FIELD Report No. 1: Assessment of the Commercial Private Sector for Healthcare Products in Bangladesh

November 2006 — This report describes the role of the commercial private sector in manufacturing, distributing and selling selected health care products in Bangladesh based on 58 in-depth interviews with market participants and key stakeholders. Selected products consisted of oral contraceptives, condoms, oral rehydration solutions, vitamin A and zinc. Researchers also explored how development organizations can help the private sector address the challenges of distributing products to users, especially the poor and lower middle class.

This report is part of the FIELD-Support Knowledge Series, produced by the Financial Integration, Economic Leveraging, Broad-Based Dissemination and Support (FIELD-Support) Leader with Associates (LWA) cooperative agreement, which is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development. More information on the series can be found here: http://kdid.org/projects/field-support

FIELD Report No. 2: Economic Strengthening for Vulnerable Children

February 2008 — This report illustrates best practices in the field of economic strengthening that can be applied in programs seeking to reach and assist vulnerable children. The guide offers two tools: (1) seven principles for program design and implementation, which donors and partner agencies may refer to as they progress from early program concept through implementation, monitoring and evaluation, and (2) technical recommendations on how to implement selected economic strengthening activities. The guide is valuable for practitioners across a broad range of disciplines.

FIELD Report No. 3: Delivering Microfinance and Social Services in Conditions of Fragility in Nepal

March 2008 — This report documents the strategies used by microfinance institutions, international nongovernmental organizations and private businesses to deliver financial and nonfinancial goods and services (such as business development services, health and education services, basic consumer goods and sanitation services) to populations affected by the Maoist insurgency in Nepal. By analyzing their experiences, the field workers who contributed to this report document lessons learned and better practices for delivering and expanding necessary services in politically fragile areas.

FIELD Report No. 4: Options, Management and Enforcement of Collateral for Microfinance Loans in the West Bank and Gaza Strip

November 2007 — This report provides a detailed review of collateral options and related management and legal enforcement issues in the West Bank and Gaza, an area experiencing an extended economic crisis. Based on literature reviews, in-depth interviews with key stakeholders and focus groups with clients and nonclients, the researchers identify constraints to the use of available collateral opportunities within microfinance and recommend ways to overcome these constraints at the retail, meso (intermediate) and macro levels.

FIELD Report No. 5: Mobilization of Savings in the West Bank & Gaza

July 2008 — This report presents the findings of a study designed to identify the appropriate means of mobilizing national savings in the West Bank and Gaza. Based on quantitative analysis of annual household, corporate and government savings, the researchers present an overview of national savings habits and offer recommendations for the government sector, the banking sector and the Palestinian Monetary Authority. The recommendations focus on how to improve overall spending rates and thereby loosen up local credit to fuel private-sector growth and job creation.

FIELD Report No. 6: Mobile Money Study: West Bank & Gaza

September 2008 — This report describes a study that assessed the feasibility of using information and communication technologies (ICTs) to overcome restrictions on movement and expand access to financial services in small and densely populated areas of Palestine: the West Bank and Gaza. In particular, the researchers examined the use of mobile phones and point-of-sale (POS) devices to facilitate electronic financial transactions outside of traditional brick-and-mortar branches. Using such technologies to deliver financial services is commonly referred to as “branchless banking.” The study includes key recommendations for facilitating electronic and branchless banking in Palestine.

FIELD Report No. 7: Sustained Market Access for Subsistence Farmers in Bolivia

April 2010 — This report describes a pilot activity designed to scale down Save the Children’s large food security program to a smaller, more market-focused project driven by value chain methodology. The team in Bolivia — one of the most impoverished countries in Latin America — discuss the primary objectives and key lessons learned while adapting operations to more effectively expand and sustain food access for low-income and food-insecure households.

FIELD Report No. 8: Migrant-Backed Loans

October 2010 — Remittances sent by migrants to their families back home can have several beneficial effects, such as helping households out of poverty, improving children’s school attendance and facilitating investments. This report describes the William Davidson Institute’s migrant-backed loan pilot activity, which was initiated to encourage migrants to send more resources home and to improve access to entrepreneurial finance in Guatemala. The team describes how they facilitated a partnership between financial institutions in the United States and Guatemala, designed the migrant-backed small enterprise loan (MBL) and collected data that confirmed demand for the loans and provided insight into product design. The new MBLs made it easier for poor households who want a loan, but do not have adequate collateral, to start or expand a business.

FIELD Report No. 15: Creating Jobs and Economic Opportunities in Iraq

September 2012 — The international development community has increased the focus and level of funding for workforce development as a means for addressing global unemployment crisis, which disparately impacts youth, women and vulnerable populations. This report presents a review of the current body of work to address job creation and employment solutions in Iraq and provides a set of implementation recommendations.

FIELD Report No. 17: Skills for Jobs for Growth

November 2013 — This report explores workforce development, also known as human capital development, as a field of its own that encompasses education systems, economic development policies and programs, and corporations’ human resources functions. Through three country case studies, the report argues that workforce development programs must align economic development strategies, education systems and employers, and the needs of target groups.

This report is part of the FIELD-Support Knowledge Series. More information on the series can be found here: http://kdid.org/projects/field-support

FIELD Report No. 18: Smallholders and Inclusive Growth in Agricultural Value Chains

January 2014 — This report investigates inclusive growth in agricultural value chains, with a focus on smallholder participation and upgrading behavior and outcomes related to agricultural productivity, agricultural profits and smallholder incomes. The purpose of the report is to advance understanding of inclusive growth by reviewing empirical evidence from twelve agricultural value chains that have engaged and benefited smallholders.

The experiences reviewed in this paper indicate that smallholders can play a significant role in competitive value chains if they have the requisite capabilities, profitable opportunities and information to accurately assess alternatives. In addition, there are significant steps that governments, development practitioners and private-sector firms can take to promote inclusion.