How to support state-building, service delivery and recovery in fragile and conflict affected situations: lessons from six years of SLRC research

Abstract

This synthesis briefing outlines 5 key findings, and associated policy implications, for policy-makers and practitioners working to support state building, service delivery and recovery in fragile and conflict-affected situations. Since 2011, the Secure Livelihoods Research Consortium (SLRC) has sought to understand how processes of post-conflict recovery and state-building play out in some of the world’s most challenging contexts – and to equip policymakers and practitioners with better information on how to support these processes. Over the past 6 years, we have learned that state-building and recovery are turbulent processes – and supporting them requires more than technical ‘best-practice’ fixes. Policy and programming need to become more adept at navigating politics, building relationships, and responding to ever-changing situations. This synthesis briefing – one of two in this series summarising the results from SLRC phase I – details 5 key findings, and associated policy implications, for policy-makers and practitioners working to support state building, service delivery and recovery in fragile and conflict-affected situations. You can read the first synthesis briefing in this series, ‘Tracking change in fragile and conflict-affected situations: lessons from the SLRC panel survey’, here. This research was funded under the Secure Livelihoods Research Consortium (SLRC) programme