through massive community-based service delivery). It should also be larger than any subset group directly impacted by an individual project or initiative within the program.
Michael (read briefs before assigning)
“Power analysis” is a way to examine how social and political networks and alliances between powerful actors are fostered and used to gain access to public resources and how elites use these resources and benefits to build support within local constituencies.
The process of power analysis also enables teams to build upon their existing practical understanding and to arrive at a broader conceptual framework that highlights the causes of and conditions that perpetuate poverty and social marginalization. Such an understanding allows field teams to begin to integrate analysis and the ability to discern social, economic, and political patterns into their day to day work and develop methods and techniques through which power dynamics in other localities can be understood. Power analysis in few carefully selected localities enables program teams to create an integrated body of knowledge in terms of how economic, social and political power operate and can provide important insights to develop programming strategies and implementation approaches. (from Brigitta Bode, Power Analysis in the Context of Rights Based Programming)
Situational analysis (including multiple levels and stakeholders)
Since the adoption of the unifying framework, CARE has been working to develop better analyses of the underlying causes of poverty and of the power relations associated with them.
There are different types of analyses that can be incorporated within an overall situational analysis:
Analysis of the underlying causes of poverty (UCP) and social injustice
Analysis of the challenges and barriers to achieving the MDGs
These different forms of analysis can and should be interrelated; for instance, an UCP analysis should speak to an MDG [Ve. Analyses should also occur at multiple levels, and with multiple stakeholders.
Claudia will send document that I can use
defines big social movements as a series of contentious performances, displays and campaigns by which ordinary people made collective claims on others [Tilly, 2004]. For Tilly, social movements are a major vehicle for ordinary people's participation in public politics [Tilly, 2004:3]. He argues that there are three major elements to a social movement [Tilly, 2004]:
: a sustained, organized public effort making collective claims on target authorities;
: employment of combinations from among the following forms of
: creation of special-purpose associations and coalitions, public meetings, solemn processions, vigils, rallies, demonstrations, petition drives, statements to and in public media, and pamphleteering; and
: participants' concerted public representation of worthiness, unity, numbers, and commitments on the part of themselves and/or their constituencies.
defines [Tarrow, 1994] a social movement as collective challenges [to elites, authorities, other groups or cultural codes] by people with common purposes and solidarity in sustained interactions with elites, opponents and authorities. He specifically distinguishes social movements from political parties and
Srilatha Batliwala, writing for AWID (the Association of Women's Rights in Development), defines movements as "an organized set of constituents pursuing a common political agenda of change through collective action
Changing Their World: Concepts and Practices of Women’s Movements
10)., Thus, movements are distinguished by these characteristics:
A visible constituency base or membership;
Members collectivized in either formal or informal organizations;
Some continuity over time (i.e., a spontaneous uprising or campaign may not be a movement in itself, though it may lead to one);
Engage in collective actions and activities in pursuit of the movement’s political goals;
Use a variety of actions and strategies – from confrontational, militant actions (including violent protests), or peaceful protest / non-cooperation (a la Gandhi), public opinion building or advocacy strategies; and
Engage clear internal or external targets in the change process, such as: Their own membership or communities (such as in movements against discriminatory customs and social practices like FGM, violence against women, machismo, etc.); Society at large (to change negative attitudes, biases or perceptions of themselves – e.g. racial, gender-based, caste-based, ethnic or religious discrimination); Other social groups (such as in claiming land rights or fair wages from landowners or employers); The state or regimes in power (in demanding, for instance, democracy, legal reform, or policy change); Private sector actors (challenging employment practices, environmental damage caused by or natural resources appropriated by corporations, etc.); International institutions (such as the World Bank, UN, IMF, or WTO); and a combination of some or all of the above.
are peoples’ position in society and their ability to live in dignity. To improve social positions one must focus on changing the nature and direction of systemic marginalization by eliminating the barriers that underpin exclusion, inequality, and powerlessness.
A cyclical process in which the impact of change on all parts of a whole and their relationships to one another are taken into consideration
Target population group
target population group
is the group we directly work with or engage so that we can achieve our desired impact on the lives of the impact group. This group is targeted because its participation helps ensure that the impact group benefits. The target group may also benefit from the program, but is not the group whose lives we ultimately seek to change and against whose improvement we measure our success.
Theory of change
Theory of Change
is defined as a set of hypotheses and critical assumptions that make up causal pathways of change.
A UCP analysis explores explore the underlying causes of poverty in an given context. It allows us to:
Gain a deep understanding of the determinants of poverty in a given context.
Help identify the poorest of the poor in a given context.
See patterns, strategies and tactics of power holders and explore how poor people can maneuver and engage in networks to challenge these patterns.
Review CARE’s program strategies based on the results of poverty analyses.
Increase our capacity to design programs with high potential of addressing UCPs.
Identify which of our current programs were well positioned to address UCPs, and reviewing CARE’s role.
Jointly learn with partners about the determinants of poverty and strategies with a high potential for impact.
It is the broadest sense the term reflects a variety of methods we use to analyze systematically social, systematic, structural and policy related causes of poverty. It might include analysis of:
Vulnerability and risk (of specific groups to shocks, stress and
Social exclusion such as ethnicity, sexuality, class, caste and gender dynamics in a given society.
A UCP analysis explores the three domains of our unifying framework - human conditions, social positions and the enabling environment and it will necessarily focus our minds not on the immediate or intermediate causes, but the underlying. In its simplest form, the UCP analysis has been carried out through the repeated question: Why?
A UCP analysis can be carried out at any level (locally through to globally).
(Drawn from Sofia Sprechmann, The Process of Project to Program Shift in the LAC Region, Developing Programs with Greater Impact-Potential Based on UCP analysis; and Kathy McCaston, CARE's Unifying Framework; and Brigitte Bode, UCP Study Nepal.
The Unifying Framework for Poverty Eradication & Social Justice is developed around three upper-level outcome categories that provide a holistic Unifying Framework that focuses on
improving people’s social position and social equity
improving the people’s conditions and well-being
on creating an enabling environment that promotes equity and livelihood security for all
. Together, these three outcome categories ensure that we analyze and address underlying causes from both needs- and rights-based perspectives.
Terminology for Program and Project Results Levels (English)
Terminology for Program and Project Results Levels (French)
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