Understanding Livelihood Processes and Dynamics

(DFID) supports policies, programmes and projects to promote international development. DFID are providing funds for this study as part of this objective but the views and opinions expressed here are not necessary those of DFID. Summary The concept of livelihoods has gained wide acceptance as a valuable means of understanding the factors that influence people's lives and well-being, particularly those of the Bernstein et al., 1992). It has been embraced by a number of development agencies, with UNDP the first to do so fully and the Department for International Development (DFID) adopting it as central to its strategy for meeting the goals set out in its 1997 White Paper 'Eliminating World Poverty'. 'Livelihoods' has a number of meanings, and there are a number of definitions for the term. Clarity and rigour are therefore needed if the approach is to achieve its full potential as a basis for robust development initiatives that are in tune with the realities of what is and is not possible on the ground. One of the challenges involved is the presentation of a generic livelihood process model which is inclusive enough of a wide variety of empirical material – diversity of local circumstances being an acknowledged reality – but clear enough to provide a heuristic device for public discussion. There is a trade-off between inclusivity and comprehensiveness on the one hand and usefulness and comprehension on the other. The model therefore must have analytical rigour as well as intuitive and discursive appeal. The model presented in this paper is a contribution to this process. The paper aims to assist academics and rural development practitioners engaged in the area of livelihood analysis and poverty alleviation by clarifying the underlying principles behind the livelihood approach. It then traces the inter-connections between the different aspects of a livelihood system through the 'mapping' of a case study onto the revised livelihood model. Finally, it presents a methodology that links the three main elements of the research project: the process of obtaining a livelihood; the impact of chosen policies upon the livelihoods; and the policy process 1. It is based on long-term field research (funded under the DFID Natural Resource Systems Programme) undertaken by the University of Leeds in Bangladesh and Nepal, and has been prepared by the research collaborators as a background paper for a further DFID research project, on Improving Policy-Livelihood Relationships in South Asia that is funded under …