Public Policy Commons^™

Factors In Refugee Resilience Building During Humanitarian Response, Rachel Starner

Capstone Collection

If countries hosting refugees want to build resiliency and reduce dependency on foreign relief, humanitarian response and local development need to be addressed simultaneously, and collaboration at all levels of stakeholders needs to take place in planning and decision making. Additionally, innovation and strong leadership are strong factors in creating and leading new ideas as funding and world leadership dynamics change, especially with traditional leaders such as the US and the UN losing influence. Observations made at the Mahama Refugee Camp in Rwanda as well as existing document analysis reflect these traits by active efforts of camp administrators and humanitarian …

Health Budget Tracking At Local Levels: A Training Manual For Uganda’S Youth Leaders And Advocates, Rehema Z. Namukose Ms.

Capstone Collection

Uganda’s decentralization policy was introduced in 1997 under the Local Government Act to transfer power from central government to local government levels. The main purpose was to promote participation of all citizens in decision making processes to enhance responsibility and accountable monitoring of services delivered to citizens at all levels. The policy “aimed to achieve efficiency and effectiveness” in services delivered and managed at lower levels (Kebba & Ntanda, 2005). But how were citizens at local levels going to participate in accountability processes? How would they monitor the quality of services delivered under this policy framework? In what ways were …

More Women In Parliament: Advocacy Lessons Learned From The Georgian Women’S Task Force On Political Participation, Emma Shattuck

Capstone Collection

Emma Shattuck – PIM 75

MORE WOMEN IN PARLIAMENT: ADVOCACY LESSONS LEARNED

FROM THE GEORGIAN WOMEN’S TASK FORCE ON POLITICAL PARTICIPATION

May 2017

This Policy Advocacy Course-Linked Capstone is a case study of an on-going advocacy campaign to increase women’s political participation in the Republic of Georgia’s Parliament. It tells the story of a dedicated group of advocates who are determined to help Georgian women’s voices be heard in a primarily male-dominated political context. Drawing on my personal experience living and working in Tbilisi, Georgia, and based on comprehensive key informant interviews with leaders of the campaign, I analyze the …

Multi-Sector Analysis Of The Progress And Challenges Of Soil-Transmitted Helminth Eradication In Rural Udaipur, Jessica Ellis

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

India is home to 240 million children currently at risk of Soil-Transmitted Helminthiasis, which is spread via unclean water, soil, and food, and causes acute pain and malnutrition. While acknowledging the research debates over WASH and mass drug administration, this study seeks to identify the systemic multidisciplinary issues affecting STH elimination efforts in rural Udaipur. Twenty-three interviews were conducted in villages, government departments, NGOs, and medical sectors to identify the challenges within each approach to deworming, and their experiences with multi-sectoral collaboration. The most recurring issues across disciplines were need for invested local leadership, increase in health literacy of adults, …

It Will Be An Ugly Winter (Again) This Year: A Case Study Of The Vermont Community Action Partnership's Perennial Fight For Low-Income Fuel Assistance Programs, Elizabeth H. Bennett

Capstone Collection

Despite the extraordinary need for the vital Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), the program has seen major budget cuts as part of the Federal Budget’s Discretionary spending, even as fuel prices rise and incomes fall. The Vermont Community Action Partnership (VCAP – also known as the Vermont CAP Directors) has been the primary advocate for LIHEAP in Vermont. This case study examines VCAP’s measures to advocate for level funding of the LIHEAP program at the federal level, as well as influencing state level decision makers to improve service delivery to Vermont’s eligible low-income households.

This study combines in-depth …

Relative Democracy: Rwandan Perspectives On Representative Government, Gabriel C.J.M. Nahmias

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The primary objective of this research is to ascertain, at least in part, the importance Rwandan’s place on different aspects of democracy. This is done with the hope of giving Rwandans more voice in the discussion of the “democratization” of their own country. With Rwanda’s unique culture and history, the application of “democracy” within this nation should be done, in the mind of the researcher, in accordance to the context, and the only people who fully understand this context are Rwandans themselves. The secondary objective is to hypothesize why these aspects have particular importance in the Rwandan context. The tertiary …