SUSTAINABLE-LIVELIHOODS-GUIDANCE

SUSTAINABLELIVELIHOODSGUIDANCESHEETSFRAMEWORKINTRODUCTION2.1Thelivelihoodsframeworkisatooltoimproveourunderstandingoflivelihoods,particularlythelivelihoodsofthepoor.ItwasdevelopedoveraperiodofseveralmonthsbytheSustainableRuralLivelihoodsAdvisoryCommittee,buildingonearlierworkbytheInstituteofDevelopmentStudies(amongstothers).ThissectionoftheGuidanceSheetsprovidesanintroductiontotheframeworkitself.Theindividualcomponentsoftheframeworkaredescribedinmoredetailinthesubsequentsheetsinthissection.PracticalquestionsandchallengesofoperationalisingtheapproachwillbecoveredinSection3andfollowing.Whyaframework?Thesustainablelivelihoodsframeworkpresentsthemainfactorsthataffectpeople’slivelihoods,andtypicalrelationshipsbetweenthese.Itcanbeusedinbothplanningnewdevelopmentactivitiesandassessingthecontributiontolivelihoodsustainabilitymadebyexistingactivities.Inparticular,theframework:providesachecklistofimportantissuesandsketchesoutthewaytheselinktoeachother;drawsattentiontocoreinfluencesandprocesses;andemphasisesthemultipleinteractionsbetweenthevariousfactorswhichaffectlivelihoods.Theframeworkiscentredonpeople.Itdoesnotworkinalinearmanneranddoesnottrytopresentamodelofreality.Itsaimistohelpstakeholderswithdifferentperspectivestoengageinstructuredandcoherentdebateaboutthemanyfactorsthataffectlivelihoods,theirrelativeimportanceandthewayinwhichtheyinteract.This,inturn,shouldhelpintheidentificationofappropriateentrypointsforsupportoflivelihoods.Thearrowswithintheframeworkareusedasshorthandtodenoteavarietyofdifferenttypesofrelationships,allofwhicharehighlydynamic.Noneofthearrowsimplydirectcausality,thoughallimplyacertainlevelofinfluence.Figure1.SustainablelivelihoodsframeworkLIVELIHOODSTRATEGIESInfluence&accessVULNERABILITYCONTEXTTRANSFORMINGSTRUCTURES&PROCESSESSTRUCTURESPROCESSESLIVELIHOODOUTCOMESHSPFNLIVELIHOODASSETS•SHOCKSTRENDSSEASONALITYLevelsofgovernmentPrivatesectorLawsPoliciesCultureInstitutionsMoreincomeIncreasedwell-beingReducedvulnerabilityImprovedfoodsecurityMoresustainableuseofNRbaseKeyH=HumanCapitalS=SocialCapitalN=NaturalCapitalP=PhysicalCapitalF=FinancialCapitalinordertoachieveSustainablelivelihoodsguidancesheetsTheseGuidanceSheetsaimtostimulatereflectionandlearning.Readersareencouragedtosendcommentsandcontributionsto:[e-mail]1999INTRODUCTIONFRAMEWORKUnderstandingtheframeworkTheformoftheframeworkisnotintendedtosuggestthatthestartingpointforalllivelihoods(orlivelihoodanalysis)istheVulnerabilityContextwhichthroughaseriesofpermutationsyieldsLivelihoodsOutcomes.Livelihoodsareshapedbyamultitudeofdifferentforcesandfactorsthatarethemselvesconstantlyshifting.People-centredanalysisismostlikelytobeginwithsimultaneousinvestigationofpeople’sassets,theirobjectives(theLivelihoodOutcomeswhichtheyareseeking)andtheLivelihoodStrategieswhichtheyadopttoachievetheseobjectives.Importantfeedbackislikelybetween:(a)TransformingStructuresandProcessandtheVulnerabilityContext;and(b)LivelihoodOutcomesandLivelihoodAssets.Thereareotherfeedbackrelationshipsthataffectlivelihoodswhicharenotshown.Forexample,ithasbeenshownthatifpeoplefeellessvulnerable(LivelihoodOutcome)theyfrequentlychoosetohavefewerchildren.ThishasimplicationsforpopulationtrendswhichmightbeanimportantpartoftheVulnerabilityContext.UsingtheframeworktohelpeliminatepovertyTheframeworkisintendedtobeaversatiletoolforuseinplanningandmanagement.Itoffersawayofthinkingaboutlivelihoodsthathelpsordercomplexityandmakesclearthemanyfactorsthataffectlivelihoods.Amoreimportanttaskthanperfectingtheframeworkitselfisputtingtheideasthatitrepresentsintopractice.Ifthatcallsforadaptationofcertainboxesorrevisionofcertaindefinitionstomaketheframeworkmoreuseful,allthebetter;theframeworkbecomesalivingtool.UseoftheframeworkisintendedtomakeadistinctcontributiontoimprovingDFID’sabilitytoeliminatepoverty.Itisnotsimplyarequiredstepinproject/programmepreparation,nordoesitprovideamagicsolutiontotheproblemsofpovertyelimination.Inordertogetthemostfromtheframework:Thecoreideasthatunderlieitshouldnotbecompromisedduringtheprocessofadaptation.Oneofthesecoreideasisthat(most)analysisshouldbeconductedinaparticipatorymanner.Useoftheframeworkshouldbeunderpinnedbyaseriouscommitmenttopovertyelimination.Thisshouldextendtodevelopingameaningfuldialoguewithpartnersabouthowtoaddresstheunderlyingpoliticalandeconomicfactorsthatperpetuatepoverty.Thoseusingtheframeworkmusthavetheabilitytorecognisedeprivationinthefieldevenwhenelitesandothersmaywanttodisguisethisandskewbenefitstowardsthemselves(thiswillrequireskillandrigourinsocialanalysis).Thesustainablelivelihoodsframeworkcontinuestodevelop.Useitasaflexibletoolandadaptitasnecessary.Youcanfocusonanypartoftheframework,butitisimportanttokeepthewiderpictureinmind.Theframeworksummarisesthemaincomponentsofandinfluencesonlivelihoods;itdoesnotprovideanexhaustivelistoftheissuestobeconsidered.Itshouldbeadaptedtomeettheneedsofanygivencircumstance.SUSTAINABLELIVELIHOODSGUIDANCESHEETSFRAMEWORKVULNERABILITYCONTEXT2.2Whatisthevulnerabilitycontext?TheVulnerabil