Forum for Development Studies
Volume 41, Issue 3, 2014
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/sfds20/current

Special Issue: Nordic Conference for Development Research, 2013

Iatrogenic Violence? Lived Experiences of Recipients of Aid that Targets Vulnerable Children in Makete, Tanzania
Marguerite Daniela*
Open access
DOI:10.1080/08039410.2014.962601
pages 415-431
Published online: 28 Oct 2014
Abstract
Humanitarian aid does not always achieve its intended outcomes but may have unintended side-effects which harm rather than help recipient communities in the long run. In the context of aid, iatrogenic violence refers to circumstances where aid intended to benefit recipients instead causes social disruption. The relations between donor and recipient contribute significantly to the outcomes of aid. This article aims to explore the recipient side of donor–recipient relationships in humanitarian aid targeting children affected by HIV/AIDS in Makete, Tanzania. Specific objectives include exploring (i) the lived experiences of the children who are targeted by the aid, (ii) the lived experiences of related caregivers and community members and (iii) the responses of local leaders, both non-governmental organisation (NGO) officers and local government leaders. Forty-one orphaned children aged 9–18 were involved in 3 one-hour-long participatory activities. From these, 12 were selected for in-depth interviews. Four caregivers of orphaned children and 15 key informants (community leaders and NGO officers) were interviewed. Findings show that the type of aid and method of distribution are determined by the donors and do not fit well with local conditions. Examples of iatrogenic violence include conflict and division between those in the community who receive aid and those who do not, increasing dependency with a corresponding reduction in self-reliance, criteria that exclude the most vulnerable children from aid and passivity and non-participation. Donor-controlled humanitarian aid is causing unintended harm in the recipient communities.

Communicating What Works Bringing Knowledge into Development Policy
Carl-Gustav Lindéna*
DOI:10.1080/08039410.2014.962602
pages 477-500
Abstract
This article explores attitudes of social scientists engaged in international development research, mainly development economists, towards the role of communication in influencing development policy. It is based on an international survey of researchers (N = 79) as well as in-depth interviews (N  = 6) with representatives of the same group. Results confirm the two-communities’ thesis that researchers and policy-makers are situated in different institutional settings. The article also provides a more nuanced view, how this divide differs across topics or contexts. A common judgement was that research should strive to influence policy and the respondents stressed that they were actively working to make this come true. Still, they also found that the academic reward structure have a negative impact on a more sustained engagement with policy-makers. Researchers will rise in academic rankings based on what they publish in peer-reviewed journals, not because of efforts to improve development policy. Researchers tended to believe that engaging with policy-makers in face-to-face settings would give them the best opportunity to achieve impact, a finding which echoes previous studies. There was broad support for the idea that researchers and policy-makers should get involved in constructive engagement based on mutual respect. Somewhat surprisingly, using specialists such as communications experts for getting the message through was not regarded highly despite all the promotion going on for development research communication.