<narrative>Information, market creation and agricultural growth</narrative>

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-ZE3DRYM-EMHADTD-ETUKKGV

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Information, market creation and agricultural growth</narrative> Recent years have witnessed renewed appreciation that agriculture could play a significant role in the pursuit of Millennium Development Goals. In this context, the role of information dissemination through information and communication technology (ICT) in improving rural welfare is highlighted. However, some fear that with ICT technological disparity will arise, and existing socio-economic inequality and poverty will be further exacerbated. This study will use randomized experiment and surveys before and after the experiment to investigate the impact of ICT on rural welfare in the Indian state of Karnataka. The randomized experiment (or the action research) proposed here involves facilitating information access on key agriculture related services to households in some villages and not in others. Combining data from both surveys and the experiment, we investigate the impact of information dissemination on agricultural practices, household incomes, social network, risk coping mechanism and caste disparity. COVID-19 Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business Energy and Industrial Strategy General enquiries enquiries@odamanagement.org https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/beis-official-development-assistance-research-and-innovation

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

India

17076.33

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-ZE3DRYM-494MLMZ-CBNAD8R

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Heterogeneous quality of agricultural commercial inputs and learning through experimentation</narrative> This proposal aims to answer three research questions regarding small holder technology adoption of great interest to our partners and to the policy makers aiming for higher agricultural productivity in Africa. First is the heterogeneous and hidden quality of inputs a barrier to technology adoption? If so, this would lead to the recommendation of interventions that guide the farmers toward the right inputs, through regulations or through the diffusion of information. Second, do estimates regarding returns to new technologies coming from agricultural research in on-farm trials provide biased estimates for the response to inputs in real life conditions? If so, what are the most important sources of such bias, and how can trials be designed to avoid them? The study hence aims to reinforce the bridge between agronomic and development economics work. Third, does learning-by-doing and learning-from-others regarding new agricultural technologies differ depending on soils, skills and gender? And does this heterogeneity provide useful lessons for the design of more inclusive extension models and on the role of own experimentation in such models? To answer these questions we propose two Randomized Control Trials (RCT). The first "research trial RCT" will allow the farmers in the randomly selected villages to participate to the on-farm trials carried out by the agronomists of IITA in order to test inputs of different quality. Second, in the "technology dissemination RCT" village based advisors will be trained in randomly selected villages to promote the best inputs identified in the research trials. For each RCT we will collect several rounds of panel data to study the dynamic adoption processes. This will be complemented with information from soils sample and with detailed information on farmers' cognitive, non-cognitive and technical skills. The study has been jointly designed with IITA scientists during a series of meetings and field trips, drawing on the expertise of agronomists and economists. A specific objective of the collaboration between PSE and IITA is capacity building for IITA social scientists in rigorous impact evaluation methods, through hands-on collaboration in all the different steps of the research. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

19631.93

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-ZE3DRYM-494MLMZ-6QRDVLP

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Privatisation and Productivity Growth</narrative> Research Questions We suggest that the operation of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) may lock an economy into an inefficient allocation of resources. We seek to understand when and under what conditions privatisation policy can serve as an instrument to restore allocative efficiency and improve aggregate productivity by releasing resources to more innovative sectors of the economy. This proposal therefore addresses the "Innovation and Productivity Growth" theme of the call. We propose to conduct the first empirical analysis of the effects of privatization on the allocation of productive resources in an LIC, addressing the following questions: 1. How does privatisation impact the productivity of other private enterprises that have labour and input market linkages with the privatized SOE? 2. How do the market and regulatory environments interact with privatisation? We will examine a number of policy features that are likely to condition the effects of privatisation, including labor legislation and trade openness. Methods and Data Our empirical strategy makes use of large episodes of privatization in India, starting in the early 1990s. We will utilize data from annual industry surveys, as well as data from household employment surveys, and combine these with data on privatisation in India. We argue that the episodes of privatisation in India can be thought of as exogenous shocks to firms that were proximate to the privatized entities. To identify labour market effects, we take advantage of the fact that geographically, labor mobility in India is low, and labour markets are distinct. A comparison of changes in productivity and labour market outcomes for factories in districts that saw a reduction in the public sector due to privatization, with the corresponding changes in productivity and labor market outcomes in districts that experienced no changes will allow us to identify and estimate the effects of privatization. Similarly, to identify effects arising through input market linkages, we will compare productivity in industries that were exposed to privatisation in their input markets to industries that were not exposed. Dissemination Plan The expected outputs of this project will include 2-3 academic papers presenting our analysis of the effects of privatisation in India. We will then build on these findings to develop a policy paper that applies the lessons learnt to provide recommendations that can guide privatisation policy in Bangladesh. This policy paper and related policy briefs will be disseminated widely in the policy and academic community in Bangladesh. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Bangladesh

-6791.72

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-ZE3DRYM-494MLMZ-WQWTYWQ

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Integrated assessment of the determinants of the maize yield gap in Sub-Saharan Africa: towards farm innovation and enabling policies</narrative> The aim of this project is to develop and implement a framework that identifies the key bio-physical and management factors that influence the maize yield gap in SSA and how these are related to existing institutional, infrastructural, socio-economic and policy constraints. The research focuses on the major food crop in SSA, maize, mainly produced by small scale farmers. Maize is an important food crop in almost all Sub-Saharan African countries. Addressing yield performance in maize is therefore valuable from both a food security and poverty perspective. The project will focus on Ghana and Ethiopia as maize-growing case study countries where it builds on existing data and local partnerships. It is assumed that enhanced understanding for these two countries from West and East Africa will have wider meaning. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South of Sahara, regional

2820.2

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-ZE3DRYM-494MLMZ-CKHRNL7

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Assessing the growth potential of farmer-led irrigation development in sub-Saharan Africa</narrative> This research will contribute to answering the question "what institutions and policies lead to investment in irrigation by individual farmers, groups of farmers and large-scale enterprises?" under the first DEGRP theme "Agriculture and Growth". The project will assess whether current investment by farmers in small-scale irrigation might offer a model for broad-based economic growth in rural areas of Africa. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South of Sahara, regional

107.64

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-ZE3DRYM-494MLMZ-T7BRFTX

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Labour Outmigration, Agricultural Productivity and Food Security</narrative> With an estimated 214 million people l--mostly from poor agricultural regions to more industrialized countries-international migration is a key concern in scholarly and policy arenas. This unprecedented phenomenon has wide-ranging consequences both for migrant-sending and receiving locations. This study focuses on one specific, but crucial consequence - the impact of labor outmigration on agricultural productivity in migrant-sending areas. As the agriculture productivity in poor subsistence economies is closely connected with one of the world's epidemic problems: food security. FAO estimated about 870 million people were undernourished in the period 2010-12. The vast majority of these - 852 million live in developing countries. Thus, increased agricultural productivity in poor countries is a key tool for alleviating this problem. This proposed project aims to better understand the relationship between labor outmigration and agriculture, providing crucial information for scientific and policy development of food security concerns. Understanding the link between outmigration and agriculture is complicated by the fact that migration does not happen randomly. Additionally, changes in agricultural practices and migration are likely to influence each other. Thus, the empirical demands for adjudicating potential reciprocal relationships are high, limiting the ability of previous research to speak to these questions. To address this complication, we will leverage the Chitwan Valley Family Study (CVFS), a case control comparison design at the community level with a 15-year panel study of a stratified systematic sample of communities, households, and individuals in Nepal. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Nepal

27385.89

-1452.88

27385.89

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-ZE3DRYM-494MLMZ-STCJXM2

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Disseminating Innovative Resources and Technologies to Smallholders (DIRTS) in Northern Region, Ghana</narrative> The DIRTS project will use a randomized controlled trial to measure the impact of improved flows of extension information, access to agricultural input packages, and rainfall index insurance on agricultural intensification, specifically the use of fertilizers and improved seeds. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Ghana

85298.6

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-ZE3DRYM-494MLMZ-R324HAW

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Complementing Managerial Capital with Business Information: A Field Experiment on International Consulting for Entrepreneurs in Uganda and Rwanda</narrative> This research seeks to address a significant constraint to growth among businesses in developing countries: managerial capital. Managerial capital refers to the capabilities and confidence associated with managing cash, customers, competition, capital and constraints within businesses (cf. Bruhn, Karlan and Schoar 2012). Improvements in managerial capital offer the possibility of improved growth and prosperity. However, there exists substantial evidence that it is not abundant among micro and small businesses. In this research, we examine how managerial capital might help entrepreneurs in developing countries to transform their businesses: from micro- to small-sized enterprises and from small- to medium-sized enterprises. Despite the importance of this transformation for economic growth, few researchers so far have examined this phenomenon empirically. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South of Sahara, regional

1434.03

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-ZE3DRYM-494MLMZ-2RYC6U6

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South of Sahara, regional

570.18

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-ZE3DRYM-494MLMZ-TRXX4Q8

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Assessing Models of Public-Private Partnerships for Irrigation Development in Africa (AMPPPIDA)</narrative> This research aims to provide guidance to these SSA countries and irrigation officials on developing and implementing PPPs that are beneficial to the countries, private investors, and, ultimately, the end-users of these irrigation projects. This objective will be addressed through research to understand the factors that influence the outcomes of PPP processes and outreach to raise awareness and build capacity for policy makers on how to engage in PPP processes. We will assess different types of irrigation arrangements across SSA and implement in-depth case study work in Tanzania and Ghana, based on key informant interviews and focus groups, that highlight, among other factors, the different ways that men and women participate in and benefit from different irrigation arrangements, including PPPs. In addition, workshops with country stakeholders will employ participatory Netmapping techniques to identify relationships and networks critical for engaging in effective and equitable PPP arrangements. Both local universities and government stakeholders from irrigation ministries will be key partners in the process, along with an international policy research organization with considerable expertise on institutional arrangements for irrigation development. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South of Sahara, regional

14768.9

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-ZE3DRYM-494MLMZ-B39SAQG

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>The generation and distribution of rural prosperity: insights from longitudinal survey data</narrative> Numerous African economies are growing rapidly and there are signs of prosperity in rural and urban regions. Cheaper technology (mobile phones, motorbikes and improved seed varieties) are reaching all but the remotest parts of many countries. However it is not always clear how inclusive and pro-poor this growth is. It is all too easy for the benefits of improved agricultural production, for example, to be concentrated on relatively few wealthy farmers and even to be instrumental in creating rural deprivation and landlessness. The greater returns the wealthy enjoy enable them to concentrate land and resources. Those without land become a rural proletariat, their livelihoods part of the general trend towards deagrarianisation, but in the absence of viable alternatives to agriculture they are not characterized by prosperity and long term prospects. In this context the key issue is what assets the rural poor can build up during periods of national economic growth. Growth which is accompanied by loss of assets (loss of farmland or livestock), or a failure to accrue new assets (such as help children earn educational qualifications) among the poor, either across households, or within households (according to their gender dynamics) will not be inclusive. Panel data-sets can provide some insights into these dynamics. However these are few, they can suffer from attrition, and they remain the almost exclusive preserve of quantitative analysis and modeling. The insights of qualitative data have rarely been brought to bear on panel data. Their absence reduces the scope for hypothesis generation, and the in-depth and emic insights into poverty dynamics that qualitative data can provide. Conversely the flaws of qualitative data are their idiosyncrasy and their small scale and the difficulties they present for extrapolation. Their presence is not always insightful beyond their immediate case studies. This study will make use of unusually good records of survey data in Tanzania to provide the insights of qualitative data across a sufficiently large area to overcome the normal failings of qualitative data and contribute constructively to the findings of quantitative panel data. Tanzania has unique records of foreign researchers active in the country through the records of the Commission for Science and Technology. The East Africana collection contains theses written by masters and doctoral students in Tanzania. These, together with the strong networks that exist of researchers in and from Tanzania, provide a unique resource from which to identify former surveys. We will revisit a number of communities in different parts of Tanzania for whom data on household assets were collected in the 1990s. We will revisit a sample of these households, re-survey their assets and then explore through a detailed qualitative interview the reasons behind the changes (or lack of changes) in their fortunes. These data will provide a rich and detailed picture into the village and household and sub-household level dynamics of poverty and poverty reduction. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Tanzania, United Republic of

22144.92

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-ZE3DRYM-494MLMZ-TR978WR

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Inside the Production Function: The Effect of Financial Contracts on Growing Firms' Technology Use. Evidence from a field experiment in Uganda</narrative> We examine how key aspects of the most common form of financing-debt-may inhibit young firms' expansion. Starting a business entails learning and risk taking, implying that project returns to investment can start low but increase over time (in other words, be "backloaded") or be uncertain. Also, indivisible start-up costs often require large investments. Meanwhile, standard debt contracts available for micro-entrepreneurs from the formal or semi-formal financial sectors of many developing countries (such as microfinance) stipulate a constant repayment stream and caps on the initial loan size. The interaction of such features of the loan contract and the firm's production technology, may distort investment toward inputs that involve less learning, less uncertainty, and smaller projects; hampering firm growth. To shed light on the extent to which these theoretical mechanisms limit the effectiveness of microloans, we plan to collaborate with BRAC Uganda's Small Enterprise Lending Program to study the effect of the credit terms on starting firms' input use, profits, and repayment performance. As such, our project contributes to the DFID-ESRC Growth Research Programme's focus on Finance and Growth in Low Income Countries. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Uganda

22000.86

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-ZE3DRYM-DFDKCWH-TZ5RP5N

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Delivering Inclusive Financial Development and Growth</narrative> The aim of this research is to identify workable policies to help make the financial sector an effective instrument in promoting financial inclusion and sustained growth in LICs, and consequently create an enabling environment for transitioning these countries to middle income status. We will provide a set of answers to ALL THREE critical questions posed in the Call for Proposals concerning i) the role of international capital flows in growth and development, ii) the design and provision of institutional frameworks to support financial development, and iii) the ways in which financial systems can help generate and transmit technical change in the economy as a whole. To achieve this ambitious goal, the project will be structured into four clusters on 1) institutional framework for inclusive growth, 2) capital flows, 3) technological diffusion, and 4) a cluster which will run in parallel to the other three to synthesise findings in order to derive meaningful policy recommendations and drive tangible global impact. Component II of the programme is planned to focus on additional policy-oriented issues, and will be developed in tangent with DFID policymakers, the ESRC and other national and international academics and end-user stakeholders, and will be run in partnership with the Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institute, US. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South of Sahara, regional

79674.77

115891.86

201514.77

5717.01

-32938.18

5717.01

172203.21

29311.56

101918.96

13972.9

79674.77

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-ZE3DRYM-FGMLVUB-JSHDK2W

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>CHINESE FIRMS AND EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS</narrative> The dramatic upsurge during the 2000s of Chinese investment (both public and private) in sub-Saharan Africa has sparked much discussion and controversy about its development impact. However, despite some recent advances in research, concrete evidence on this impact has remained limited. This research will focus specifically on gathering concrete information on the employment effects of such investment. But this research will not confine itself to examining just Chinese FDI. It will also investigate the impact of the much broader category of what are called 'Chinese overseas contracted projects'. These initiatives, which include Chinese aid, have grown exponentially in recent years, and have often taken the form of construction projects. In order to gauge the employment effects of such initiatives, firm-level and worker-focused surveys will be conducted in two sectors, construction and manufacturing, in two countries where such Chinese investment has been substantial, i.e., Angola and Ethiopia. Though Chinese firms have created more employment in construction in both countries, the recent increase in Chinese investment in manufacturing is particularly important because it could portend significant increases in higher-productivity jobs, which are in short supply throughout sub-Saharan Africa. This research will assess the impact of Chinese investment in three specific areas: the employment, working conditions and skill development of national workers. Worker-level interviews will be important to the project because they will enable researchers to develop a more dynamic picture of the employment conditions of national workers. For example, the workers interviewed will be asked about their previous employment so that comparisons can be drawn with their current conditions in Chinese firms. Moreover, such worker-level interviews will be utilized to identify workers who have left Chinese firms in order to secure new jobs in national firms or in self-employment. Such workers will subsequently be interviewed in order to determine whether their employment in Chinese firms was a springboard for improved future employment. Of particular concern will be the effect of employment in Chinese firms on training and general skill development. This research project will also seek to compare employment conditions in Chinese firms in sub-Saharan Africa to the employment conditions of Chinese workers themselves in similar firms in China. This research will be carried out by both researchers in China and researchers in the United Kingdom who are China specialists. But this aspect of the project's research will not be based on new surveys but on the gathering of all relevant available material on labour conditions in China and especially their recent evolution. Of particular concern will be the effect of recent trends in employment conditions and any changes in the policy of the Chinese government that could have influenced the conduct of Chinese firms investing in sub-Saharan Africa. The intent of this research project is to have an important impact on the character of the ongoing debate on the development impact of Chinese firms located in sub-Saharan Africa. Particularly important will be the effect of our results on the policy stance of governments and regional development organizations in sub-Saharan Africa. But also one of the project's major objectives is to influence the character of the broader debate within the international development community on the employment effects of development cooperation, particularly within the context of the efforts to frame a new and more effective global post-2015 development agenda. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South of Sahara, regional

13177.53

39437.16

53380.78

13299.12

14602.68

11535.36

13177.53

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-ZE3DRYM-FGMLVUB-QYNFYKD

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Local government, economic growth and human development: Chinese lessons for Kenya and Uganda?</narrative> Many African states are weak and unstable, prone to military coups or civil unrest. Poor governance and a lack of the civil society necessary to underpin reform are often cited as key reasons why investors are reluctant to engage with Africa and why livelihoods are diminished. The socio-political system in China is also woefully lacking by the standards of liberal democracy, but nonetheless has proved capable of sustained economic reform and remarkable success in development. During the process of a nation's development, local governments can be important actors in adopting and implementing policies which would assist national economic growth and promote local benefits. For much of China's economic reform period, local governments played a key part in driving GDP growth although there are now doubts about whether this role is sustainable. In Africa, decentralization is a common element of reform but often the focus is on fostering political settlements and improved service delivery, rather than promoting economic reform. This project will consider whether China's experiences provide insights into how local government in Africa may successfully contribute to development, although differences in political structures mean that not all lessons may be transferable. The project will conduct rigorous analysis, based on evidence from original data collection using tailor-made surveys, to explore the impacts of local governance on the economic and human development of China and two selected African countries, Kenya and Uganda. The research covers four interlinked topic areas. First, it starts with research on a stratified random sample of local governments in the three countries, identifying and comparing their policy environments, structures, inter-government relationships, and key officials' self-motivation for pro-poor growth, and evaluating their performance and policy outcomes. Second, it extends from the analysis of local governments to investigate their impacts on local economic growth and on production of tradable goods, whether in agriculture or manufacturing. Third, the project explores the effectiveness and efficiency of local government in providing health and education services. Fourth, it will consider the impact of local government on poverty reduction. The project addresses questions which would have impact on policy-making in international development. Differences in the roles of local government between and within countries will be identified, with comparisons being made to explain the challenges facing local governments in the three selected countries. Any lessons, positive or negative, from China's development process will be identified and consideration given to how these might be adapted or avoided in order to enable local governments in Kenya, Uganda and other low income African states to be proactive in economic development. Intellectually, the project will address some of the big questions and puzzles in development economics: why did China benefit from export oriented industrial growth but not Africa? How has China achieved economic liberalisation and growth without political liberalisation and while still denying the formation of a civil society? Could Africa adopt economic elements from this development model while having a fundamentally different political-social structure? While the industrialised world suffers economic stagnation, can Africa's recent renaissance continue and possibly become the world's next growth miracle? By shifting dogma and policy, could Africa accelerate its growth? When tackling such questions, could we turn to the 'Chinese model' for possible solutions? The research team comprises well-regarded development economists from Kenya, Uganda, China and the UK. The findings of this project will be likely generate high impacts through the team's networks of international policy makers in the World Bank, DfID, UNDP and the governments of Kenya, Uganda and China. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

7823.04

23467.920000000002

15918.36

7959.18

7895.22

8669.09

6903.61

7823.04

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-ZE3DRYM-FGMLVUB-4Z93BPR

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Chinese FDI and Structural Transformation in Africa: Technology Transfer, Linkages, and Learning</narrative> For the past decade, Sub-Saharan Africa has been growing, yet growth is not the same as structural transformation. China's development trajectory since 1980 provides an example of how a government focused on modernization can marshal foreign capital and technology to assist in the reduction of poverty and economic transformation in manufacturing and agriculture. In Africa, China is largely seen as a competitor for local firms, primarily through imports. This competition can be devastating in some countries and some sectors, driving local firms out of business. Yet on the other hand, growing Chinese investment in African manufacturing and contract farming can also offer opportunities for joint ventures with local firms, training, and diffusion of more productive technologies. If this were to follow Asian experience, Chinese firms could be catalysts for local firms to move into manufactured exports, although they might also be footloose investors, moving on with only fleeting impact on local knowledge. In agriculture, Chinese investment might also be enclave, with little connection to local farmers - the picture presented in fears of "land grabbing" - or it might follow the pattern laid out by foreign investors in China, with out-growers, demonstration farms, and technology and skills transfers. Our earlier research suggested that Chinese firms are thinking strategically about backward linkages. For example, at least five Chinese shoe manufacturers we interviewed in 2009 had moved their shoe-making assembly lines to Nigeria, while still importing uppers and soles from China. In 2012, one company was in discussions with their Chinese supplier about moving to Nigeria to produce soles locally from Nigerian rubber. Similarly, we have identified Chinese contract farming investments and commercial agriculture projects with demonstration farms, advisers, and input supplies in places like Mali, Zimbabwe, and Malawi. This project will enable a more refined picture of the actual scope and impact of Chinese investment and the potential and experience of technology transfer in commercial agriculture and agro-industry. We will combine multiple methods: database construction, scoping studies, cluster surveys, a national survey, and eight paired, comparative case studies, following an approach tested in our earlier research on Chinese agro-industrial and commercial agriculture engagement in Ethiopia (2011-2014), and Chinese commercial agricultural investment in Zambia and Zimbabwe (2013). The scoping studies will allow us to better map existing Chinese (and other) investment in agro-industry and commercial agriculture, while the cluster surveys will provide an overview of existing linkages and opportunities for technology transfer. A further level of depth will be obtained through adding a technology-transfer module to two national surveys of manufacturers. Finally, eight in-depth, paired case studies will complement the survey research by using process-tracing to compare specific experiences of agro-industrial FDI and technology transfer in China, with Chinese and a similar non-Chinese experience in Africa. For example, we will study the institutional framework and approach that allowed the Thai firm CP Group to become China's largest foreign investor in the Chinese poultry industry, with significant technology spinoffs, and compare this with the spinoffs and technology transfer from significant Chinese and South African investors in Zambia's poultry industry (Zhongken Farm and Astral Foods). The output of the research will be a far more robust basis for analysis of the current and future possibilities for technology transfer in China's African investment, and guidelines for governments and development partners to derive maximum benefit from these opportunities. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

China (People's Republic of)

11042.03

33046.11

64088.759999999995

26865.55

11234.18

25989.03

11143.91

12236.22

9665.98

11042.03

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-ZE3DRYM-FGMLVUB-R6UZNJ9

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Chinese national oil companies and the economic development of African oil producers</narrative> This project will be the first to assess whether and how such developmental benefits may be occurring. We will start by investigating the Chinese NOCs and their relationships to key state and semi-private agencies in China, before undertaking field research in Africa. Important here are the complex 'packages' of aid, trade and investment in Africa through Chinese NOCs, banks and ministries. Chinese NOCs are active across Africa but three countries - Ghana, Angola and Sudan - represent different aspects of their engagement with the continent. These countries are also unique so these contextual differences allow us to examine the role that African agency plays in shaping the nature of and benefits from this new investment in their oil sectors. We will also assess their impacts and the extent to which the growth they generate - directly, through oil-backed infrastructure, and via state revenue - trickles down to Africa's poorest. Data collection will be both quantitative and qualitative; the former being data sets on Chinese FDI and African social indicators, and the latter interviews with key Chinese and African actors. To successfully carry out this data collection in countries and an industrial sector renowned for lacking transparency we will work with partners who have track-records of research in this area, and are embedded in key policy circles which will maximise the impact of our research. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

14204.35

42510.17

10187.88

14335.41

15740.54

12434.22

14204.35

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-ZE3DRYM-FGMLVUB-H689RMQ

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Natural Resources, Rural Poverty and China-Africa Trade: Equity and Sustainability in Informal Commodities Value Chains</narrative> This project addresses two key development challenges and opportunities concerning Africa's natural resource governance today: the growing informal commodity trade and engagement with China. It focuses on the impacts of Chinese actors in informal agriculture, mining and timber trade along two fast-developing trade corridors connected to the Indian Ocean. The first corridor is a transit route for commodities such as timber and minerals from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) through East Africa for export from Kenya. The second corridor links central southern Africa (Zambia and DRC's Katanga province to Beira port in Mozambique, from where agricultural products, timber and, increasingly minerals are exported). Examining the two trade routes that link Africa's informal natural resource sectors to the ever-growing Chinese market, this work will provide urgently needed insights on natural resource governance, global trade patterns, and the positive and deleterious effects of informal resource exploitation on local poverty and the natural environment. It builds on ongoing efforts by IIED and CIFOR in relation to these topics, expanding and deepening research in the area and using a well-connected policy network to achieve impact. Specifically, the research involves four work streams over the course of 36 months: i) value chain analysis of selected commodity chains with a particular focus on power dynamics and benefit distribution among actors, ii) political-economic analysis of regulatory and customary regimes governing the selected commodity trade, iii) environmental impacts analysis through land-use/land cover change and iv) cross-sector synthesis of the three sectors' findings and key policy lessons. The proposed research addresses all the objectives of the DFID-ESRC China and Africa Research Programme Call. First, it takes Africa's development challenges (the growing informal economy and depleting natural resource base) as starting points to examine Chinese engagement in the context of informal commodity trade. Envisioned as one of the first systematic examinations of micro-level Chinese activities in Africa's natural resource governance, this research will provide rigorous evidence and dispel misconceptions about Chinese trade and investment in Africa's informal economy. Second, it benefits economically-marginalized actors (such as rural resource users, women and youth not integrated in the formal economy) in the selected African countries by identifying opportunities and challenges for poverty alleviation and sustainable resource use associated with Africa's growing informal economy and China-Africa commodity trade Third, it confronts two cross-cutting themes: gender and fragile states through gender-disaggregated value chain and livelihoods analysis and inclusion of the DRC as a research site. Fourth, it supports national and international policymaking by generating an evidence-based body of knowledge strongly demanded by Chinese, African and international policymakers, businesses as well as rural African resource users - their requests for accurate information have been highlighted through the previous research, personal communications and policy engagement work by IIED, CIFOR, GEI and the African institutions (see Pathways to Impact). Finally, it adds to the development literature by extending and adopting existing methodologies to informal economy research - a field that is rapidly growing in importance for studying economic development in the global South. It also takes a multidisciplinary approach through environmental impact assessment using GIS remote sensing, which is critical to obtaining a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities associated with sustainable development. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

15547.32

30700.160000000003

35982.4

17090.33

13609.83

15547.32

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-ZE3DRYM-232EXSD-FWHW38Q

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Growth Research - Evidence and Policy Group (EPG) 2014-2020</narrative> The Evidence Policy Group (EPG) will provide over-arching strategic direction for the design of a coherent programme of activities designed to achieve three four key deliverables: • Ensure findings from the Programme’s research is effectively cohered, communicated and disseminated in ways which support their use by policy makers and practitioners, particularly in developing countries; • Establish and/or enhance a strong international profile for the research generated through the programmes; • Link research conducted through the Programme with outputs delivered by other relevant research initiatives funded by DFID and/or the ESRC and more generally with the relevant evidence base, to ensure policy makers can access DEGRP-generated evidence set in the context of other relevant evidence; • Build a reputation for the programme as a centre of social science research excellence in international development. Areas of responsibility To achieve these deliverables, the EPG will be responsible for designing and either undertaking or directing /commissioning activity across a number of inter-related areas set out below. For each area we have identified key outcomes and indicative outputs/ activities that will form the basis for setting specific targets for the EPG’s performance assessment following appointment. These are not listed in priority order and do not constitute a definitive statement of the scope of the EPG’s work: the EPG is expected to take a proactive approach to developing its own role in ways which support the successful achievement of its key deliverables.Overseas Development Institute (ODI) was commissioned to lead on the Evidence Policy Group (EPG) to drive towards ambitious to maximise impact of the research jointly funded by ESRC and DfID on policy and practice. Case studies and synthesis reports will conducted for the GROWTH programme Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

264090.57999999996

310778.64

245766.30000000002

172430.1

90508.0

81922.1

65012.34

81922.1

48174.24

52494.24

81500.0

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-ZE3DRYM-DQBG6EH-8BFVKF2

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Preparing Women for Leadership in Garment Production: Early Career Interventions</narrative> The overwhelming majority of the 4 million workers in the Bangladeshi garment sector are female, but managers at all levels are almost exclusively male. In a series of projects, we have examined the challenges of transitioning women into supervisory roles. The first of the projects was funded through the DfID-ESRC Growth Research Program (ES/J009466/1). Our research has helped factories select better female candidates for supervisory positions, helped training providers hone the content of their training, and led to an increase in female supervisors in the sector. Long-term follow-up data from 44 project factories indicates that the percentage of female supervisors doubled from four percent to over eight percent between 2016 and 2017. In this project, we aim to build on both the momentum toward female leadership and the lessons learned from the earlier research to help training providers deliver more effective training over a longer training window, while preparing women for leadership positions from an early point in their careers. We will evaluate a pilot training program that aims to intervene earlier in the women's career in the sector, with training spread over a longer period of time. We aim to understand if the earlier and more sustained intervention induces women to invest more in the skills necessary to be effective supervisors; increases their confidence when they are working as supervisors; increases retention rates in the factory and sector; and makes them more effective supervisors after they are promoted. We will work with factories to identify candidates for the training program and work with trainers to customise a training program covering both soft skills - leadership, communication and confidence - and hard skills - line balancing, performance measurement, etc. Training will be spread over a period of one year, with half-day sessions fortnightly. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Bangladesh

16117.94

5012.7

16117.94

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-ZE3DRYM-DQBG6EH-JM2AQEC

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>LEARNING TO MANAGE THE FACTORY FLOOR IN ETHIOPIA: SKILLS, WORK CULTURES AND ORGANIZATIONAL CAPABILITIES IN ETHIOPIA'S LIGHT MANUFACTURING</narrative> The initial 2015-2019 project focused primarily on the experiences and working conditions of unskilled and semi-skilled workers, i.e. the bulk of workers employed by companies in the construction and manufacturing sectors. However, our qualitative research and interviews with factory managers stressed the equal importance of skilled and management labour force for the success of these industries. These interviews corroborated the importance of and constraints in finding and retaining high-quality local managers for factory floor operations. This is consistent with similar findings from other studies of industrialization in developing countries and diagnostic research by ILO in Ethiopia. We there propose to extend our current research to deepen the understanding of the current and past experiences of existing and especially new emerging industrial firms in finding, developing and retaining a skilled and managerial workforce, in order to improve the sustainability of the firm in the country and labour relations at the workplace. We will ask questions and do qualitative research about the constraints on hiring and retaining Ethiopian managers and the processes of skill transfer that have worked best to incorporate this labour force at the factory floor level. We will also compile relevant data from existing datasets emerging from other studies that have been conducted in the last 5 years in Ethiopia. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Ethiopia

15331

5362.71

15331.0

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-ZE3DRYM-DQBG6EH-DW75R9V

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Does information provision foster or hinder the effectiveness of microcredit for human capital investments?</narrative> The proposed research is designed to contribute to filling this gap by gaining a deeper understanding of the role of information provision in hindering, or fostering the effectiveness of microcredit for human capital investments. Microcredit - small, usually collateral-free loans given to households in low-income countries - has been much studied and their ability in relaxing poor households' credit constraints to allow them to invest in entrepreneurial activities and cope with adverse events acknowledged. More recently, microcredit has also been shown to be effective in fostering human capital investments particularly preventive health investments such as bednets, water connections and toilets, supporting the emerging trends of private enterprises increasingly taking a role in solving social and environmental problems; and in growing numbers of investors seeking to make financial investments that produce significant social or environmental benefits. Microcredit programs often ensure high loan repayment through joint liability - groups of borrowers are liable for each other's loans, and thus monitor each other. However, this feature could influence the take-up and use of microloans for human capital investments, since financial returns to such investments take time to be realised. Acknowledging that poor awareness of the existence of social programs could hinder take-up of these programs, awareness creation campaigns have become an essential component of the roll-out of new policy initiatives. However, such campaigns typically deliver multiple messages, which could inadvertently lead to recipients taking away a message that is contrary to that intended by the program designers, implying that information campaigns could backfire and hinder the adoption of human capital investments. We are in the unique position to research such unintended consequence and their mechanisms by building on an interesting puzzle that emerged from a previously conducted study. In particular, we found that providing information alongside microcredit for human capital investment (sanitation), led to a similar increase in loan uptake on average as the provision of sanitation microloans only, but it resulted in fewer clients using the loan for household toilets, contrary to our original hypothesis. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

India

12936.45

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-ZE3DRYM-DQBG6EH-UKTMLWU

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Explaining Patterns of Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa</narrative> This project will explore the drivers of these patterns in Africa. We will use updated data to assess whether the patterns of growth observed in Diao et al. (2017) hold in more recent years and in more African countries. We will then apply the theoretical model from Diao et al. (2017) to explore the drivers of these patterns. The model theorizes that the East Asian growth is consistent with supply shocks caused by productivity growth within nonagricultural sectors. On the other hand, it suggests that patterns observed in Africa may be driven by demand side factors. As demand increases (possibly from foreign transfers or increasing agricultural incomes), the nonagricultural sector expands, and growth-promoting structural change takes place. At the same time, labor productivity in the nonagricultural sector is driven down, producing the observed trends. Part of this decline in nonagricultural sector productivity may be due to an expansion of informal sector activity and an influx of unproductive firms; however, it may also be caused by poor performance of the formal sector. These alternate possibilities have very different policy implications. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South of Sahara, regional

16696.41

13299.98

16696.41

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-ZE3DRYM-DQBG6EH-NLMDE42

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Financial contracts, small firm growth, and job creation: experimental evidence from Uganda</narrative> We examine how key aspects of the most common form of financing-debt-may inhibit young firms' expansion. Starting a business entails learning and risk taking, implying that project returns to investment can start low but increase over time (in other words, be "backloaded") or be uncertain. Also, indivisible start-up costs often require large investments. Meanwhile, standard debt contracts available for micro-entrepreneurs from the formal or semi-formal financial sectors of many developing countries (such as microfinance) stipulate a constant repayment stream and caps on the initial loan size. The interaction of such features of the loan contract and the firm's production technology, may distort investment toward inputs that involve less learning, less uncertainty, and smaller projects; hampering firm growth. To shed light on the extent to which these theoretical mechanisms limit the effectiveness of microloans, we plan to collaborate with BRAC Uganda's Small Enterprise Lending Program to study the effect of the credit terms on starting firms' input use, profits, and repayment performance. As such, our project contributes to the DFID-ESRC Growth Research Programme's focus on Finance and Growth in Low Income Countries. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Uganda

16683.72

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-ZE3DRYM-232EXSD-HHE7GEP

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Growth Research - Synthesis reports 2016</narrative> The funders wish to commission a number of short (c 20 pages) reports, to include a stand-alone summary, which synthesise the emerging evidence from the programme to date. While it is essential that the reports are based on academically rigorous analysis, they will be aimed primarily at the policy community and other interested users and written in appropriately accessible language. The reports would be expected to: • summarise emerging evidence from the DEGRP research conducted to date within a workable thematic organising framework (see below); • set this evidence in the context of the existing research landscape, identifying, for example, where established findings are confirmed or challenged by new research; • highlight the resulting implications for policy and, where appropriate, for the future research agenda in the relevant area. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

19252.99

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-ANXG7E6-QDB4JW3

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Is Clash of Institutions a Cause of Rural Poverty?</narrative> The present research is a cooperation between anthropologists and economists intended to ensure a rounded approach to the full range of institutions at play in determining poverty and poverty-alleviation. The work will be done in a conflict-recovery region because war often leads to the collapse of institutional arrangements, and post-war recovery reveals how prior institutional arrangements are rebuilt or new ones devised, and whether old (or new) clashes re-ignite. The idea of an institution as "rules of the game" is the key to our research strategy, since we deploy an experimental methodology based on games devised by both disciplines to test key hypotheses concerning institutional behaviour. We run these games with village populations to assess (through statistical means) whether and to what extent institutional values clash - e.g. whether patronage relations inhibit profit maximizing behaviour. We then work with participants to develop a reflexive understanding of the institutional values in play, where conflict exists, and where it could be eased, especially to the benefit of the poorest and most marginalized groups. We think the results will be important to a wide range of stakeholders, starting with village participants, but also to civil society groups, development agencies and government policy makers implementing post-war recovery and reform programmes, and to entrepreneurs seeking to provide new services such as seed supply and rural banking. The work will be done in Sierra Leone and cross-border communities in Liberia and Guinea - a heavily war-affected region. There will be case studies on land, labour, seeds and rural credit. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

37356.29

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-JFYQZG3-MYGM9SY

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>A Comparative Analysis of the Documentation of Torture and Ill-Treatment in Low-Income Countries</narrative> In many Low Income Countries (LICs), violence is endemic. Among urban populations, the poor are the most vulnerable to torture and ill-treatment. They are also the least able to access forms of accountability. As such, the documentation of torture and ill-treatment can play a key role in improving access to justice and human security. However, recent research demonstrates that routine torture and ill-treatment is difficult to document. In addition, the instruments used for the documentation of torture and ill-treatment assume a level of institutional capacity that is often not available in LICs. They are relatively weak at identifying forms of torture and ill-treatment that are not already reported to NGOs or public bodies. There is therefore a need to develop techniques that can be effectively used to document torture and ill-treatment in situations with limited clinical and legal resources. This project has three key objectives. A. A comparative analysis of the challenges faced by those attempting to document torture and ill-treatment in LICs. B. The development of a survey technique for the documentation of torture and ill-treatment. C. The development of policy recommendations for the most effective methods for the documentation of torture and ill-treatment in LICs. The broader objectives of the research is to contribute to wider debates about the most effective ways to document violence and to help marginalised populations enforce accountability. Structural inequalities and poverty have a key impact on both the vulnerability of marginal populations to state violence, and their ability to seek redress. Case studies will be drawn from three countries: Kenya, Bangladesh and Nepal. All three countries have histories of state led violence and urban poverty. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

7752.2

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-JFYQZG3-AMVUY6T

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>How Can Technology Improve Learning? Information Technology, Education and Welfare in Niger</narrative> Our research team ran a successful randomized evaluation in Niger in 2009-2011 (Project ABC) and showed that a mobile phone-enhanced adult education program improved literacy and math skills of adult education participants by 19-25 s.d., equivalent to an additional year of education (Aker et al 2012). This difference remains significant over time, even as learning depreciates. Building upon the successful pilot program, this research will provide rigorous evidence on the impacts of adult education programs on educational and socio-economic outcomes in Niger. Yet more importantly, this research will assess the extent to which information technology - in particular, mobile phones -- can affect learning outcomes and households' asset ownership, ability to deal with shocks and farm and off-farm earnings. This will be achieved by including two variations of the basic education intervention. The first variation will teach students in the basic adult education course how to use mobile phones, similar to a previous pilot program in Niger. The second intervention will also provide educational content to adult learners via short message service (SMS), thereby allowing us to measure the extent to which information technology can be used as a distance-learning tool. In addition to its impacts on adult learning, this research will also investigate the extent to which adult education influences parents' investments in children's educational outcomes and which education affects intra-household and intra-village decision-making. And finally, since the research will be conducted in an expanded study population (250 villages, as compared with 117 in the pilot), we will be able to assess the scalability of the approach, thus allowing us to directly address the first overarching research question set out in this call for proposal ("What approaches are most effective in enabling the poorest to exit and stay out of poverty, and under what conditions can such approaches be replicated elsewhere and at scale?") Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Niger (the)

1727.1

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-JFYQZG3-FH2RA5Q

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Engaging teachers in peacebuilding in postconflict contexts: evaluating education interventions in Rwanda and South Africa</narrative> This research seeks to answer the question: To what extent do education and peacebuilding interventions in the two countries promote teacher agency and capacity to build peace and reduce inequalities? The proposed study is anchored within the third of the overarching questions of this call, and aimed at understanding the conditions under which education interventions focused on teachers can promote peace, and mitigate and reduce violence with a view to identifying measures and processes that can increase the effectiveness of such programmes in conflict-affected situations. The research seeks to critically evaluate a series of programme interventions aimed at improving and enhancing the peacebuilding role of teachers through a multi-scalar, mixed method study that seeks to link the everyday practices of teachers in conflict affected contexts with the local, national and global actors and factors that shape their practices and behaviour. South Africa and Rwanda have been selected because both countries have emerged peacefully out of intense and violent conflict in the 1990s and now have two decades of postconflict experience to draw from. Secondly, they have been important sites for a range of postconflict interventions in the education sector, and in particular on teacher related interventions. Thirdly, they allow for a comparison of similar interventions across two countries which have since 1994 has put in place important policy interventions to promote peace and social cohesion which warrant close scrutiny. Fourthly, both countries enable examination of the complex interrelationship between inequality and peace and social cohesion in education. The overarching aim of the study is to identify elements of education policy interventions that have enabled teachers to become active agents of peacebuilding in postconflict countries and that may inform future interventions. These objectives will be achieved through an empirically grounded evaluation of the nature, implementation, and impact of large-scale interventions that are designed to support teachers as peace-builders in schools in postconflict contexts. We will look at specifically at interventions focusing on teachers, found in both South Africa and Rwanda, including interventions related to 1) Teacher training 2) Teacher recruitment, deployment and management 3) Teacher performance and practices 4) Curriculum and textbook reform. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South of Sahara, regional

14819.57

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-JFYQZG3-XSS973S

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Large development investment and local peacebuilding in rural Africa: building and sustaining peace at the margins.</narrative> Across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), many of the largest development projects currently underway are in remote rural areas. These include the £15 billion Lamu-South Sudan-Ethiopian Transport Corridor Project, which will connect a new port facility at Lamu on the Kenyan coast with northern Kenya, Ethiopia and South Sudan through rail and road links as well as an oil pipeline and related refinery capacity. In the interior of Sierra Leone, a UK-Chinese consortium has launched a multi-billion pound operation in the Tonkolili mining complex, one of the world's largest defined reserves of iron ore. These projects are part of a modern scramble for Africa's land and resources and entail unprecedented levels of new investment. They are often in marginal rural areas that were long neglected by states and have a legacy of conflict and violence. The vast majority living at the rural margins have been only minimally captured by market and state institutions and instead rely on informal relations and institutions to promote peace and regulate land and resource access. While it is widely assumed that big development will transform the lives and livelihoods of rural populations, there are many examples that large development investment can be deeply destabilising and actually lead to new violence while doing little to create new jobs, spur local entrepreneurship or promote peace. This project relates to the third theme of the call that is concerned with how to minimise the risk of violence and its impacts on the poor. It examines how and why local peacebuilding efforts succeed in minimising violence in contexts where there are large new investments, focusing on the remote rural areas of Kenya and Sierra Leone. Through rigorous fieldwork in different settings of local politics and governance in northern Kenya and northern Sierra Leone, it tests the assumption that efforts to reduce the threat of violence and its impacts on the poor are more likely to succeed where they support local institutions and relations to build and sustain peace. A combination of methods will be used including a survey of households in the study sites, semi-structured interviews as well as informal discussions and interactions to develop a nuanced understanding of the institutions and relations that communities use to solve their problems and negotiate for better outcomes. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South of Sahara, regional

12527.42

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-JFYQZG3-YFBJH7E

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Basic Entrepreneurship: A Means for Transforming the Economic Lives of the Poor?</narrative> The proposed research examines a new set of interventions, pioneered by the world's largest NGO BRAC in Bangladesh, which simultaneously tackle the capital and skills constraint in an attempt to encourage occupational change amongst the world's poorest women. We use randomised control trials of this type of program in Bangladesh, Pakistan and India to look at whether providing capital and skills can encourage basic entrepreneurship. The issue at hand is whether one can create successful female entrepreneurs - who acquire skills and make use of productive capital - out of poor women who started out with neither. Key to this question is whether asset and skill transfers can induce the poor to alter their occupational choices and permanently exit poverty, as opposed to simply enabling them to increase their consumption in the short term. These questions are highly salient as the world is littered with examples of anti-poverty programs, which despite their best intentions, fail to have any appreciable impact on their intended beneficiaries. The proposed research thus speaks directly to the first overarching question posed in the ESRC-DFID Joint Fund for Poverty Alleviation Research 2012-13 on finding effective means to allow the poorest to exit and stay out of poverty. It also addresses directly the crosscutting issues on structural inequalities (particularly as regards gender) and measurement and metrics (particularly as regards measuring empowerment and the social dynamics and general equilibrium effects induced by the program). Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

9154.79

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-JFYQZG3-3V3LGEJ

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Choice, constraints and the gender dynamics of labour markets in Bangladesh</narrative> The aim of this project is to explore the changing gender dynamics of labour markets in the specific context of Bangladesh. Bangladesh provides a particularly salient context for such research. Described as a 'test case for development' in the early years of its independence and as an extreme form of patriarchy, the country has experienced moderate rates of both growth and poverty reduction as well as considerable progress on gender equality in education and health. Quantitative studies from the Bangladesh context have suggested that access to paid work serves to promote women's empowerment (as measured by a range of indicators) while qualitative research testifies to the value that women themselves place on access to employment opportunities. Despite this, women's labour market activity remains low and largely concentrated in unpaid family labour and home-based self employment. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Bangladesh

13834.93

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-JFYQZG3-UMQZDXB

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Parliamentary effectiveness: public engagement for poverty reduction in Bangladesh and Ethiopia</narrative> We focus on "pre-emptive" approaches, which aim to restrict grants of such patents (rather than rely on litigation to invalidate patents after they issue). Pre-emptive measures have been widely promoted by analysts and international organizations. While countries' rights to adopt such measures are an acknowledged "flexibility" in the international patent regime, and while academics and development agencies encourage actively countries to take advantage of these flexibilities in designing national laws and institutions, little is known about what countries are adopting what sorts of measures, and to what effect. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

13394.07

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-JFYQZG3-MZG8SUU

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Impact of Urban-rural Return Migration on Rural Economic Development in China----With Implications for Vietnam</narrative> This research will investigate impact of urban-rural return migration on rural economic development in China and how results are transferable to China's neighbouring country Vietnam. It will investigate ways that returnees contribute to local rural economy, their decision-making process, and key institutions and policies affecting their entrepreneurial activities. Variations between groups, across time and places will also be examined using a retrospective longitudinal multi-level approach. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Asia, regional

6949.26

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-67RW67V-TLGSBAH

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Economic Recovery in Post-Conflict Cities: the Role of the Urban Informal Economy</narrative> The research explores the role of the urban informal economy (IE) in poverty-reduction and peace-building in post-conflict cities, and its scope to provide livelihoods for the extreme poor and a platform for economic recovery. With a focus on urban areas in post-civil war settings, and on cities affected by protest or on-going turf wars, the research explores the complex drivers of conflict and links to the IE, the structural and individual factors that support/inhibit growth of the IE, and the role of local government (LG) in post-conflict economic recovery. Political upheaval or violent conflict is often characterised by a fundamental failure of governance and economic collapse. An immediate impact of crisis may be the destruction of livelihoods and local economies, leading to insecurity, poverty, and hunger, which in turn exacerbates insecurity and rights violations. A further problem is the failure of local governance and the provision of basic services in conflict-affected settings. Working in the IE is an important coping strategy in such contexts. Worldwide, the contribution of urban informal enterprises to GDP and jobs is substantial. Even when political stability is assured informality remains a structural characteristic of low-income economies, yet local and international policies see the IE only as a temporary solution. Post-conflict strategies should thus foster the IE, rather than dismiss its potential. Post-conflict recovery is a long and cyclical process and the research is based on case studies of cities with different drivers of conflict, those facing current unrest and those which have made a transition from conflict. The five case study cities have different experiences of conflict, including 'institutional' struggles for state control (Cairo and Kathmandu), 'economic' conflict over control of resources (Monrovia), 'social/political' control (Karachi) and 'emergent governance' (Hargeisa). Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

28639.98

36333.39

14199.75

6056.57

5032.42

3351.24

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-67RW67V-5Y2MFBZ

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Does 'shame-proofing' anti-poverty programmes improve their effectiveness? Theory of change and impact policy evaluation in cross-national settings</narrative> Our ESRC/DFID funded research (RES-167-25-0557) suggested that shame associated with poverty is ubiquitous and structural being imposed by others in their dealings with people in poverty. Shame may serve to perpetuate poverty through eroding individual agency, while policies that stigmatise could be counterproductive in adding to the debilitating effects of shame. This research has proved very influential, spawning replications and adding poverty-related shame to the topics covered by the ESRC 'Understanding Society' study, following the successful inclusion of questions in the ESRC 'Poverty and Social Exclusion in the UK' survey. It also led directly to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) including the principle of governments having respect for the rights and dignity of social protection recipients in Recommendation 202 on social protection approved in 2012. The UN has cited the research to support its guiding principles on extreme poverty and human rights. However, while the previous research yielded a model hypothesising how shame and stigma might exacerbate poverty, the research was not designed to provide evidence of casual relationships. Hence, new research is proposed to rectify this omission by testing the effectiveness of social protection policies that have been 'shame-proofed' against those which have not. The robustness of the test is much enhanced by simultaneous replication in Uganda, India and China; each evaluation is sensitive to local circumstances, but shaped by a common theoretical framework with a core of standardised measures and comparable methods. In Uganda, theory of change evaluation, which employs diagnostic techniques to examine whether underlying logic of the policy works in practice, is combined with impact evaluation to measure the relative effectiveness (and value for money) of shame-proofing. Theory of change evaluations will be conducted in China and India with the prospect of impact evaluations being added with financial support from the ILO. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

4826.55

95.85

4826.55

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-67RW67V-VTM2K5V

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Poverty Alleviation in the Wake of Typhoon Yolanda</narrative> This project will monitor the effectiveness of the typhoon Yolanda relief efforts in the Philippines in relation to building sustainable routes out of poverty. This project will focus on urban population risk, vulnerability to disasters and resilience in the aftermath of these shocks. Urban slum dwellers are extremely vulnerable to natural disasters. The key themes of the project are vulnerability, risk, resilience and shocks in relation to paths in and out of poverty. Lessons learned from our research will be highly relevant to post-disaster reconstruction efforts in Low Income Countries, specifically within densely populated urban areas. These communities are amongst the most at risk and yet least able to resurrect themselves after disasters. Governance in the Philippines is devolved through a system of Local Government Units (LGUs), i.e. provinces, cities and municipalities. LGUs are further sub-divided into barangays that are the smallest administrative unit in the Philippines run by elected officials. The organization of LGUs and barangays offers a convenient mechanism against which poverty alleviation strategies can be measured across time and space. The performance of selected LGUs and barangays can be tracked over time and against each other over space to investigate which units perform more effectively and why. Vulnerability and risk are conditions that are heightened by poverty. Vulnerability and risk inform why and how poor people are exposed to natural disasters whilst resilience informs how they coped and how coping strategies can be supported and risk lessened. We will contribute to capacity building in relation to these themes at both the local level and LICs that face similar conditions. We will measure resilience over time and to test the extent to which the notion of 'Building Back Better' is credible. Our research will focus on the following research question in relation to the aftermath of typhoon Yolanda: 'What factors shape pathways into and out of poverty and people's experience of these, and how can policy create sustained routes out of extreme poverty in ways that can be replicated and scaled up?' Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Philippines (the)

10079.91

41.46

4227.75

3512.85

2339.31

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-67RW67V-VT96PEP

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Female labour supply and the escape from poverty: new evidence from household data</narrative> This study will utilize household survey data from 4 African and Asian countries (Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Pakistan and Rwanda) to examine in depth and on a comparable basis the evolving nature of female labour supply in low income countries over the past 2-3 decades, and to analyse how this has been associated with poverty reduction. We address primarily research question 1 from the call for proposals, the factors enabling households to escape from or stay out of poverty, although institutional factors (question 2) also play an important role in this analysis. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

3515.33

7993.1

3515.33

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-67RW67V-JKR5756

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>SMS Africa: Social Media and Security in Africa</narrative> The project aims to provide a timely understanding of the role social media plays in documenting and driving (in)security in East and West Africa. As more people connect to social media in Africa, their expectations for real-time information is changing, especially in terms of security. This is leading those charged with community safety to alter their ways of interacting with the public, posing new challenges concerning the rapid flow of (mis)information. At the same time it creates opportunities for security sector agencies to engage more directly with the public in providing security-related information, and potentially offers new prospects for an improved cooperative relationship in enhancing community safety. The project works towards the goal of reducing the insecurity that contributes to poverty. It corresponds to question 3 of the call concerning measures that can be taken to reduce the risks and impact of violence and instability that affect the poor. We have 4 research questions 1) Who are the key stakeholders in relation to social media and security in the case study countries, and who is being excluded? 2) How is social media being used by authorities responsible for community safety to reduce the risks and impact of violence and instability? 3) In what ways can social media be used to increase security or perceptions of security? 4) How can social media serve as an early warning of tensions that threaten security? Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South of Sahara, regional

26096.940000000002

17049.38

12898.45

5546.1

4608.26

3044.13

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-67RW67V-XD2VNFT

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>At the end of the feeder road: assessing the impact of track construction for motorbike taxis on agrarian development in Liberia</narrative> This research will answer questions which directly fall under the remit of 2 of the 3 research questions of the ESRC-DFID Poverty Alleviation Research call, focusing on 'factors shaping pathways into and out of poverty ...' and 'measures that can be taken to reduce the risks and impact of violence and instability on the poorest...'. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Liberia

8555.5

-10227.79

4228.57

1818.21

1510.75

997.97

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-67RW67V-58FMV8P

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Social cash transfers, generational relations and youth poverty trajectories in rural Lesotho and Malawi</narrative> The proposal addresses the call question: What factors shape pathways into and out of poverty and people's experience of these, and how can policy create sustained routes out of extreme poverty in ways that can be replicated and scaled up? It focuses on two countries that have instituted contrasting SCTs in the past decade: Lesotho (social pensions and child grants) and Malawi (SCTs to ultra-poor labour constrained households). Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South of Sahara, regional

19080.4

10364.2

23795.35

10364.2

9443.92

4060.71

3346.94

2228.83

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-67RW67V-GD35L4V

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Turning livelihoods to rubbish? Assessing the impacts of formalization and technologization of waste management on the urban poor</narrative> The research will look at four interventions in South Africa: i) The technologization of waste and opposition from informal recyclers and environmentalists. We do this through an examination of opposition to an incinerator based on the claim that recycling is better for the environment and the poor. ii) The internationalisation of waste finance. We will study a group of actors trying to harness international climate finance to fund this development. iii) Inner city formalization and criminalization of waste collection. The vision of many policy makers and business interests of a 'proper city' often contrasts with the way that informal workers use the city. In trying to establish this vision, informal workers are often excluded from the city, however, many oppose such removals. iv) Cooperative governance for waste management. A government-funded waste awareness campaign seeks to develop partnerships with communities and businesses to improve waste management. However, community participation has challenged the framing of win-win solutions, pushing for greater consideration of social and political concerns. In each case, we seek to understand competing claims over what waste is, who should benefit from its management, and how decisions are made to allocate costs and benefits. We will also examine how changing political and institutional conditions shape different actors' abilities to garner benefits from waste and achieve sustainable pathways out of poverty. This has direct policy implications, as the work will inform policy-makers regarding what types of waste interventions can improve conditions for the urban poor as well as build capacity with waste workers regarding effective strategies for asserting claims to the benefits of waste. Theoretically, we use an urban political ecology framework which draws attention to questions of social justice, inequality, and the connection between political economy and everyday material lives. We situate our research in the context of Southern theory which seeks to understand Southern cities on their own terms, not through theories developed in the Global North. We seek to learn from South Africa because many patterns here are indicative of future possibilities and challenges for other cities in the Global South. Consumption is growing as incomes rise for the middle and upper class, and inequality increases. While problematic in many ways, this polarisation creates opportunities for waste collection. Additionally, South Africa already has progressive regulation, but this results in competing mandates. It suggests that more is needed than simply passing more policies. Finally, South Africa is in many ways at the forefront of technological innovation, but there is a growing trend towards the use of high tech solutions throughout the Global South. For these reasons, there are many lessons which can be learned in South Africa which will have a wider impact. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South Africa

20126.49

10932.42

-16398.93

10932.42

9961.68

4283.34

3530.44

2351.03

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-67RW67V-PAUZUMP

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Political Settlement in Somaliland: a gendered perspective</narrative> Recent research recognises the importance of political settlements -ongoing, adaptable political processes- in determining the equitability of development and the level of stability in societies. However, little research on political settlements analyses the different roles that women and men play in determining a given settlement. Political settlements themselves frequently and systemically exclude women, despite the fact that they are the majority in post-conflict situations, and high levels of gender inequality and violence against women and girls (VAWG) make local instability more likely. It is thus critical that policy makers understand both specific settlements and their gender dimensions, so that development interventions can be designed in a way that works within and on them to enhance equitable and consequently more sustainable development. This would reduce the risks and impact of violence and instability, increasing the effectiveness of interventions in fragile states. This project focuses on Somaliland as an excellent case for analysis of power relationships between formal and informal actors in a relatively stable environment, but with strong applicability across a wider area: the Somali Horn of Africa, and with insights that are also useful elsewhere. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Somalia

4725.58

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-67RW67V-5XF78UC

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Understanding and supporting sustained pathways out of extreme poverty and deprivation</narrative> Getting to Zero' extreme poverty involves ensuring that the policies, institutions and politics are right for the poorest people to escape poverty. As the reduction in the global number of people in poverty illustrates, there are widespread stories of success. We know much about how, and why, some households escape poverty and others do not. We know less, though, about what happens to those individuals and households after they escape poverty, and why some are able to stay on an upward trajectory well away from the poverty line, while others escape poverty only to be thrust back again into it after a few years or less. This research addresses the first two of the overarching call questions. The first is: 'what factors shape pathways into and out of poverty and people's experience of these, and how can policy create sustained routes out of extreme poverty in ways that can be replicated and scaled up?' The second: 'what political and institutional conditions are associated with effective poverty reduction and development, and what can domestic and external actors do to promote these conditions?' Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South of Sahara, regional

14719.35

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-R5GJUJ3-265A8H6

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Insecurity and Uncertainty: Marginalised young people's living rights in fragile and conflict affected situations in Nepal and Ethiopia</narrative> The research will generate new knowledge about youth understandings of uncertainty, violence, poverty and rights. It will provide insights into how to support and sustain pathways out of poverty for street connected and marginalised youth. The research is timely as it will inform the implementation of the UN's sustainable development goals, in which inequality is a key theme. The overall aim of the research is to generate new knowledge about how marginalised youth perceive, navigate, negotiate and respond to uncertainty and how this may affect their rights and pathways out of poverty in impoverished fragile and conflict affected communities, which may also be prone to natural disasters. The relationship between poverty and uncertainty will be examined in Ethiopia and Nepal in partnership with CHADET and ActionAid Nepal, organisations that have demonstrated their local expertise in working with the most marginalised children and youth on poverty, rights and participation. The objectives of the research are informed by Bauman's theories about communities and autonomy that that have not previously been applied to conceptualise how marginalised youth experience uncertainty, poverty and their rights in fragile and conflict affected developing country contexts. The objectives will enable the project to produce new knowledge about the way vulnerable and marginalised street connected youth experience poverty as they grow up, and how this is affected by conflict, violence, instability, peer groups and migration. The new insights will have direct impact on the practices of policy organisations that address poverty through initiatives for youth education and rights. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

13058.839999999998

-988.76

5902.9

4904.73

3239.97

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-R5GJUJ3-UEKFTS5

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

42703.22

37162.69

11978.56

68.19

30656.47

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-R5GJUJ3-Z93J8MY

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Can financial products reduce poverty and vulnerability? Experimental evidence from Benin on the impact of access to saving accounts and microcredit.</narrative> Microcredit and microsavings are of great interest given that the vast majority of populations in LDCs have little if no access to formal finance. Most individuals in Benin use informal saving or lending mechanisms; informal due to the lack of any binding legal arrangement. In the absence of formal finance many Beninese resort to rotating savings and credit associations (ROSCAs). Participation in ROSCAs is costly and no interest is earned. Their members also bear the risk of default by other members, which frequently leads to financial loss and the breakdown of groups. ROSCA members have less flexibility in saving than they would on their own, since the group-determined contribution level is likely to differ from their individual optimal saving rate. Despite these constraints, ROSCAs enjoy popularity and are pervasive in LDCs. One can speculate that access to more secure and reliable formal financial products could lead to significant improvement in people's ability to save and invest and would reduce the impact associated with shocks the poor face on a near daily basis. To carry out our comparative analysis, we will offer access to microcredit and microsavings to different samples of individuals. This will allow to: 1) Analyse what drives the demand for these financial devices and enhance our understanding of the poor's motivations for saving and investing. 2) Compare the effectiveness of microcredit vs. microsavings and examine whether formal financial services are more effective in helping individuals to escape poverty than ROSCAs. Our proposal thus directly addresses the Overarching Question 1 of the present Call. 3) Investigate subsidiary effects of formal finance on consumption patterns and the use of informal finance. Does formal finance help in reducing expenditures on luxury/frivolous items? Do the poor manage better to avoid falling into a debt trap with or without formal finance? Is formal finance driving people out of ROSCAs? 4) Analyse the resulting investments and their sustainability in two crucial dimensions: education and health. These are known to crucially impact long-term poverty. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Benin

17322.98

16840.739999999998

-9357.31

7402.36

42.14

9396.24

8561.91

3681.46

3058.94

2020.67

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-R5GJUJ3-ZBS7GHV

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>A Behavioural Economic Analysis of Reproductive Health in Burkina Faso and Tanzania</narrative> Our research aims to generate new insights that explain the low or inadequate uptake of reproductive health services in sub-Saharan Africa. By applying a behavioural economics lens to reproductive health and engaging African researchers as full research partners in this research we will not only make an important academic contribution; we will also build up research capacity in an area in which expertise is still limited. The generated knowledge would then be used to identify and test innovations to existing reproductive health initiatives that would increase the uptake of the services offered. Engaging policy-makers and practitioners in this research would increase the effectiveness of policies and ultimately benefit the lives of poor people. More specifically, we envisage the following groups of beneficiaries from the findings of our research: 1. Development economists, experimental economists and social scientists in development studies, gender and reproductive health. They will benefit from our research for the reasons given in the section Academic Beneficiaries. We intend to publish about six papers in top academic journals in the fields mentioned and present our findings widely at appropriate academic seminars and conferences. 2. Researchers in Burkina Faso and Tanzania in an area that is fast-growing, but in which expertise is still very limited: behavioural development economics. To this end, we will engage researchers from both African research partners in co-production of knowledge to reach the full potential of the proposed research, and we plan to employ and thoroughly train large teams of local assistants in the use of experimental methods. We also expect the new expertise to spread beyond the African research institutes, via existing local collaborations (for example Centre MURAZ collaborates with Africsanté; and MITU with Ifakara Institute). 3. Public and private providers of reproductive health services in Burkina Faso and Tanzania. Through providing new insights in the low or inadequate uptake of reproductive health services and testing innovations to existing initiatives, our proposed research can lead to the improved design of existing policies and initiatives. 4. International development organisations involved in research and advocacy for combating poverty and stimulating gender equality and reproductive health (such as the United Nations' UN Women, United Nations Population Fund, United Nations Development Programme, World Health Organisation and the World Bank, EngenderHealth, Marie Stopes International) as well as international organisations or networks of organisations that translate research into useful information for policymakers (e.g. Population Reference Bureau, the Population and Poverty Research Network). Our research should help predict responses to policy interventions that these organisations recommend or implement, and could therefore help modify/sharpen their recommendations or increase the effectiveness of their interventions. 5. The final beneficiaries of our research will be women and their future children in the developing world who - if the tested innovations to reproductive health initiatives are successful - will have better reproductive health. This will reduce maternal mortality and morbidity, increase women's control about their fertility, increase their economic participation, and lower the poverty of their households and children. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South of Sahara, regional

28683.27

26523.54

29386.15

10903.24

62.07

15558.23

14176.75

6095.74

5064.97

3345.81

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-R5GJUJ3-QVESZ85

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>A comparative study of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of alternative poverty eradication interventions in extremely poor areas of Northern Ghana</narrative> The study will assess effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of three poverty reduction programmes implemented in deprived areas of Northern Ghana, which share the goal of eradicating poverty over the long term by unlocking poverty traps: 1) the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme implemented by the Government of Ghana, a cash transfer programme targeted to extremely poor households; 2) the SADA-Millennium Village Project implemented by the Earth Institute, consisting of a package of interventions directed to address multiple failures in the health, education and production domains; 3) the BRAC-inspired Poverty graduation programme implemented by local NGOs, which targets the poorest of the poor and provides households with a productive asset grant, cash consumption support, and other services. The research has three main goals. First, we intend to inform choices between alternative poverty eradication programmes. This information will particularly benefit the funders and the implementers of the projects considered, but the lessons learned will have a wider application to similar projects implemented in low-income countries. Second, we intend to make a methodological contribution by developing methods of cost-effectiveness analysis of complex interventions. These methods are currently under-developed and no obvious methodology exist to account for the complexity of the institutional environments, the presence of synergies among different project components, and the presence of economies of scale when interventions are scaled up. Third, we intend to improve our understanding of poverty by investigating the mechanisms underlying extreme poverty and by analysing under what conditions specific interventions can unlock poverty traps. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Ghana

21003.92

11409.02

10395.97

4470.08

3684.35

2453.52

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-R5GJUJ3-G8ETECQ

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Towards a Relational Approach to Agency for Mapping Pathways Into and Out of Poverty</narrative> Global poverty looks radically different in the 21st century as climate-related events, political-religious conflicts and economic growth-inequality nexuses add to persistent forms of social exclusion based on gender, race, and class. In this uncertain and unpredictable context, we require new approaches to understand complex pathways into and out of poverty, directing attention to poor people's collective capacity to bring about transformative change i.e., their agency, as constituted by social networks and relations with nature, and mediated by science and technology. Our aim is to develop the concepts and methods of an innovative 'relational agency pathways approach', drawing on theories from Science, Technology and Society studies and the 'pathways approach' to poverty reduction and social justice, which emphasise interactions between social, technological and environmental change. We will develop this new approach to understand diverse pathways out of poverty for smallholders and the landless in agriculture, in two arenas. First, we will study how small farmers and farmworkers adapt new technologies on the farm, as their cultivation practices are transformed due to technological and environmental change. Second, we will study how farmers turn a harvested crop into a commodity for the market, negotiating their relationships with credit providers and traders. Both these arenas played out dramatically under the 'Green Revolution', from the 1960s onwards, when technology, markets and government support were used to intensify agricultural production. The first geographical focus of our work will be on the North Arcot region of Tamil Nadu, India, a classic exemplar of the Green Revolution in Asia, where extensive historical data since the early 1970s are available. Collaborating with our co-investigators at Madras Institute of Development Studies, and collecting new life history data in the field, we will map long-term agency pathways into and out of poverty constituted by changing technologies, natural resources and social worlds, as lived by people of different genders, classes and castes. We will test the approach in Machakos County in Kenya (in collaboration with our co-investigator at African Centre for Technology Studies), where several attempts have been made to get a Green Revolution off the ground, but none have been sustainable. In addition to relying on archival data and collecting life histories using ethnographic engagement with the study's participants, we will use a workshop format to collect data on how people evaluate diverse pathways out of (and into) poverty along a range of criteria derived from conventional indicators of welfare and well-being as well as those designed by the participants themselves. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

32845.29

32732.15

12103.93

13027.88

87.27

19617.0

17875.13

6308.26

5199.44

3462.46

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-R5GJUJ3-VS9LPKV

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Choice constraint and the gender dynamics of labour markets in West Bengal</narrative> This research project addresses the first overarching research question in the call specification: the factors which shape pathways into and out of poverty, how people experience these factors and the role of policy in creating sustained routes out of poverty. It is premised on the recognition that well-functioning labour markets are a key institutional channel through which the sustainable reduction of poverty can be achieved. They are also significant from a gender perspective. There is a substantial body of evidence to suggest that gender equality in labour market opportunities has a positive impact on survival, wellbeing and human capital of family members. And where these opportunities relate to regular and reasonably well paid work, they enhance women's agency and bargaining power within family and community. This research project is motivated by the following puzzle: The Indian economy has experienced extremely strong rates of economic growth in recent years. This has been accompanied by declining rates of fertility and rising levels of education, including female education. These are changes that have been associated with an increase in women's labour force participation rates in much of the world. Yet women's labour force participation has not only remained low in the Indian context, but has declined in recent years. Moreover, women continued to be concentrated in a more limited range of labour market activities than men. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

India

24802.7

24112.23

-34018.39

10598.55

60.33

13453.35

12258.77

5271.05

4379.72

2893.16

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-R5GJUJ3-8U3B9VG

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Poverty Alleviation and Women Refugees in the Middle East: Empowerment through Grassroots Micro-Entrepreneurship?</narrative> Contemporary political volatility within the Middle East region has led to far reaching socio-economic upheaval and strife with a devastating impact generating mass displacement of Iraqi, Palestinian, and Syrian refugees to Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey (UNCHR, 2014). In their host nations, these displaced communities seek to reconstruct their lives in a context of loss, poverty, violence and devastation (Kuttab, 2008; Chatty, 2010). Here, as in other contexts of displacement and refugee movements, women and children are subject to the worst effects of such upheaval given their limited power and resources to counteract the ensuing violence and poverty (Al-Dajani and Marlow, 2013; Holmes, 2007; UN, 2006). As one strategy to address the matrix of disadvantages and especially poverty arising from displacement, the potential of home based self-employment for women has become a focal point of contemporary policy interest. Such micro enterprising is positioned as a development tool across many contexts as it presents pathways for socio-economic empowerment for women which require few resources but also, do not challenge prevailing cultural patriarchal norms. Our previous research (Al-Dajani et al, 2015) however, suggests that such agencies are perceived to impose numerous stifling constraints upon the displaced refugee women. This tension and the preferences of the displaced women regarding business start-up and trading partners has prompted many women to reject engagement with formal support agencies. Rather, they are finding other pathways and networks to support their enterprising activities. Thus, within this project we will explore the effectiveness and impact of the available pathways for support and advice for displaced and refugee women and analyse the extent to which entrepreneurship is a sustainable conduit for poverty alleviation and empowerment in socio-politically volatile circumstances. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

21534.81

20935.32

22334.62

9202.14

52.38

11680.8

10643.61

4576.56

3802.67

2511.97

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-R5GJUJ3-QKG294V

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Impact of social pensions on multiple dimensions of poverty, subjective wellbeing and solidarity across generations</narrative> This research seeks to generate robust, urgently needed evidence to address the critical knowledge gaps in order to inform policy debates and thinking on the further development of the OPCTP and similar schemes in SSA, and to advance academic debates on poverty dynamics by contributing new theoretical perspectives on the ways in which family inter- generational relationships and transfers shape younger and older individuals' opportunities (or a lack thereof) for moving out of poverty. Evidence generation will focus on two informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya, in which one of the project partners, APHRC, runs a demographic and health surveillance site, and will comprise both (i) quantitative analyses of existing data on older residents' households, to identify how the wellbeing of OPCTP beneficiaries has changed since receipt of the pension and (ii) extensive interviews with community informants and a sample of older pension beneficiaries and key members of their kin-networks, to explore their experiences and perspectives on the OPCTP and the ways in which it has impacted their lives. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Kenya

38351.119999999995

20960.29

47045.17

92.83

20867.46

19014.55

8110.21

6738.79

4487.57

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-R5GJUJ3-ZRATY7V

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>The Accountability Politics of Reducing Health Inequities: Learning from Brazil and Mozambique.</narrative> This project is designed to address the ESRC-DFID call's key cross-cutting issue of structural inequalities, and its core research question "what political and institutional conditions are associated with effective poverty reduction and development, and what can domestic and external actors do to promote these conditions?", by comparing the dimensions of accountability politics across Brazil and Mozambique and between different areas within each country. As Mozambique and Brazil seek to implement similar policies to improve service delivery, in each country the research team will examine one urban location with competitive politics and a high level of economic inequality and one rural location where the population as a whole has been politically marginalised and under-provided with services, looking at changes in power relationships among managers, providers and citizens and at changes in health system performance, in order to arrive at a better understanding of what works for different poor and marginalised groups in different contexts. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

34939.17999999999

19090.190000000002

36789.95

3.29

19086.9

17252.44

7418.23

6163.83

4104.68

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-R5GJUJ3-BMKYDLC

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Integrated policies to Reduce Poverty in its Many Dimensions</narrative> This research project addresses the overarching research question: What factors shape pathways into and out of poverty and people's experience of these, and how can policy create sustained routes out of extreme poverty in ways that can be replicated and scaled up? We use the Alkire-Foster or AF (2011) method, in two very new and policy-relevant ways. The AF method first observes which deprivations each person experiences. It identifies people as multidimensionally poor based on the percentage of deprivations they have, then builds a rigorous but simple measure. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

25347.190000000002

24729.57

33655.35

10821.0

61.6

13846.97

12516.06

5381.68

4471.65

2977.8

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-R5GJUJ3-F3ZY37W

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Improving research infrastructure on social assistance</narrative> This research project focuses on improving research infrastructure on social assistance, in terms of concepts, indicators and data. This is urgently needed to support comparative analysis of emerging social assistance institutions. The project will identify indicators to assess social assistance programmes and will collect information on these for 2000 to 2015 for all developing countries. The database will be made available online to researchers and policy makers globally. As part of the project, the database will be analysed to examine patterns or configurations in social assistance programmes and institutions. Our interest is in identifying ideal types, broad features of social assistance programmes or institutions which enable reducing the large diversity of programmes and interventions to their core characteristics. These ideal types are social assistance regimes. Further analysis will test for potential combinations of political, demographic, economic and social factors linked to specific social assistance regimes. This analysis will allow us to examine what conditions can help explain the expansion of social assistance in developing countries; what factors influence the specific configuration of social assistance institutions in different countries and regions; and what conditions are needed for their effectiveness and sustainability. This research will throw light on the contribution of social assistance to the reduction of poverty and vulnerability and to economic and social development. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

36371.53

19756.48

21455.96

19756.48

18002.22

7740.63

6380.03

4248.65

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-R5GJUJ3-5LB4Z7R

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Supporting the social mobility of trapped populations in very poor urban areas</narrative> This project investigates when migration from rural to urban areas becomes a pathway into poverty and how policy can support rural-urban migrants to access urban opportunities and escape from poverty. There are three central questions. First, research considers under what circumstances rural-urban migration presents an opportunity for poor people and what factors contribute to them becoming 'trapped'. Second, the project investigates the relationship between physical and socio-economic mobility. This will consider both mobility within the city and ongoing connections with migrants' rural households. It focuses particularly on migrants' own perspectives of what they consider to be successful integration in the city. Finally, the project assesses the attitudes of city government and other significant actors, such as community organisations, police, NGOs and international organisations. This will focus on ways in which these institutions facilitate or prevent new migrants integrating into city life. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

42891.03

19065.78

21229.08

9128.11

7523.63

5010.21

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-R5GJUJ3-4DJ2FTN

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Women Empowerment, Social Norms and Domestic Violence</narrative> Domestic violence (DV) affects 30% of women worldwide and more than 50% of women living in conflict or post-conflict communities. The prevention of DV is important, not only because it is a violation of women's rights and freedoms, but also because DV negatively affects economic growth and perpetuates structural poverty. An important mechanism driving this effect is the interaction between DV and low cooperation between spouses, resulting in less than optimal health, education and economic outcomes. This dynamic is exacerbated in conflict-affected zones, where household cooperation is essential for post-conflict recovery. The aim of this project is to better understand how to design effective and efficient interventions aimed at reducing DV, especially among vulnerable groups in conflict-affected areas. Our research advances goal three of the ESRC-DFID Joint fund for poverty alleviation research: 'What measures can be taken to reduce the risks and impact of violence and instability on the poorest and increase the effectiveness of peace-building, state-building and wider development interventions in fragile and conflict-affected situations?' In order to design interventions to reduce DV that actually work, it is necessary to understand the specific factors driving it. To date, research on DV interventions has only provided preliminary and often contradictory evidence. Our project aims to substantially advance our understanding of DV, its causes and how interventions can better reduce it. Egypt is chosen because it is one of the few post-conflict countries where several DV interventions are being implemented simultaneously, allowing us to test the effect of all factors. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Egypt

36247.45

31749.629999999997

38527.26

12387.13

69.95

19292.55

17940.81

7714.22

6358.26

4234.16

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-R5GJUJ3-7GVHQQR

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Investigating 'pockets of effectiveness' in developing countries: a new route to building state capacity for development</narrative> A major challenge for achieving poverty reduction is that the capacity of states to deliver development is in short supply, particularly in Africa. However, 'pockets of effectiveness' (PoEs) offer important clues concerning how developmental forms of state capacity might emerge and be sustained in difficult contexts. PoEs are public organisations that function effectively where this is not the norm, with history suggesting that they have proved critical to developmental state success in the global south. Examples include national banks that can maintain macroeconomic stability and establish the conditions for pro-poor growth; regulatory agencies that can effectively govern key development resources; and policy delivery units capable of providing basic social services, all of which are central to improving the lives of poor people in Africa. Recent research on PoEs has suggested that both external (e.g. political context) and internal factors (e.g. organisational leadership) shape their performance. However, this emerging subfield of governance research lacks a comparative study which systematically identifies how PoEs emerge and are sustained in different contexts and sectors, and the role that domestic and international actors can play in this. This absence has ruled out developing a theory of change concerning how PoEs emerge and are sustained and the generation of policy recommendations beyond specific cases. The key objectives are therefore to: (a) Undertake a comparative analysis of the institutional and political conditions through which PoEs emerge and are sustained in different contexts and within different sectors (b) Identify the role that domestic and international actors play in developing and sustaining PoEs (c) Directly inform and improve efforts by governments and development agencies to support PoEs in Africa, and developmental governance more broadly (d) Strengthen the capacity of early-career African researchers to undertake governance research and policy engagement. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South of Sahara, regional

27613.07

26940.23

104418.25

36961.83

30494.59

11788.32

67.11

15084.8

13634.92

5862.77

4871.38

3244.0

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-WVTTYY8-THRVGNT

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Graduation as Resilience Stage Two</narrative> Important development programmes such as microfinance often do not reach the very poorest households. A new set of initiatives, called Graduation programmes, have targeted these very poor households. Their objective is to graduate them out of poverty in a sustainable manner and make them resilient so they do not fall back into poverty. Most of these programmes target women and use some form of asset transfer, and perhaps stipends for a fixed period. In addition to this material support they often help clients to strengthen their social network. Typically, programmes expect to work with clients for two years before they are ready to graduate. In addition some programmes provide psychological support to these poor women who are often marginalised socially and often have very little confidence to engage even in petty business. But not all programmes include this component. The question is should they? How important is psychological support such as life planning, confidence building and strengthening social awareness in helping poor women to graduate in a resilient way? Surprisingly, no research has actually addressed this question. It is a development frontier and we do not know for sure what the answer is. This research is stage two of a project seeking to answer this question. In stage one, the research team adopted a well-known model of psychological wellbeing and tested it on a sample of women from a BRAC programme called 'Challenging the Frontiers of Poverty Reduction: Targeting the Ultra-Poor' (CFPR-TUP) There has been a lot of economic and social research on this programme and almost all the evidence shows that it is effective in bringing poor women and their households out of poverty and that is also efficient in terms of cost. However none of this research has really focused on the relative importance of the different inputs -material, social and psychological. In particular the psychological dimension has had no research. We do not know whether these softer inputs provided through informal counselling and through confidence building workshops make any difference. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Bangladesh

12585.09

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-WVTTYY8-3CF3P86

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Mobile payment systems to reduce rural water risks in Africa</narrative> This research project aims to improved handpump management by insuring payment risks. Like insurance products that pool risk of unanticipated but costly events, like a car break-down, flood damage to homes or a serious health problem, we proposed to apply the same approach to community handpumps in rural Kenya. Currently rural communities must work independently saving and paying for maintenance on a case by case basis. This is fine until an unexpected but costly repair emerges. Then the communities, which include a majority of households with low and variable income, simply can't pay to have their handpump repaired. They then turn to more distant, often dirty and costly water sources. Our approach brings these communities together in a shared financial model that reduces costs by sharing them amongst hundreds of handpumps. Earlier research suggests the majority of communities will pay into this 'insurance system' on a regular basis provided the handpumps are repaired in a couple of days. The project can guarantee this higher maintenance service which has reduced repair times from over a month to a couple of days. The communities love it the current trial of the maintenance service and now want to pay for this service through a local company to make it sustainable. This next phase of research is to introduce a fair payment system and monitor how communities pay over time. This will provide evidence for a more sustainable approach which the Government of Kenya supports and can be scaled up by our regional partner, UNICEF. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Kenya

3984.94

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-WVTTYY8-N94H2T9

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Incentives for Accurate Diagnosis: Improving Health Care Quality in Mali</narrative> Finding ways to deliver high-quality health care to low-income populations in developing countries is a critical policy challenge. Our initial ESRC-funded project found that reducing user fees (by providing primary health care for free) does substantially increase Malian households' use of this care. However, we also find evidence that much of this care may be unnecessary or mis-targeted: our data suggest that children seeking care in government-run community clinics (CSCOMs) are frequently prescribed antimalarials and antibiotics when they do not need the treatment. This is particularly striking for malaria, since the Malian government has mandated that malaria diagnoses be confirmed by diagnostic testing. Our findings are consistent with a large body of economic literature, which on the one hand provides theoretical underpinnings for the problem of over-prescription and over-treatment, and on the other documents low levels of doctor effort and quality of care in both the public and private sectors across the developing world. Our implementing partner, Mali Health, has indicated that the increase in program costs due to over-prescription and the need for close monitoring and quality checks are a key barrier to scaling up the free-care intervention. We propose to conduct a follow-on project to identify the leading causes behind over-treatment, and test whether alternative incentive regimes can improve care outcomes without producing unnecessary costs. Our analytical framework is motivated by economic models of an "informed expert" selling "a credence good": the doctor has knowledge about the patient's illness and need for treatment that is not verifiable, and the patient must buy the treatment without knowing if it is truly what he or she needs. The model clarifies how doctor incentives, patient incentives, observability of diagnostic test results, and beliefs about test accuracy interact to produce care outcomes in this context. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Mali

12633

12633.0

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-WVTTYY8-8H5P9BN

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Rethinking Environment and Development in an Era of Global Norms: Exploring international politics of justice on carbon forestry and hydropower</narrative> The proposed research expands the political ecology approach through attention to notions of environmental justice and cross-scale environmental politics. Notions of justice are at the core of many environmental struggles, as they inform people's claims and practices in relation to natural resources. Justice conceptions are also an integral component of international environmental politics and global environmental norms. Thus ideas about justice are an integral element of environmental politics across scales, connecting local struggles to mobilizations at national and international levels as well as the conceptions informing global norms - or causing dissonances between them. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

8327.73

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-BAQC6U9-CDT8XT2

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Resilience in West African Frontier communities</narrative> Small-scale communities in the border regions of Southern Senegal, Western Mali and Eastern Guinea have developed longstanding strategies allowing them to adapt to recurrent deep changes in political structure and social stratification that are typical of Frontier societies. Yet, from a national and international development perspective, these communities are seen as marginalised; their mobility patterns as an obstacle to civic participation in nation states and their multilingualism in small languages as a barrier to participation in education. This project aims to generate a better understanding of resilience strategies and local knowledge as developed in those frontier communities to respond to ongoing ecological, economic and political stresses. By looking at mobility, multilingualism and social stratification reconfigurations as interrelated resilience strategies, the project aims at improving development initiatives in the region. The overarching research question is: how have frontier societies responded to situations of ecological, economic and political stress on a micro level by developing specific resilience strategies, notably by sharing their own ideas and practices and producing specific knowledge? Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South of Sahara, regional

15665.38

30703.369999999995

20816.2

13434.97

76.48

17191.92

15665.38

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-BAQC6U9-KB7GCAV

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Narratives of violence: the impact of internal displacement on violence against women in Nepal and Myanmar</narrative> Myanmar and Nepal are countries in transition. Both have recently emerged from long-term civil conflicts, and their populations have been afflicted by natural disasters. As a result these two countries have seen rates of internal displacement among the highest in the world (e.g. in 2015, 9200 per 100,000 residents in Nepal, and 3000 per 100,000 in Myanmar). We will document women's explanations of how displacement has affected gendered relations and women's resultant experiences of violence. This will involve collecting unstructured narratives and quantitative data from women who have experienced rural-urban displacement. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Asia, regional

14966.45

29333.510000000002

31968.07

12835.56

73.07

16424.88

14966.45

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-BAQC6U9-6G4GSZT

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Pathways out of poverty for Burkina Faso's reservoir-dependent communities</narrative> Effective community-based management of common pool resources (CPR) in contexts facing environmental degradation and social conflict is urgently required to sustainably move people worldwide towards a decent level of human well-being, as sought in the Sustainable Development Goals. In the seasonally dry tropics, water stored in reservoirs. co-managed by communities and state water management agencies, can transform the lives of people in areas of persistent poverty by providing dry season income and food security through fish, livestock and crop production. Yet the inequitable distribution of water and other agricultural resources leads to stark inequalities in costs and benefits of reservoirs among households and communities. This project will convene stakeholders around two reservoirs in Boulgou province, Burkina Faso, through 'Innovation Platforms' (IPs) that provide spaces for face-to-face learning, exchange and negotiation. Through the IPs, differentiated stakeholders with conflicts of interests related to reservoirs will identify, compare and implement community-driven innovations to make management of and access to land, water and associated benefits more equitable and sustainable. In collaboration with local communities and water management institutes, we will co- design and test locally relevant indicators and novel data collection techniques to establish a reliable, locally owned reservoir resource monitoring system. Students, extension workers and government technicians will be trained on automatic weather stations, mobile phone based surveys, and easily measured indicators of soil and water quality. The project will fill gaps in knowledge regarding factors and approaches that enable the resolution of conflicts related to the management of CPR and the development of participatory monitoring systems. Academic beneficiaries include scientists working on participatory approaches, conflict resolution, social equity, and CPR management. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Burkina Faso

26146.559999999998

36027.3

38068.61

15836.14

89.42

20101.74

18316.82

7829.74

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-BAQC6U9-YV8N3AJ

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Safe and sustainable cities: human security, migration, and well-being</narrative> This project seeks to incorporate migrant perspectives and sources of innovation into urban planning to build safer and more sustainable cities. The project represents frontier research in framing new migrant populations as sources of innovation and sustainability, and in using multiple methods to incorporate new migrant population perspectives into sustainable places. The research addresses environmental sustainability by examining the environmental risks to new populations in cities, including exposure to environmental hazards and access to environmental services such as water. Its addresses poverty by examining social exclusion of migrant populations that are often invisible in policy and planning. It addresses conflict and security by conceptualizing the human security of migrant populations as their ability to create secure lives, overcome discrimination, and build social cohesion in destination areas. The research design involves examining human security and overcoming exclusion with example groups in a rapidly expanding city in a low-income country; working directly with migrant populations and urban planners to generate new priorities; and learning lessons that can be generalized and applied across the Global South. The planned research involves planners in Chittagong in coastal Bangladesh and its new migrant populations, including some displaced because of environmental hazards, and ethnic minority groups. The research involves multiple methods: surveys of migrants focusing on their well-being, their sources of insecurity, and their potential to build attachment to sustainable places; photo-elicitation with both planners and migrants as participants; and deliberative workshops to build empathy between migrants and planners and designing new interventions. The research builds on and seeks new directions for the fields of human security, migration, urban planning, and development studies. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Bangladesh

22840.41

31896.760000000002

14289.79

77.98

17528.99

15972.52

6867.89

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-BAQC6U9-MLKZZGW

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Zero Hunger Zero Emissions: Enabling the debate on how to feed the world whilst mitigating climate change</narrative> There is an urgent need to find means by which societies can engage in difficult debates about how to ensure food security in a world threatened by dangerous levels of climate change, at the same time as making drastic cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. There will be conflicts, trade-offs but also potential co-benefits between these twin objectives depending very much on the pathways chosen. Decision-making though is often highly technical and top-down and omits sections of society, especially the poorest. Food systems and the people in them are at the intersection of hunger, poverty and environmental goals. Creating resilient food systems is central to climate change adaptation, but changing agriculture, land use and food systems to contribute to GHG mitigation will likely assume much greater importance particularly in light of the commitments in the Paris Agreement. Bangladesh is an example of a country that has made great strides in food security whilst facing enormous challenges from climate change. The country made various emission reductions commitments but its current policies and future development trajectories contain contradictions that might endanger these goals. Agriculture - which provides the livelihoods for the majority of people - is responsible for 40% of overall emissions and may come under increasing pressure to deliver reductions. The planned revision of the country's Nationally Determined Contribution to GHG emissions reduction offers an opportunity for debate on choices and their implications. This research aims to design and test an inclusive and replicable process based on participatory scenario methodology to enable those debates to take place in ways that involve broad swathes of society, including people at the sharp end who often have least voice. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Bangladesh

26663.370000000003

20553.969999999998

91.03

20462.94

18645.95

8017.42

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-BAQC6U9-M76WSY4

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Development Frontiers in Low Income Countries: The Role of Youth, Sport and Cultural Interventions.</narrative> This project investigates the role of sport, cultural and educational programmes in promoting sustainable development among young people in low-income countries (LICs), specifically to tackle poverty, conflict in fragile states, environmental sustainability, and gender inequality. These programmes are usually implemented by non-governmental organizations with support from other agencies. We have little unified knowledge from across different LICs, of how these programmes are implemented, and how they are experienced and interpreted by young user groups. This project seeks to fill these knowledge gaps, and thus has three broad aims: i) to enhance knowledge of these programmes with young people in LICs; ii) to improve programme efficacy in policy and practice; iii) to work with key stakeholders, to support these interventions, to secure social change. These aims translate into four research objectives: 1. To analyse the specific role of sport, cultural and educational interventions in tackling poverty, conflict in fragile states, environmental sustainability, and gender divisions in LICs. 2. To capture the experiences and perspectives of young people on these programmes. 3. To evaluate comparatively how these programmes are developed, implemented, experienced and interpreted. 4. To identify how programmes may be changed to have stronger benefits for young people. Comparative research will be conducted in three small nations: Cape Verde, Nepal and Timor Leste. Data will be collected mainly through qualitative methods, including the innovative use of 'participatory action research' (PAR) to capture the voices of young people. We shall work closely with our research liaison group of non-academic and academic partners to deliver strong research impacts. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

22309.71

30686.339999999997

41762.71

13488.47

76.17

17121.7

15601.4

6708.31

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-BAQC6U9-Q6LBZD7

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Watersecurity in Ethiopia and the Emotional response of Pastoralists (WEEP)</narrative> This research will seek to understand the emotional response of pastoralists to this water insecurity. It will compare three types of habitation: those dominated by pastoralists, mixed habitations and those where pastoralists form a minority. Through focus groups and related activities researchers will seek to understand how water use by all groups can be rewarding, stressful or disappointing. These responses will, be used in the second stage of the project to develop an easy-to-administer a survey tool where users are asked to rate their experience regarding water use on a Likert-scale. The results of this will be compared to more conventional indicators, for example those used by the World Health Organisation and UNICEF to monitor progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. The findings will be used to influence water policy and practice in Ethiopia. Globally, the research will be used by people who are trying to provide water holistically for both domestic and productive uses. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Ethiopia

21246.370000000003

31036.730000000003

34188.7

13642.49

77.04

17317.2

15779.54

5466.83

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-BAQC6U9-8ZR7CJ9

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Assessing the impact of the food system on poverty, nutrition and health, and environmental sustainability in urban Ethiopia</narrative> We propose mixed methods including a quantitative household survey and qualitative value chain analysis to assess the food system for protein source foods among an urban population in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Review (and updating where necessary) of systematic reviews and meta-analyses will be used to estimate etiological effect sizes on health and environmental outcomes. Results will be used to develop a conceptual model that will allow us to test interventions toward optimal planetary health. Ultimately, we will form recommendations for immediate action and future research that will be of relevance for a wide range of stakeholders in Ethiopia and other sub-Saharan African countries. The relationships between food systems, the environment, and health in sub-Saharan Africa are exceedingly complex and have not been studied in detail. A clear understanding of these dynamics will allow us to develop potentially groundbreaking, long term solutions. There is perhaps no issue more pressing for global populations than the establishment of resilient food systems that promote health, nutrition and sustainable environments. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Ethiopia

27021.559999999998

37167.350000000006

36527.98

16337.27

92.25

20737.83

18896.44

8125.12

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-BAQC6U9-M4WS468

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Blood Bricks: Examining the Climate Change-Modern Slavery Nexus in the Cambodian Construction Industry</narrative> Climate change and slavery: the perfect storm?' - this was the prescient headline of The Guardian (2013) which called for more international conversation on the links between these urgent threats to environmental and human security. This study forwards this call by examining the inter-linkages between climate change, different axes of structural inequality (e.g. gender, age), and vulnerability to trafficking into modern slavery. The project asks who is most at the 'receiving end' of climate change, is most likely to enter into modern slavery, and who has fewer capabilities and resources than others to adapt to climate change in alternative ways? The research is based in Cambodia, the world's second most climate vulnerable country in 2014. This status derives not only from the heightened climate risks its faces in the form of floods and droughts, but also the lack of capacity to adapt and respond. Eighty percent of the population lives in rural areas with limited knowledge, infrastructure and opportunities; and more than 70 percent rely on agriculture that is heavily sensitive to climate change (UNDP 2014). In 2016, Cambodia also recorded the third highest proportion of modern slaves per capita in the world. Under these compelling set of circumstances then, the project focuses on the Cambodian construction industry as a means to examine how climate change facilitates trafficking into modern slavery and ongoing livelihoods within it. UK and Cambodian scholars will undertake challenging research that aims to combine qualitative interviews with construction industry informants and victims of modern slavery working in brick-kilns and construction sites; agro-ecological profiling, a quantitative household survey, and interviews in brick-kiln sender villages; and analysis of longitudinal secondary data (Cambodia Socio-Economic Study 2014). Findings will improve understanding of the 'deadly dance' of environmental destruction and modern slavery. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Cambodia

21949.8

30191.29

23095.23

13270.87

74.94

16845.48

15349.71

6600.09

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-BAQC6U9-N58B6RC

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>How the Urban Poor Define and Measure Food Insecurity and Nutrition</narrative> Poor communities usually have little voice but enormous and in-depth knowledge of their contexts, and of the priorities for action. And while local governments in low-income nations have a key role in reducing poverty and increasing environmental sustainability, they are typically under-resourced and unable to gather sufficient, timely and reliable data on rapidly changing contexts where urban growth and the erosion of natural resources overlap and can lead to conflict. Working with poor community organisations led by women in cities in Cambodia and Nepal, this project lets the poor themselves define and measure food security and nutrition using methods and tools that include the use of innovative but affordable technology. The collection of data and their analysis provides the groundwork for a dialogue that brings together grassroots organisations of the urban poor, local governments and other stakeholders. This, in turn, sets the basis for the co-production of solutions that respond to the needs of local low-income communities. At the same time, the knowledge developed informs global debates on policy that addresses the intersection of poverty, environmental sustainability and institutional fragility that can lead to conflict. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Asia, regional

24335.510000000002

33472.770000000004

41102.77

14713.28

83.08

18676.41

17018.06

7317.45

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-BAQC6U9-KMXEHK6

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Negotiating conflict: Environmental violence, economic development and the everyday practices of islanders</narrative> In developing countries experiencing high levels of poverty and inequality, getting the balance right between economic development and protection of the natural environment can be a major challenge for policymakers. This is particularly the case when powerful people are able to manipulate the physical environment in which the poor live, to their advantage - a form of intervention known as 'environmental violence'. To date, most research addressing these types of conflict and conflict resolution has applied universalised principles, such as justice and fairness. However, this approach can overlook what is significant to ordinary people as they attempt to go about their day-to-day lives. This project will address this research gap using an innovative approach known as 'everyday studies': a way of investigating the routine and seemingly mundane. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Maldives

21112.760000000002

29039.989999999998

30648.37

12764.81

72.08

16203.1

14764.36

6348.4

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-BAQC6U9-PKTKYJP

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Development frontiers in crime, livelihoods and urban poverty in Nigeria (FCLP)</narrative> This mixed-methods research aims to bring together key development concerns related to sustainable livelihoods, social vulnerability, and poverty to build an alternative account of 'insecurity and crime' in African cities where the lines between legality and illegality, formality and informality, licit and illicit work, are often blurred in practice. We argue that the study of insecurity and crime in African cities requires a more nuanced understanding of African urbanisation patterns and historical legacies of uneven development. Situated at the nexus of population modelling, criminology, African studies, and urban geography, this project aims to challenge prevailing Euro-centric narratives of crime and victimisation through an innovative mixed-methods study. Combining statistical modelling, geovisualisation and ethnographic insights, the research aims to develop location appropriate approaches to investigate perceptions and seasonal trends of crime and victimisations in a West African city, situating the research within the broader context of African urbanisation, environment-induced seasonal migration, youth un-employment and informal economies. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Nigeria

21012.83

23163.05

49177.57

102.59

23060.46

21012.83

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-BAQC6U9-YYLJMG6

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Resilience policymaking in Nepal: giving voice to communities</narrative> An intensive resilience policy-making process is currently underway in Nepal, a country with a recent history of conflict and disaster that also faces future risks resulting from environmental change. This ground-breaking project will utilise a participatory video (PV) approach to create new and potentially challenging interventions in that process, whilst simultaneously developing methods and approaches that could have broader applicability. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Nepal

32057.1

24602.38

22417.84

9639.26

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-BAQC6U9-MNVHPVK

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Shifting In/equality Dynamics in Ethiopia: from Research to Application (SIDERA)</narrative> As part of its ambitious Growth and Transformation Plans (FDRE 2010, 2015), Ethiopia's government has allocated 175,000 hectares to the sugarcane project (more than the entire area under irrigation in Kenya), and aims to increase national sugar production from 17 million to 42 million tons. Pastoralists who, according to the government, do not use the land optimally, have had their "underutilized" lands repurposed for sugarcane plantations and industrial sites that will produce sugar worth 661.7 million USD and produce alternative energy sources (304,000m3 of ethanol per year and 607 MW electricity). This scenario raises urgent questions about the social justice dimensions of current development models, and their implications for socio-ecological resilience. The following interlinked research questions will structure our exploration of the on-going changes and their consequences: 1. How have recent developments affected the spatial and temporal availability of and access to natural resources in the region? (Environmental sustainability / degradation) 2. How are changing resources affecting conflict dynamics in the region? (Conflict and resilience) 3. How are these changes influencing relations of material in/equality? (Wealth and poverty / resource security) These questions will be addressed by three Working Groups with expertise in the fields of environmental sustainability, conflict studies, and poverty research respectively. The group will first conduct Research involving knowledge generation across disciplines and stakeholder groups, and second work towards Application in the form of knowledge exchange and synthesis. The first step in the research design will accommodate a cycle of stakeholder identification, scoping and testing of research assumptions; followed by an intensive period of data collection using both conventional (survey, focus group) and participatory research methods. Crucially, our tools will include participatory video methods that will be used to stimulate conversations about current models of development that are rarely possible due to barriers of language, distance, and power. The project will thereby facilitate knowledge sharing, processing, and utilisation, and explore how knowledge regarding the environmental changes and their implications for poverty, peace, and security is best integrated in decision-making for diverse stakeholders. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Ethiopia

15610.45

30595.72

13387.87

76.21

17131.64

15610.45

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-BAQC6U9-QGVD48A

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Energy On the Move: longitudinal perspectives on energy transitions among marginal populations (a comparative study)</narrative> This research examines the energy practices of very poor women, men and young people living in informal settlements in peri-urban situations in Nigeria, South Sudan, Nepal and Bangladesh and how these are changing, drawing comparative lessons across the study countries. It challenges conventional approaches to energy transition research. Lack of access to clean energy limits economic development, stifles people's life chances and traps millions into extreme poverty. Sustainable Development Goal 7 makes bringing access to affordable, clean and reliable energy for the poor a necessary element in transforming the development prospects for the 1.4 million people currently without modern energy services. However, while considerable development activity is being devoted to bringing new technological products from renewable energy research centre laboratory benches into the affordable reach of the energy-poor, current approaches to energy transition are deficient, not least because they fail to take into account the specific contexts and needs of the poorest and most marginal groups in low income countries: the women, men and youth on whom we focus in this project. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

38673.25

21220.92

38673.25

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-BAQC6U9-KKXRGDC

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Armed Group Governance and the Sustainability of Environmental Resources: The Case of the Philippines</narrative> This project will investigate the ways in which armed conflict and the presence of armed actors affects the capacity of fishing communities to manage and govern fishing activities, how this affects the conservation of maritime resources, and how this in turn affects the livelihoods of fishing communities, existing structural inequalities and their resilience to poverty, as these communities are particularly vulnerable to changes in production and access to environmental resources and climatic change. The project will focus on understanding the relationship between armed factions and fishing communities in the Southern shores of the island of Mindanao, the island of Basilan and the islands of the Sulu Archipelago in the Philippines. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Philippines (the)

24555.72

33775.67

27415.82

14846.42

83.84

18845.41

17172.05

7383.67

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-BAQC6U9-E3VCQ4W

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Security on the Move: Everyday security of IDPs in rapidly growing Somali Cities</narrative> This research project addresses the nexus of poverty, environmental sustainability and conflict in Somalia from the perspective of the most vulnerable in-migrants to cities, people who were internally displaced (IDPs). The interplay between violent conflict and droughts is described as one of the main drivers of internal displacement in Somalia, but rapid in-migration to cities further increases pressures on the urban and rural environment. The research focus is on the capacities of IDPs to cope with the effects of violence and displacement and to mitigate vulnerability. The study is conducted in four cities in Southern Somalia (Mogadishu, Baidoa), Puntland (Bosasso) and Somaliland (Hargeisa), which have quite different histories pertaining to in-migration and violence. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Somalia

33481.62

32848.25

41814.45

14394.37

81.73

18372.15

33481.62

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-HYAX8XK-985KBL5

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Joint Fund for Poverty Alleviation - Phase 3 - Development Frontiers Cohort Event Pretoria</narrative> The conference was focused on the ESRC DFID Joint Fund for Poverty Alleviation as it approaches its final phase. This was an ESRC DFID event coordinated by The Impact Initiative with logistical assistance from Gung Ho event management services. This was a valedictory activity designed to both capture learning from the Fund, help secure its legacy and provide phase 3 and Development Frontiers grant holders support to maximise the impact of their research. This builded on the Joint Fund ten year anniversary in Pretoria held in 2015 which was also supported by the then new Impact Initiative. Held in Pretoria. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

19800.72

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-HYAX8XK-3FF8RU3

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Joint Fund for Poverty Alleviation - Phase 3 - Evidence Policy Directorate (EPD)</narrative> This six year initiative seeks to maximise the impact of research funded by the ESRC DFID Strategic Partnership. The Impact Initiative focuses on providing support to both the ESRC-FCDO (formerly DFID) Joint Fund for Poverty Alleviation Research and the Raising Learning Outcomes in Education Systems Research programme. The Impact Initiative takes full advantage of the extensive research and policy networks that IDS and Cambridge are connected into throughout the world to support the coordination of targeted engagement initiatives, such as policy roundtables and practitioner workshops in low income countries, and the facilitation of global networking and knowledge sharing events. It also develops programme-level research communication outputs in order to ensure the ESRC-FCDO funded programmes’ research is effectively communicated and shared, and to raise the profile of the programmes themselves. The initiative commissions outputs such as synthesis reports, policy briefs and data visualisations, and disseminates these to targeted audiences of policy actors, practitioners and intermediaries. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

54869.399999999994

29045.87

99956.5

23984.72

27173.01

23984.72

99956.5

129.03

28916.84

26349.2

11329.67

9413.85

7776.68

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-KK8497G-4S55FZY

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>The Next Frontier of Climate Policy: Joining the Dots of Bricks, Trade and Embodied Emissions from Cambodia and Bangladesh to the UK</narrative> Building on the achievements of the ESRC-DFID funded project Blood Bricks, in Cambodia and Safe and Sustainable Cities, in Bangladesh, this program aims to extend the in-country benefit of those projects upwards and outwards in order to examine the intersections between poverty, environmental sustainability and fragility of livelihoods. Bringing together experts in supply chain analysis, embodied emissions, and construction to work with government and industry on the environmental and human impacts of international trade, the impact activities will frame the issue of embodied emissions not only in terms of carbon emissions, but also poverty and inequality, highlighting how international trade and investment serve, as shown in our prior grants, to exacerbate poverty in the global South due to the 'close links between climate change and social inequality' (Islam and Winkel, 2017). Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Asia, regional

47892.9

18308.43

29584.47

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-KK8497G-3E58PK2

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Finding traction: using an 'upgrading footpaths to motorcycle taxi accessible tracks' construction and maintenance manual to increase impact and reach</narrative> The spread of motorcycle taxis in rural areas in sub-Saharan countries has contributed markedly to socio-economic development, providing improved access to markets, health and educational facilities. The main beneficiaries are among the most marginalised and difficult to reach: semi-subsistence farmers, rural women and children. In addition, millions of often poorly educated youths with limited job perspectives are now involved in motorcycle taxi riding, making it an important job sector. So far, this has been a market-driven development, with no government or international donor support. In 2017 GIZ funded a novel project in northern Liberia which saw approximately 25 kms of rural footpaths (from farm to village and village to roadside) upgraded to motorcycle accessible tracks. Our ESRC/DFID 2015-2018 funded research 'at the end of the feeder road' assessed its socio-economic impact and found a significant and positive impact on rural lives and livelihoods, with few if any negative effects. Following a visit to the Liberia project site, a World Bank Technical Advisor - in the country to help in formulating the country's next strategic rural road infrastructure plan - was quickly convinced by the merits of the pilot project and by the study's findings. Track construction as an integral component of rural access was subsequently included in Liberia's national draft masterplan (2018-2038) for rural road infrastructure. When the study's findings were presented in November 2018 in Liberia to a panel of government officials, donors and civil society representatives, as part of our key stakeholder seminar, three important issues were brought up: - The Minister of Public Works indicated the need for a second pilot project (in a geographical different location) allowing for more impact data to be generated, and a clear methodology on how to upgrade footpaths to tracks; - The above mentioned WB TA referred to examples where rural communities in Liberia had spontaneously improved footpaths to allow for motorcycle taxi transport, ranging from side-clearing to strengthening foot-bridges. However, these initiatives suffered from a lack of basic technical/engineering know-how; - The PI and local research partner expressed their concern over the lack of track maintenance (a common problem with any type of road infrastructure) and the apparent absence of a community agreed model for this (expressed in a MoU). Following the encouraging findings of our socio-economic assessment, KfW, in collaboration with NGO WeltHungerHilfe, decided to fund a second pilot project in Liberia. The PI - with support from Swansea University's internal Global Challenges fund - has overseen the baseline data gathering exercise for this in May and June 2019. This addresses the first part of the concern expressed by the Minister and will increase the research's impact on national government and international donor policy. To address the other part (lack of methodology) and address the other two issues raised above, we propose to put together a manual on track construction and maintenance, freely accessible to national/local governments, donors, implementing partners, Liberian engineers and local communities. This manual will have simple technical drawings and QR codes linking to short, locally recorded construction and maintenance clips and include different templates of maintenance MoUs, so that local stakeholders (eg. community leaders; local government; motorcycle taxi unions; youth representatives; market women groups, etc.) can negotiate and agree upon the most appropriate maintenance models (eg. toll gates; household tax; community labour, etc.). To enhance what is a longstanding practice - community driven access improvement initiatives - we propose to disseminate copies of this manual to key rural stakeholders in three Counties, and facilitate and strengthen - via village workshops - the formulation of local policy and practice. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Liberia

33248.11

12710.04

20538.07

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-KK8497G-YLQEWKV

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Visualising and representing environmental change in island communities</narrative> The 'Negotiating conflict: Environmental violence, economic development and the everyday practices of islanders' project raised awareness and contributed to knowledge by better informing policymakers and the general public about these problems. The project also significantly built the capacity of the communities to articulate their concerns and propose locally-driven solutions directly to decision makers. There is now the opportunity to considerably deepen and extend these initial impacts by raising awareness of different ways in which not only present-day but also future island-based environmental change might occur, especially in relation to climate change and sea level rise. Working in the context of a single island, and building on the data and techniques developed in the original research, the proposed follow-on project will bring together a diverse range of ways of visually depicting how island environments are altering as a result of these global phenomena. The follow-on project will bring together material collected locally in the previous project, including islanders' photographs depicting changes in their environment, with scientifically and digitally produced maps and images and archival material in community workshops in order to stimulate and deepen local and national debates on future island development. Drawing on this range of information sources, islanders will be invited to create 'story maps' that represent their perceptions of changes over time. These story maps, plus associated materials, will then be displayed publicly at the National Art Gallery in the capital, Malé. The exhibition will create a space where policymakers and representatives of island communities can come together to discuss their priorities and concerns and identify how small islands can be made liveable over the long-term under climate change. It is anticipated that the project will contribute to intensifying debates in the Maldives concerning different ways of building community resilience and protecting coastlines. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Maldives

30681.43

11728.85

18952.58

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-KK8497G-CJNR5HU

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Earthquake resilience in Nepal: Impact enhancement through inter-community learning and a TV documentary</narrative> This application is to support work to enhance the impact of our previous project, 'Resilience Policymaking in Nepal: Giving Voice to Communities' (Grant Ref: ES/R000514/1). This proposal involves all of the investigators from the original project (both UK and Nepal-based), and adds new collaborators and communities in Nepal with whom we hope to broaden the impact of our findings through inter-community dialogues between villages that were and were not affected by the earthquakes of 2015, policy workshops, and a professionally produced television documentary to be broadcast free-to-air, nationwide. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Nepal

36472.48

13942.65

22529.83

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-KK8497G-2JBGTQK

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Climate change and the environmental determinants of violence and mental distress in fragile contexts: Ethiopia, Myanmar and Nepal</narrative> Conflicts and environmental disasters alike cause huge disruption to daily life particularly in contexts that are already fragile. However, understanding how different people experience the related disruption is not well known. We can assume that the intense insecurity caused by drought and flooding will trigger significant mental distress and trauma however understanding the specific behavioural-emotional responses as a consequence are not well documented. The lack of understanding means that the humanitarian and development sectors tend not to incorporate emotional wellbeing into their programming. We will explore and argue that in not doing so key stakeholders miss the opportunity to tailor their activities in a way that could in fact bolster the emotional resilience of men and women and thereby make them more able to cope with and move through periods of intense insecurity. The project will therefore build on previous projects. First; 'Water-security in Ethiopia and the Emotional response of Pastoralists (WEEP)'. Second, 'Narratives of violence: the impact of internal displacement on violence against women in Nepal and Myanmar'. The new combined project will drive forward the impact already achieved by offering more data evidencing how disasters triggered by drought or flood impact emotionally on men and women. A reanalysis of all data sets through a gendered and wellbeing lens will mean a much more nuanced picture will emerge of how different groups experience insecurities and the level of mental resilience they have during and in the aftermath. In turn this will feed into a new framework to direct key stakeholders more holistically to include emotional responses as part of their work. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

50895.39

19456.22

31439.17

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-KK8497G-6H6E26R

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Redefining Development and the Environment in an Era of Global Norms III: Putting norms to work in Sudan</narrative> The objective of the project is to assist those who have suffered or appear likely to suffer from the most from national 'development' projects that disregards people's lives. As experienced with the Merowe Dam in northern Sudan, displacement and inadequate compensation appear to form part of a pattern that may yet extend to similar dams that are on the drawing-board. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Sudan (the)

36624.68

14000.83

22623.85

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-KK8497G-9L6ECNF

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Consuming Urban Poverty Impact Enhancement Project</narrative> The proposed project follows on from the Consuming Urban Poverty Project, which sought to alleviate poverty through the governance of food systems in secondary cities in Africa. While the project was able to demonstrate some impact on local government officials attitudes towards urban food systems, and engage in the shaping of global urban food policies and programmes, the project team realised that to increase commitment to addressing urban food issues in the interest of poverty alleviation it was essential to target external actors who play a pivotal role in shaping local government policy and planning. The project identified three key issues limiting action at the local government scale that can only be addressed by working with external actors. The first was that there was deeply entrenched thinking from planners which hindered pro-poor food planning. Planners no sense of how to act differently, and limited formal training opportunities. The project found limited engagement in food issues by powerful informal economy advocacy groups. Finally, it found a strong bias against informality amongst policy makers, which was unchallenged the global discourses on urban food governance as found in the SDGs, New Urban Agenda and documents from various UN Agencies. Therefore, a three-pronged strategy to affect change in planning, policy through civil society advocacy and global policy discourses. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South Africa

32825.53

10108.64

12548.5

20277.03

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-QFE5CUH-AH968QZ

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Governing Food Systems to Alleviate Poverty in Secondary Cities in Africa</narrative> There are significant gaps in knowledge about African urban growth and urban poverty. This project therefore consolidates existing survey and census data to understand patterns and trends of urbanization and poverty in the three case study countries and cities. Because there are data gaps, we will also use remote sensing to generate new data on the spread of urban areas. This information provides the basis for general statements to be made about urban poverty, and for poverty reduction strategies generated in the project to be assessed against a broader representation of poverty. The project turns its focus to food as a way to understand the connections between poverty, governance and urban space. It will conduct a survey in each of three cities to assess how many households, and what kinds of households and individuals, are unable to get enough safe and nutritious food. Poor nutrition is an important indicator and driver of poverty. Most work on food poverty has focused on the household scale alone. This project argues that if food poverty, and poverty more generally, is to be addressed, it will be necessary to take a broader view and look at the food system. The food system in these cities is shifting rapidly as the supermarket sector increases and the flows of food become more global. This project assesses these changes by mapping the food retail environment, interviewing key people involved in the food system and analyses policy in order to test the impact of a changing food system on food poverty, and what appropriate governance responses might be. The project therefore scans the globe for useful precedents in addressing urban poverty through strategic planning of, and interventions in the urban food system. Throughout the project the focus will be on working with local governments, NGOs and civil society organisations to generate local solutions that are adaptable to multiple contexts. Governing Food Systems to Alleviate Poverty in Secondary Cities in Africa examines food systems in three case study cities (Kisumu in Kenya, Kitwe in Zambia and Epworth in Zimbabwe) to illuminate broader issues of urban poverty and governance in Africa. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South of Sahara, regional

168536.91

168536.86

168536.91

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-QFE5CUH-M9G2K23

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Bridging the Gap: Examining Disability and Development in Four African Countries</narrative> Disabled people are among the poorest and most socially excluded groups in every society (World Bank, 2011). They are disproportionately represented in lower income countries and it has long been argued that poverty and disability are both a cause and a consequence of each other (DFID 2000; Yeo and Moore 2003). Despite some attempts to include disabled people in global development and poverty alleviation strategies, overall these have not been done in a systematic or sustainable way This research builds upon previous work undertaken by the Centre, including in the DFID-funded Cross-Cutting Disability Research Programme, which identified a series of common systemic barriers that disabled people encounter when accessing services, ranging from attitudinal, financial and non-financial resources, and lack information and inclusion in national level poverty reduction strategies. This research will build upon this work to inform understanding of the correlation that between these barriers, disability, and multidimensional poverty It must be recognised that in settings where everyone is poor, where few people access wage labour, where school attendance is paltry, healthcare access is limited and social protection is almost non-existent then disabled people are not necessarily very different from their neighbours. Yet, as countries develop, there is emerging evidence of a 'development gap' (Groce and Kett, 2013; Groce et al., 2011; Lang and Murangira, 2009), whereby disabled people fall behind. Building on the World Report on Disability (2011), this study will contribute to understanding how this development gap occurs, and what can be done to bridge the gap - a key and original theme of this study The research will focus on 4 low-income Sub-Saharan African countries: Kenya, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Zambia. All have shown some development over the past decades, but there is still variation within their rankings in the Human Development Index (HDI) to enable cross-country comparisons to be made and provide an in-depth, nuanced understanding of how disabled people are more at risk of being excluded as social and economic development increases. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South of Sahara

146632.53

443460.80999999994

-243332.18

147820.27

146632.53

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-QFE5CUH-NA8PQS9

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Urban Africa Risk Knowledge (Urban ARK)</narrative> Urban Africa: Risk Knowledge (Urban ARK) is a three year programme of research and capacity building that aims to reduce disaster risk in urban sub-Saharan Africa by identifying how and where to break cycles of risk accumulation. Urban ARK is motivated to respond to three core challenges to urbanisation and risk in sub-Saharan Africa: limited data; limited understanding of urbanisation and risk relationships, and limited risk management capacity. It will explore these questions in six urban centres across sub-Saharan Africa: Dakar (Senegal), Ibadan (Nigeria), Karonga (Malawi), Mombasa (Kenya), Nairobi (Kenya) and Niamey (Niger). Research is organised in four work packages (WPs): • WP1 focusses on vulnerability; four approaches will be deployed based on: household livelihoods (Niamey), epidemiology (Nairobi, Mombasa, Dakar), participatory approaches (Karonga), conflict-vulnerability linkages (Nairobi) and historical event mapping (Ibadan). • WP2 focusses on multi-hazard interactions and climate downscaling for urban planning in Karonga, Nairobi and to a lesser extent Ibadan. • WP3 brings a historical lens to urbanization and risk coevolution in Nairobi, Mombasa and Ibadan and disaster event root cause analysis in Nairobi and two other cities yet to be selected. • WP4 focuses on planning and governance in Nairobi, Karonga, Ibadan and Niamey. Additional WPs support Impact (WP5) and Management (WP6). The Urban ARK consortium brings together researchers from Africa (African Population and Health Research Centre, University of Ibadan, Mzuzu University, Université Abdou Moumouni and University of Cape Town) with practitioners (ARUP, International Alert, Save the Children and UN-HABITAT) and international research partners (King’s College London, Development Planning Unit at University College London and the International Institute for Environment and Development). Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South of Sahara, regional

102168.57

27058.380000000005

275903.79

-969.65

276873.44

-177278.76

102168.57

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-JZQR3SF-HYAX8XK-8Q3NR3R

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Joint Fund for Poverty Alleviation - Phase 3 - Poverty Annual Knowledge Event Delhi</narrative> The conference was focused on the ESRC DFID Joint Fund for Poverty Alleviation as it approaches its final phase. This was an ESRC DFID event coordinated by The Impact Initiative with logistical assistance from Gung Ho event management services. This was a valedictory activity designed to both capture learning from the Fund, help secure its legacy and provide phase 3 and Development Frontiers grant holders support to maximise the impact of their research. This builded on the Joint Fund ten year anniversary in Pretoria held in 2015 which was also supported by the then new Impact Initiative. Held in Dehli. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

59265.49

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-KRYEWNA-5ABMVK8-NVTGT9G

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Missing Migrants and Deaths at the EU's Mediterranean Border: Humanitarian Needs and State Obligations</narrative> This project seeks to generate data that can enable the authorities to prioritise a systematic approach to the collection of information from both migrant bodies found in the EU and from the families of missing migrants seeking information about missing loved ones. The project will permit such policies to be driven by an understanding of what the families of dead and missing migrants seek from such an approach. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

13495.13

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-KRYEWNA-5ABMVK8-NXVAFHS

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Urgent Invite - Unravelling the Mediterranean Migration Crisis (MEDMIG)</narrative> The research aims to better understand the dynamics of migration in the Mediterranean region by providing the first large-scale, systematic and comparative study of the backgrounds, experiences, aspirations and routes of migrants in four European countries (Italy, Greece, Malta and Turkey) gathered from 550 migrants who have recently arrived and 100 stakeholders. The research pushes the theoretical and conceptual boundaries of migration studies, encouraging critical reflexive dialogue and practice by opening new and inclusive spaces for questioning and challenging established ways of categorising and thinking about with the Mediterranean migration crisis. In so doing it will create opportunities for increased policy dialogue and academic collaboration between the case study countries - and across the EU more generally - around the evidence gathered. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

29239.28

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-KRYEWNA-5ABMVK8-MAKLUFA

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>EVI-MED - Constructing an evidence base of contemporary Mediterranean migrations</narrative> "EVI-MED - Constructing an evidence base of contemporary Mediterranean migrations" seeks to conduct urgent data collection and essential analysis on the Mediterranean migration crisis and to make these swiftly and publicly available to policymakers, practitioners, migrant community support organisations, and the research community. EVI-MED will provide insights into the major humanitarian, social, economic and political implications for the principal countries of arrival - above all Italy and Greece - as well as Malta which is a central pillar of the search and rescue effort. The project is also relevant to other potential countries of reception and settlement in Europe, including the United Kingdom. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

18278.13

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-KRYEWNA-5ABMVK8-8AVU5EM

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Crossing the Mediterranean Sea by Boat: Mapping and Documenting Migratory Journeys and Experiences</narrative> Current policy interventions urgently need assessing in light of unprecedented levels of migration and a catastrophic increase in refugee and migrant deaths across the Mediterranean Sea. While refugee and migrant deaths en route to the European Union are by no means new, the level and intensity of recent tragedies is unprecedented. More than 1850 deaths were recorded January-May 2015, demanding swift action on the part of EU Member States. This project produces a timely and robust evidence base as grounds for informing policy interventions developed under emergency conditions. It does so by assessing the impact of such interventions on those that they affect most directly: refugees and migrants themselves. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

34461.87

820.75

34461.87

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-KRYEWNA-5ABMVK8-VTGCHVU

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Urgent Invite - Transitory Lives: An Anthropological Research of the Migration Crisis in the Mediterranean.</narrative> The ongoing migration crisis in the Mediterranean affects all European Countries and is one of the major challenges in European policy making. According to the UN Refugee Agency, 103,000 boat migrants crossed the Mediterranean in the first six months of 2015. 54,000 of them arrived in Italy and 48,000 in Greece. More than 1800 perished, or are missing at sea. In 2014, Kirtsoglou, Lyon and Knight carried out a Durham University funded pilot study of migrant communities in Greece and established links to an international network of academics, governmental and non-governmental organizations eager to develop new grassroots initiatives and collaborations. We propose to extend and deepen our initial involvement, by investigating in situ the management of migration emergencies in the critically affected regions of south Italy and the eastern Aegean islands. Our aim is to document and understand migrant subjectivities and motives behind high-risk irregular migration, to identify potemtial gaps in reception structures and to assess the effects of migration on receiving communities. We will engage in a programme of rigorous anthropological research that will involve extended interviews with migrants, local communities, NGO staff and policy makers. We will also carry out extensive observational research in a range of settings such as reception centres, migrant support groups and other community-based locations. Working in collaboration with humanitarian organisations and local government authorities, we will use this data to inform migration policies in the region. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

24945.78

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-KRYEWNA-Q42M8CJ-LY6RKWU

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Displacement, placemaking and wellbeing in the city</narrative> This project will contribute to our growing understanding of the structures, dynamics and processes through which people who are enduringly displaced succeed or fail to become part of European and Indian cities. Globally, forced displacement levels are hitting a record modern-day high. UNHCR reports 65.3 million people were displaced from their homes by conflict and persecution in 2015. Every minute, on average 24 people were forced to flee somewhere in the world, and these levels were four times higher than a decade prior. 2015 also marked a watershed moment in Europe, with hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees arriving on its shores, after often perilous journeys. In India, cities grow rapidly, and continue to receive many people that are internally displaced due to agrarian crisis, conflict, development induced displacement and abject poverty. Protracted displacement is now chiefly an urban affair. Cities offer economic and social opportunities, however, they can also be places of rising inequalities, deprivation, isolation and exploitation. The flow of displaced groups quickens urbanisation, and may create (actual or perceived) competition for jobs, quality housing and limited essential services such as health and education. The UN Sustainable Development Goal 11 sets out the global ambition for inclusive, sustainable and secure cities, and the New Urban Agenda (2016) explicitly calls for inclusion of urban refugees within existing city structures. Yet, India and European cities' efforts to manage inflows often face populist backlashes. Greater understanding is hence needed of the ways in which people succeed or fail to make urban spaces into places of belonging, participation and wellbeing in conditions of scarcity and growing urban inequality. This will require attention to the placemaking processes and practices that structure refugees' and forced migrants' political, social and economic citizenship, access to livelihood opportunities, connections with existing communities and, ultimately, to define and achieve a 'right to the city'. This project offers new ways of cross-disciplinary thinking, methodological innovation and action. To this end, the project will adopt a mixed methods approach. Combining quantitative and qualitative social science techniques will provide a better understanding of research problems than either used alone. We will compare multiple case studies in each of the four countries - India, Finland, Norway and the UK - located in diverse urban settings, spanning from town to megacity. We will undertake key informant interviews, structured wellbeing surveys, and mapping of physical structures, features, form, functions and use of urban spaces. In addition, we will conduct policy analyses and stakeholder mappings to understand in what ways displaced groups' use of space for economic activity and leisure is enabled or restricted. We will also set up innovative Design Studios for architecture and design students to support the project through analysis, design of solutions and learning from their active engagement in fieldwork with senior researchers, and by pairing them up with social science students. As such, the project seeks to break down disciplinary boundaries between the social sciences and humanities; humanitarianism and development; urban planning, architecture and design; and the integration of creative and engaged research methods that better interrogate and allow for the expression of a wide range of knowledge and experiences. The study will provide important knowledge for policy-makers at all levels of urban governance, as well as in development agencies and NGO/CSOs, about what roles they can play to support (and not to impede) greater equity, reduced inequalities and wellbeing in cities. Finally, the project will actively seek to engage and inform the general public in India and Europe through targeted media activities and public exhibitions. COVID-19 Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

India

24002.77

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-KRYEWNA-Q42M8CJ-RWE8EDN

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Challenging Inequalities: a Indo-European perspective</narrative> The proposed research aims at appraising the inequalities in human condition that continue to blossom in our fast growing and increasingly globalized world, with a special focus on India and Europe. Europe and India are, in effect, two interesting environments in which to perform such an appraisal. Both are indeed major players in the globalized world to the production of which they contribute about 25%. Europe is made of mature economies with virtually zero extreme poverty (as defined by the income threshold of 1.7 US dollar a day in purchasing power parity) that exhibits modest yearly per capita growth and slow structural changes. India is by contrast a fast-growing developing country that concentrates one third of the world's extremely poor population and that is changing its social organization at an unprecedented pace. In so far as income and wealth inequality are concerned, the European countries are facing the challenge of sharing a mildly growing per capita GDP. By contrast, India faces the challenge of sharing the spectacular growth among the various segment of its population, including the extremely poor. But inequalities in income, consumption or wealth are by no means the only dimension by which individuals differ. Inequalities in variables such as health, education or access to decent housing are also extremely important in this perspective. So are the more subtle inequalities in social status, or the inequalities of opportunities that individuals coming from various groups are facing. Europe and India are interesting laboratories to analyze all these inequalities also because of the different attitude that their population seem to have with respect to these inequalities. The ethical acceptability of the different inequalities is an extremely important factor that seem to differ somewhat between India and Europe and, for that matter, even between European countries themselves. For example, there is a widespread view in European countries of protestant culture that income inequalities which result purely from a different exertion of effort are not ethically objectionable. This view seems to be less prevalent in countries of catholic culture. Similarly, India, with its still prevailing caste system, is often perceived as being more tolerant to inequalities in social status than Europe. The proposed research will make several contributions to our understanding of the inequalities in Europe in India. The first one will be to provide new tools for appraising some of these inequalities that are both easy to apply and based on clear ethical premises. Some of these tools concern inequalities in variables such as social status, education or access to a decent housing that can not be easily measured on a cardinal scale. For such variables, the conventional tools for measuring income or wealth inequalities can not be meaningfully applied. The research will also contribute to the design of tools for appraising inequalities in a multidimensional perspective that takes due account of the correlation that may exist between, say, income and health inequalities. As a last methodological contribution, the research will develop new criteria for appraising the inequality of opportunities between social groups. A second broad expected contribution of the research is to gather information about the individuals' attitudes to inequalities and to the policies used to reduce the adverse impact of these inequalities. This information will be collected by either questionnaire surveys or by experimental methods in which subjects are asked to take carefully designed decisions that reflect their attitude to inequalities. A third contribution of the research will be to evaluate some of the inequality-alleviating policies themselves. A last contribution of the research is to provide a more qualitative assessment of the impact of those inequalities on individual lives. A special focus will be put here on Nepal migrants and workers in large firms. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

India

24598.71

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-KRYEWNA-KZZWCKS-F9N47U4

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>The potential of Land Value Capture to secure sustainable urban development supporting air quality enhancement</narrative> Research Grant to enhance urban governments' capacity to improve air quality through Land Value Capture (LVC). Part of Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) Urban Europe 2018. This pilot call is a joint initiative of ten European funding agencies participating in JPI Urban Europe and NSFC as the Chinese funding agency, with the aim to launch and implement a joint call for proposals as a pilot for long-term cooperation. This initiative has been launched following a series of joint European-Chinese workshops. Proposals are invited for joint projects addressing key issues where true added value can be gained from collaboration. The cooperation is based upon the Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) of JPI Urban Europe and the 13th Five-Year Plan of NSFC. As the main theme for this pilot call the issue of ‘Sustainable Urbanisation in the Context of Economic Transformation & Climate Change’ has been selected. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

30211.02

95171.08

104868.36

26429.49

26217.09

26006.44

43158.2

30211.02

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-KRYEWNA-PJJDDH2-KEF8KB4

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Emerging Technologies, Trajectories and Implications of Next Generation Innovation Systems Development in China and Russia</narrative> The advance of "Rising Powers" - including Brazil, China, Russia, and India - promises to be one of the major forces in global economic, political and social development in the 21st Century. Shifts in the distribution of technological and innovative capabilities underpin these changes. During the 20th Century, the United States along with Western Europe, Japan, and other established economies, led in the application of science and technology in fostering economic growth. In the present century, the Rising Powers are seeking to move beyond low-wage or resource-based strategies for development by expanding their science and technology capabilities. Critically, progress on this front requires not only building up R&D capacities and commercial applications, but also developing appropriate governance systems and institutional and corporate structures, building financial, human capital, management and related complementary assets, facilitating technological entrepreneurship, fostering demand and accessing international markets, and ensuring environmental, societal and political sustainability. If these countries are successful, it is likely that there will be major implications for the established developed countries. These include new opportunities through expanded markets, growth of talent pools and inventiveness, and prospects for scientific collaboration in addressing global environmental and societal challenges. The implications also include potential threats in terms of loss of technological leadership, increased international trade competition, shifts in the balance of military capabilities, and competition for scarce resources. Yet, if the Rising Powers (or at least some of them) fail in their efforts to develop and broadly apply advanced scientific and technological capabilities to further their economic and social development, growth expectations will be unmet or will proceed wastefully and societal tensions might rise, contributing to internal and international political instabilities. This project aims to address scholarly, management and policy issues related to the causes, sustainability and competitiveness of advanced technological development in driving the growth of Rising Powers, and in so doing also explore associated issues of governance and equity. Our technological focus will be on the emerging domain of nanotechnology. Our Rising Power country focus will be on China and Russia, with significant consideration of not only internal developments but also the interactions and implications of the growth of nanotechnology in these two countries for the UK and other developed and developing economies. The project will be undertaken by an interdisciplinary team, involving units of the University of Manchester in partnership with colleagues from China and Russia, with attention to capacity development, building a new research network, fostering training, and engaging users. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

China (People's Republic of)

27775.17

-529.47

27775.17

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-KRYEWNA-PJJDDH2-MWT9K63

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Rising Powers, Labour Standards and the Governance of Global Production Networks</narrative> With the growth of leading manufacturing firms from the Rising Powers and the rapid expansion of middle class consumption within these economies there is a persistent fear that there will be a 'race to the bottom', marked in particular by declining global labour standards and diminishing concerns with working conditions in global production. We intend to examine this. Our hunch is that rather than a race to the bottom, we are likely to observe a new era of more differentiated labour and social standards as the Rising Powers take an increasingly more active role in the global economy. This will have consequences not only for Rising Power states, workers and consumers, but also for us in the UK and OECD economies. We aim to study this through research undertaken in Brazil, China, India, the UK and the EU. We focus our attention on a range of actors. First, we will study the ways in which large firms (including the new multinationals) as well as small and medium enterprises from the Rising Powers engage with, and shape, labour and social standards in their systems of globalised production arrangements. Second, we will investigate how civil society bodies in these countries affect this process and if and how they shape local attitudes and norms on working conditions. Third, we will examine the ways in which governments in the Rising Powers define and implement labour standards within the domestic economy as well as how they interact in leading global institutions where many such international standards are formulated. Fourth, we will identify what these developments imply for the ways in which globalised production arrangements will most likely be organised in the future and how subsequent generations of global labour and social standards are likely to be shaped. Finally, we will consider what the implications are of the dynamism of the Rising Powers, and the ways in which they interact with global labour and social standards, for other developing countries, and in particular for us in the UK and for the competitiveness of UK and EU firms. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

48133.6

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-KRYEWNA-KZZWCKS-UPPKNKS

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>The STEPS (Social, Technological and Environmental Pathways to Sustainability) Centre</narrative> Environmental, food and economic crises now pre-occupy global publics and policymakers. The world faces critical challenges involving complex interactions of social, technical and ecological processes. Science and technology are advancing rapidly but its benefits are felt unevenly, and marginal people and places in Africa, Asia and Latin America often lose out. Navigating complexities, while meeting moral and political imperatives for poverty alleviation, social justice and environmental sustainability, present formidable challenges. Yet many opportunities are coming into view, from citizen-led initiatives in sustainable energy and water management, to novel approaches to address health-environment linkages or build food security for small farmers amidst climate change. More than ever, we need modes of understanding and action that break with past categories, give priority to the perspectives, priorities and creativity of people struggling to escape poverty and marginalisation, and engage politics and institutions to support their efforts and aspirations. The STEPS (Social, Technological and Environmental Pathways to Sustainability) Centre at Sussex works with partners around the world in research, policy engagement and capacity building to address these challenges and build pathways to sustainability. Building on Phase I's achievements and in today's newly vital context, we now propose a programme to enrich and deepen the Centre's hallmark 'pathways' approach in relation to new, pressing issues. Integrating development studies with science and technology studies, and in thoroughgoing engagement with natural scientists and users, we aim to achieve theoretical and practical advances in 'negotiating complexity in a dynamic world', and 'making science and technology work for people and the environment'. To do this, we will develop new understandings of how the themes of 'dynamics', 'governance' and 'designs' interact. We will advance theory and processes of pathway-building by engaging with six key conceptual areas: 'transitions and transformation'; 'diversity and complexity'; 'political ecology and economy'; 'knowledge and imaginaries'; 'citizenship and participation'; 'innovation and distribution'. We will build on links with the Sussex Energy Group to develop a new domain on Energy and Climate, complementing continuing work on Water and Sanitation, Food and Agriculture, and Health and Disease. And we will develop and undertake, with partners, natural scientists and potential research users, a new set of located, cross-sectoral and cross-thematic projects, integrated into four clusters. Risk and security: institutions for complex systems' will address issues of securitization and risk in global systems, and of formality and informality in urban environments. 'Socio-technical transitions in a changing climate will address niche pathways and sustainability transitions in food and energy, and 'uncertainty from 'below' and 'above' in responding to climate change. Political ecologies of global transformation will address carbon in relation to land and livelihoods in rural Africa, and the dynamics of global commodity chains, focusing on meat and soybean. The socio-ecological dynamics of disease will address zoonotic disease risks in intensifying livestock production systems, and new approaches to integrated vector management. We will also undertake two major cross-cutting workstreams, developing a toolbox of novel interdisciplinary Methods and Methodologies for analysing sustainability issues, and expanding and integrating our work on Impact, Communications and Engagement, following up our high profile New Manifesto project and bringing new ideas, evidence and approaches to international processes around Rio plus 20, the MDGs and beyond. These work streams will further integrate the Centre's work, and enable a wide range of outreach activities geared to building pathways to sustainability and social justice in diverse contexts. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

195007.28

198473.47

195007.28

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-KRYEWNA-CS88H8N-TLF8RZG

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Waterproofing Data: engaging stakeholders in the sustainable governance of flood risks for urban resilience</narrative> Waterproofing Data investigates the governance of water-related risks, with a focus on social and cultural aspects of data practices. Typically, data flows up from local levels to scientific "centres of expertise", and then flood-related alerts and interventions flow back down through local governments and into communities. Rethinking how flood-related data is produced, and how it flows, can help build sustainable, flood resilient communities. To this end, this project develops three innovative methods around data practices, across different sites and scales: 1) we will make visible existing flows of flood-related data through tracing data; 2) generate new types of data at the local level by engaging citizens through the creation of multi-modal interfaces, which sense, collect and communicate flood data, and; 3) integrate citizen-generated data with other data using geo-computational techniques. These methodological interventions will transform how flood-related data is produced and flows, creating new governance arrangements between citizens, governments and flood experts and, ultimately, increased community resilience related to floods in vulnerable communities of Sao Paulo and Acre, Brazil. The project will be conducted by a highly skilled international team of researchers with multiple disciplinary backgrounds from Brazil, Germany and the UK, in close partnership with researchers, stakeholders and publics of a multi-site case study on flood risk management in Brazil. Furthermore, the methods and results of this case study will be the basis for a transcultural dialogue with government organisations and local administration involved in flood risk management in Germany and the United Kingdom. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Brazil

23764.46

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-KRYEWNA-CS88H8N-YGRALKN

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MODELS TO ACCELERATE SUSTAINABILITY TRANSITIONS - IPACST</narrative> Transformations to sustainability rely on innovation with complex diffusion and adoption processes. The role of intellectual property (IP) and IP rights (IPR) in sustainability transitions remains insufficiently understood. IPR can delay transitions by blocking new technologies, but if used effectively can encourage private investments, knowledge sharing and collaborative learning. The project transforms our understanding of how intellectual property (IP) models accelerate sustainability transitions integrating theories and concepts from sustainability, IP and innovation research. To date, sustainability and IP research have been studied independently. This project contributes to the integration of both fields through frameworks that conceptualize (i) which, (ii) how and (iii) under what conditions IP models accelerate sustainable transitions, in connection with sustainable business models. Hence, we build an interdisciplinary research community that furthers our understanding of dynamic sustainable economic development. An IP model typology, a sustainable business model typology and conceptual frameworks will be developed based upon case studies in clean energy and circular economy in developing and developed countries. With a Delphi study and simulations, the frameworks will be tested for further sectors. To create impact in industries at different levels, we develop and promote tools for selecting suitable IP and business models, best-practice cases and guidelines, awareness and training kits for key stakeholders such as policy makers, funding organizations, businesses and start-up incubators, education institutions and technology transfer offices. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

33274.46

32936.71

33274.66

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

32936.71

33274.46

32936.71

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-KRYEWNA-CS88H8N-4NQ2RCP

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Sustainability Transformations in Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining: A Multi-Actor and Trans-Regional Perspective (ST-ASGM)</narrative> The objective of the ST-ASGM project is to consider whether a transformative approach towards sustainability can arise in Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining (ASGM). Supporting the livelihoods of millions of people in low and lower middle income countries, ASGM has potential to contribute to sustainable development across the 17 SDGs. However, negative impacts generate critical barriers to sustainability. Anthropology is an entry point for an interdisciplinary approach to better conceptualize the dynamic, heterogeneous reality of ASGM and to identify potential for sustainable transformations in these shifting social settings. Capitalizing on existing ASGM partnerships, this research forms the basis for a trans-continental and trans-national project organized within 7 Work Packages for integrated comparative sustainability tracking between South America, West Africa and East Africa. To add value to global research efforts, 'Sustainability Conversations' will enhance impact, co-producing knowledge with mining actors to understand sustainability from miners' own perspectives. A strategic evidence-based summary 'Visions and Vistas for Sustainable Futures in ASGM' will contribute to policy influence. Giving creative expression to people's understandings of sustainable mining futures and building impact, is an exciting collaboration between African photographers from NUKU studios, Ghana, and the Museum of Ethnography of Material Culture, the Netherlands. This incorporates the co-production of visual images with African and Brazilian gold miners, as the basis of a travelling exhibition 'Moving Mine Matters' between West and East Africa, Brazil and Europe. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

UNIVERSITY OF READING

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

23487.33

6073.86

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

6073.86

23487.33

6073.86

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-KRYEWNA-CS88H8N-UJEG8MG

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Towards Convivial Conservation: Governing Human-Wildlife Interactions in the Anthropocene</narrative> CON-VIVA is grounded in the premise that conservation is critical to transformations to sustainability but that its practices need to change radically. Conservation can be effective in protecting biodiversity in places, but in toto has failed to halt global biodiversity loss. Continued habitat fragmentation and reduced funding during times of austerity compound this problem. Many conservationists now acknowledge this, leading to vigorous 'Anthropocene' discussions on how to reconfigure human-wildlife relations, protected areas and the role of economic development in conservation. CON-VIVA's key objective is to conceptually refine and empirically test the prospects for one proposal emerging from these debates: convivial conservation. This new model responds to the T2S themes by moving beyond protected areas and faith in markets to build landscape, governance and funding pathways that integrate conservation and poverty reduction, while enhancing prosperity. CON-VIVA investigates the prospects for convivial conservation by comparing cutting-edge conservation cases that address human-wildlife conflict involving apex predators in Finland, USA and DAC-countries Brazil and Tanzania. Our hypothesis is that if 'living with' apex predators can be effectively combined with new forms of economic development, a transition to convivial conservation can be boosted significantly. By organising the project around integrated academic-practitioner networks on local and global levels, we will better understand the conditions for this transition, while conceptualising and popularising a new model for conservation. This allows CON-VIVA to contribute to SDG15 and to inspire and enhance broader transformations to sustainability. CAN YOU READ THIS? Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

26982.04

4329.07

26982.04

4329.07

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-KRYEWNA-CS88H8N-MTHCSE9

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Migration, Transformation and Sustainability</narrative> This research integrates comprehensive insights on migration into theories of transformation to sustainability. There is unprecedented concern over involuntary migration globally affecting insecurity and human rights. But both domestic and international migration has enormous transformative potential for individuals and societies. Transformation theories assume static populations and fail to recognize both positive and negative impacts of the movement of people. This gap limits explanations and intervention strategies for sustainability. The objective is therefore to use theory and rigorous empirical research to expand knowledge of transformations to sustainability by incorporating migration dynamics. These specifically include: the impact of aggregate flows of people on sustainability; the individual lifecourse dimensions of sustainability; and the governance of migration and sustainability. The research will develop a comprehensive migration-sustainability model, and develop insights on sustainability strategies at local, national and international scales. It will build global capacity of social science to explain and engage with migration dimensions of transformations to sustainability. The interdisciplinary social-science led consortium from Europe, North America, Asia and Africa builds on on-going methodological innovation and deep collaboration. The research design involves modelling, observations and action research at global scales and in research sites representing the full range of so-called migration transitions. The outcome will be co-designed advances in theory and salient and workable sustainability strategies reflecting real world migration dynamics. The project research findings will contribute to increased resilience of poor and insecure migrant communities in developing countries, especially in Bangladesh. The research aims to promote and enable joined-up and transformative approaches to inclusive development, informed by analysis of outcomes and behaviour putting poor people’s experiences, aspirations and capacities at its core. Specifically, the planned activities will provide new insights into the impacts and experiences of migrant populations, including ethnic minorities, in highly urbanized areas of Bangladesh. It will do so through co-production between researchers, migrants and planners of new empirical data on how migrant perceived wellbeing, place-attachment and adaptive capacity intersect with poverty, security and the environment. Hence a series of activities has been designed to establish and strengthen networks and relationships with research users and to involve them at all stages of the project. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

UNIVERSITY OF EXETER

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

33191.13

23150.45

33191.13

56341.58

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-KRYEWNA-CS88H8N-6RJZ47Q

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Governance of Sociotechnical Transformations</narrative> The Governance of Sociotechnical Transformations (GoST) project will focus on transformation processes in three areas of crucial relevance to sustainable development, relating in particular to pressing imperatives in countries of the Global South: energy systems, agriculture, and urban digital infrastructures. Each implicates intricate North-South linkages that must be better understood for global sustainability efforts. Adopting a systematic comparative approach, GoST will use sociotechnical imaginaries as a conceptual tool to make sense of how collective imaginations of transformation have determined present conditions. Many challenges in the three focal areas are related to the prevailing imaginary, and solutions may require radically new imaginaries. Through analysis of two interlinked parameters of transformation (dimensionality and temporality) across five nations (Germany, India, Kenya, UK, US), leading research centers in each will examine, in cooperation with key stakeholders, the differences between imagined and experienced states in each focal instance of transformation in each country. By rethinking transformation through these lenses, GoST presents a methodologically innovative, integrative, empirically grounded approach that goes beyond usual characterizations of transformation as a linear process of development. Expected outcomes and impacts: GoST will demonstrate feasible choices among alternative pathways for enacting socially progressive transformations towards sustainability, producing insights of immediate practical importance regarding how such transformations can best be governed in each selected area: by whom (Call Theme 1), to what ends, by what means (3), and with what welfare consequences for affected groups (2). Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

29619.11

16889.31

29619.11

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-KRYEWNA-CS88H8N-SXH77V2

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Transformation as Praxis: Exploring Socially Just and Transdisciplinary Pathways to Sustainability in Marginal Environments (TAPESTRY)</narrative> The objective of TAPESTRY is to examine how transformation may arise from below in marginal environments with high levels of uncertainty. Climate change uncertainties, especially at the local level, constitute one of the main challenges to the sustainability of societies and ecosystems, calling for systemic transformative changes. While uncertainty can exacerbate anxieties about the future, it can also provide an opportunity to create transformation and deep structural change. TAPESTRY focuses on three patches of transformation in India and Bangladesh - vulnerable coastal areas of Mumbai, the Sundarbans and Kutch - where hybrid alliances and innovative practices are reimagining sustainable development and inspiring societal transformation. TAPESTRY is organised in a transnational and transdisciplinary consortium across the UK, India, Bangladesh, Norway and Japan. Its conceptual innovation lies in studying transformation as praxis, by putting bottom-up change and the agency of marginalised people at the centre and by analysing how co-produced transformations can be scaled up and out. The project is particularly relevant to theme 1 and 3 of the call, i.e. governance, wellbeing, quality of life, identity and values in relation to transformations to sustainability. All these lie at the heart of the welfare and development challenges faced by India (a lower middle income country) and Bangladesh (least developed country). The project's outcomes and impact will inform processes to improve the quality of life of marginalised people affected by climate change related uncertainties, build action and capacity amongst all partners whilst generating evidence of how bottom-up transformation can take place in marginal environments. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

INSTITUTE OF DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South Asia, regional

32828.67

32291.2

33291.20

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

32291.2

32828.67

32291.2

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-KRYEWNA-XBEXCC9-3TT9SBW

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Between protection and exclusion: Separated child migrants' care relationships and caring practices</narrative> The promise of this project lies in generating knowledge that both analyses and provides ways to address one of the greatest global challenges of our time: the care and well-being of children affected by transnational displacement and migration. It will offer insights into the care of separated migrant children in England, starting from the premise that care is not necessarily limited to that provided by an adult or the state. Our pilot studies demonstrate that a crucial way separated migrant children survive the challenges of migration and settlement is through the care they provide and receive from other migrant children. Using creative research methods designed to involve separated migrant children and adult stakeholders in reflecting on their understandings and experiences of care, this project will not only point to 'cracks in the system' (Rosen et al., 2017) but offer insights into what constitutes good practice and how to develop it. This project sits against the backdrop of the displacement of over 65.6 million people globally, many of whom are children. Whilst some have moved with adult family members, the number who have been separated from primary carers at some point during their migration journeys has risen dramatically (Unicef, 2016). Often referred to as 'unaccompanied minors' in legal and policy contexts, we use the term 'separated child migrants' to highlight that many children maintain transnational relationships or reunite with parents at various points in the migration process, and are often accompanied by other kin and non-kin adults and children (Rosen, forthcoming). When separated migrant children arrive in the UK, they face conflicting treatment. They are protected as 'children' and entitled to the same rights to care as all other children. But, they are often treated as 'suspect' and excluded from welfare provision because of their status as 'migrants' (Crafter, forthcoming). Previous research has highlighted that the tension between immigration control and protection has led to significant differences in the quality of care provided for separated migrant children. New policy and guidance about separated migrant children is both responding to and changing the way these tensions are handled in the UK with, as yet, unknown consequences. In any case, they do not take children's care for each other into account. Little is known about separated children's care for each other as they navigate contradictory, complex, and changeable immigration and welfare systems. Nor do we know how separated children's care for each other is understood and treated by relevant adult stakeholders, including social workers, foster carers, educators, youth workers, religious leaders, legal professionals, and policy makers. Our pilot studies indicate this neglect means that policies and practices designed to support separated child migrants can end up harming, excluding or discriminating against them. For instance, children who care for each other may be forcibly separated in foster care placements, go 'missing' trying to reunite, or have their 'child' status questioned. In response, this project makes a needed and timely intervention. Placing separated children at its heart, this study asks: What are separated child migrants' experiences of care and caring for others? How do various economic, social and political factors shape the care priorities of relevant stakeholders? What are the theoretical, policy, and practice implications of varying understandings and practices of care? This project has been designed by a multidisciplinary research team in collaboration with a range of local and national charities including Refugee Youth and MEENA (for migrant children and women in Birmingham), and involves the Refugee Council, Coram Children's Legal Project, and Barnardo's in an Advisory Group. This broad-based team ensures that the project will have meaningful impact on the lives of separated migrant children. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

249657.2

125839.7

62919.85

62414.3

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-KRYEWNA-XBEXCC9-VQ7VPW3

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>The Crime-Terror Nexus: Investigating the overlap between criminal and extremist practices, narratives and networks in Tripoli, Lebanon</narrative> THE RELEVANCE OF OUR RESEARCH Tripoli, Lebanon's second city, has over the past eight years witnessed a significant increase in levels of violence. This mainly stems from the progressive merger of criminal and terrorist milieux, practices and narratives and their growing embeddedness in the marginalized districts of Qobbe, Bab al-Tebbaneh and Mankoubin. Indeed, there is a 'neighbourhood effect' at work: preliminary data we collected from the Lebanese Interior Ministry shows that out of 152 Tripolitans arrested for terrorism-related charges in 2016 and 2017 over two-thirds hailed from one of these three districts, and that the overwhelming majority were, or had been, involved in criminal activities. This phenomenon of Islamo-gangsterism is far from unique to Tripoli - scholars and security practitioners have in fact demonstrated that between a quarter and a half of all convicted jihadis in Europe have a criminal background and hail from the marginalized neighbourhoods of large cities. The prevalence and overlap of criminal and terrorist networks in Manchester's Moss Side or Brussels' Molenbeek are a case in point of how Islamo-gangsterism can become rooted in certain sociopolitical, spatial and historical contexts. There is an urgent need to study why and how TNOC becomes rooted in deprived urban communities and increasingly intersects with terrorism, and we are using Tripoli as an example of how to address this. THE RESEARCH QUESTION What are the underlying factors and processes that explain how spaces such as Tripoli's Qobbe, Bab al-Tebbaneh and Mankoubin as well as, more generally, the deprived neighbourhoods of large cities (1) become the privileged milieus of TNOC and (2) turn into safe territories for crime-terror interaction? OUR RESEARCH METHODS Answering this question demands data on the sociopolitical, spatial and historical dimensions of TNOC's genesis, embeddedness and interaction with extremist networks in Tripolitan neighbourhoods. We will collect this by using a rigorous mixed methods research design that involves undertaking archival research, data collection, a survey of residents and qualitative interviews. (1) Archival research: we will investigate the history of crime-terror interaction in Tripoli by retracing the rise and fall of two revolutionary groups which epitomized early forms of this phenomenon - the Organization of Anger and the Movement of the Wanted - by exploring the archives of Lebanese and Tripolitan newspapers. (2) Data collection: we will retrieve and analyse data on terrorist and criminal convicts, as well as on Tripoli's deprived districts, from the Lebanese Interior Ministry. (3) Survey of residents: we will explore the spatial and sociopolitical dimension of crime-terror interaction by conducting a survey of 150 residents in each of the three aforementioned districts in order to ascertain the nature and extent of local perceptions of criminal and extremist milieux, practices and narratives. (4) Qualitative interviews: we will interview twenty well-placed observers of the crime-terror nexus in Tripoli in order to obtain additional insights and shed light on this phenomenon. Our project uses an interpretative lens that draws upon urban sociology, contentious politics and cultural anthropology to grasp how neighbourhood dynamics, a history of dissent as well as the prevalence of narratives emphasizing humiliation and rebellion, can intersect with criminal and extremist practices. ENGAGEMENT WITH STAKEHOLDERS Our project relies on sustained engagement with non-academic stakeholders at each stage of the process in order to achieve two goals: (1) to allow us to continuously reflect on whether and how findings derived from Tripoli can be applicable elsewhere (members of advisory board: Ch Supt John Denley and Antonio Sampaio) and; (2) to enhance the dissemination and outreach of our output (project partners: March, Berghof Foundation and Carnegie MEC). Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

121088.8

122069.63

30702.41

30455.74

30211.02

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-KRYEWNA-XBEXCC9-HJL6G5Y

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Hidden Narratives of Transnational Organised Crime in West Africa</narrative> This project asks whether crime of a transnational and organised form exists in West Africa, and investigates the understandings of it held by people on both sides of the line between crime and control. The project assumes that the ways criminal and state actors speak about and understand their roles, i.e. their 'narratives', provides a helpful entry point into a better understanding of the everyday reality of participating in and seeking to counter criminal activities. The project is built on the investigators' observation that much of our understanding of transnational organised crime (TNOC) in West Africa is based on official reports, statistics and other largely detached assessments about this phenomenon. Using the cases of drug trafficking and people smuggling, the project seeks to uncover the 'hidden narratives' of TNOC in West Africa in order to better understand the practices around TNOC. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Western Africa, regional

100751.01

33583.67

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-KRYEWNA-XBEXCC9-XUVETPF

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

UNIVERSITY OF YORK

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Western Africa, regional

73893.7

39946.81

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

36946.85

39946.81

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-KRYEWNA-KZZWCKS-QS93R9V

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Inequality and Governance in Unstable Democracies: The Mediating Role of Trust</narrative> Understanding how global rises in economic inequality are affecting governance regimes across the world is a critical question to the social sciences today. Historically, sharp increases in inequality have generated drastic changes in political and social order (Gurr 1970, Skocpol 1979, 1994). However, existing knowledge about the causal effects of inequality on governance is surprisingly limited. At the macro-level, studies show in general a negative association between economic inequality and the quality of governance institutions (Acemoglu and Robinson 2006, Rothstein 2011), but have not reached a consensus about the causal mechanisms that may explain this relationship. At the micro-level, the evidence so far reveals mixed effects of inequality on a number of factors that shape governance institutions, including voting behaviour, attitudes towards democracy and the rule of law, civic participation, collective mobilisation and political violence (Alesina and La Ferrara 2005, Bardhan 2005, Solt 2008). These mixed effects are not surprising because the ways in which citizens participate in the political arena and mobilise collectively to drive change are moulded by inequality itself. One case in point - which we currently observe in many parts of the world - is when rises in inequality allow the capture of political decision-making processes by those that benefit from them, eroding social relations between groups and trust in institutions (Piketty 2013, Stiglitz 2013). However, despite the enormous consequences of these complex relationships for global stability and democratic values, there is to date limited knowledge about the factors that may mediate the relationship between rising inequalities and governance outcomes. When this evidence exists, it is restricted to a handful of countries. The main aim of this project is to explore how one key factor -trust- mediates the relationship between inequality and governance in settings where democratic institutions may be unstable or under threat. The project is organised around three thematic areas: (i) how trust within and between social groups and towards governance institutions emerges and evolves in contexts of rising inequality; (ii) how trust in unequal societies shapes governance outcomes through two intervening factors - political behaviour and social mobilisation; and (iii) the pathways through which changes in such intervening factors may sometimes result in inclusive governance outcomes, but in the breakdown of governance at other times. Each of these areas will incorporate detailed theoretical and empirical analyses at the subnational level in four countries -Colombia, Ethiopia, Pakistan and Spain- affected by rising inequalities and characterised by unstable or strained democratic institutions. The absence of systematic qualitative, quantitative and behavioural data has hindered progress in understanding the links between inequality, trust and governance in countries outside North America and Western Europe. The project seeks to compile a number of unexplored data sources and collect new data comparatively across these other countries in order to fulfil this critical gap. This data collection will involve: (i) comparative individual-level surveys to understand contemporaneous levels of trust, and attitudes towards formal and non-formal local governing institutions, (ii) behavioural experiments under different inequality and political contexts to better understand the formation of trust under different scenarios, (iii) indepth interviews with key political actors in government, members of social movements and citizen organisations to understand how inequalities affect perceptions of governance and strategies of political mobilisation, and (iv)detailed compilation of archival data that will allow us to better understand how inequalities and attitudes have evolved across time and how different historical junctures may shape the governance outcomes we observe today. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

25049.9

590325.68

595107.38

272001.2

137102.2

136000.6

148776.89

148776.83

147581.42

25049.9

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-VKHXMQX-KKBT9JN

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Raising Learning Outcomes (RLO) - Evidence and Policy Directorate (EPD)</narrative> Evidence and Policy Directorate (EPD) which will maximise the impact of research they jointly fund on policy and practice relevant to developing countries. The EPD will be delivered by a consortium from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) and the University of Cambridge’s Faculty of Education. It will design and deliver a strategic programme of work to support and enhance the uptake and impact of research from two research programme’s jointly funded by ESRC and DFID: the Joint Fund for Poverty Alleviation Research (www.esrc.ac.uk/dfid); and the Raising Learning Outcomes in Education Systems Research Programme (www.esrc.ac.uk/eddev). These programmes provide a rich source of research evidence which aims to be useful to, taken up and applied by policymakers and other stakeholders to address international development goals. As the portfolio of research the programmes have funded grows, there is an opportunity to add value to the successful impact-promoting activities already being undertaken by individual research teams. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

12089.25

34901.08

62412.060000000005

53066.65

13221.34

5126.22

13221.34

53066.65

34149.62

14964.79

13297.65

3537.88

9876.19

12517.68

8969.33

12089.25

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-PCVLGJ2-AVPJFBM

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Examining Effective Teaching in Rural Honduran Secondary Schools</narrative> Honduras is one of the poorest and most violent countries in Central America. In this context, education should offer an escape; a path to a better future. However, the quality of Honduran schooling is abysmal, and few youth are able to study in secondary schools.. Despite these challenges, in our previous research we have discovered what one Honduran educational authority described as a "light in the path," a way for rural youth from disadvantaged communities to have access to high quality education. This "light" is the Sistema de Aprendizaje Tutorial program (Tutorial Learning System or SAT). In the proposed research we will build upon the positive findings of our recently completed impact evaluation (see McEwan et al., 2014) to examine a number of remaining questions regarding the elements that support effective teaching in poor, rural, geographically isolated communities. Furthermore, by collecting follow-up data collection with a cohort of youth from 94 villages that we began tracking in 2008, we will be able to examine whether learning gains fade over time as well as whether there are linkages between improved quality education and successful transition to adulthood (e.g. enrollment in tertiary education, labor market outcomes, delayed marriage and pregnancy). In doing so, this research will also provide a unique opportunity to develop improved measures of educational quality and adolescent girls' empowerment in low-income countries. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Honduras

5781.42

16791.14

1705.62

4761.33

6034.8

4289.39

5781.42

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-PCVLGJ2-X2CY2EA

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Improving curriculum and teaching methods to influence policy and increase the quality of ECDE provision for children with disabilities in Malawi</narrative> The University of Birmingham (UoB) and Sightsavers International have invited researchers and academics from leading institutions working in the areas of early childhood development and education (ECDE) and special educational needs and disability (SEND), educational psychology, applied anthropology, and epidemiology in Malawi, the UK and the USA to co-design and conduct an innovative three-year study. This study will provide the ESRC, DfID, the Malawi Government and its partners in education with a better understanding of the complex dynamics that can enable or inhibit quality ECDE for CWDs. The Malawi Government has prioritised ECDE as part of its Growth and Development Strategy II (2012-16) to increase equity of access and improve the quality of early childhood services which are currently reaching just over one third of children aged three to five years. This research programme, which aims to address the widespread need for equitable and quality ECDE services in Malawi, will establish advanced level collaboration between UoB - a research institution specialising in the education of children with disabilities (CWDs) - and Sightsavers, a UK-based charity that supports the educational inclusion of CWDs in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. They will collaborate with the University of Malawi (Chancellor College), Arizona State University, and a UK-based research organisation specialising in applied anthropology in global health research (Anthrologica). Non-academic stakeholders will include the Malawi Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Welfare (MoGCSW) and the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST), Save the Children, and the Association of Early Childhood Development in Malawi (AECDM), the main agency responsible for the delivery of ECDE training to all caregivers in Malawi. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Malawi

8660.52

25152.96

9091.42

2555.0

7132.43

9040.07

6425.46

8660.52

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-PCVLGJ2-Q8K9M9J

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Learning outcomes and teacher effectiveness for children facing multiple disadvantages, including those with disabilities: India and Pakistan</narrative> The project aims to identify strategies to raise learning outcomes for all children, regardless of their background. It is widely recognized that teachers are central to a child's educational experience. Yet, in low income countries, disadvantaged learners often face poor quality teaching: many teachers are recruited without having a basic subject knowledge themselves, receive inadequate training with limited attention to strategies to support children from diverse backgrounds, and weak incentives and poor teacher governance can lead to low motivation and high levels of teacher absenteeism. The research will, therefore identify which aspects of teaching are most important for improving all children's learning, and so inform governments on the strategies needed to support children who face multiple disadvantages. The research will be conducted in India and Pakistan, countries characteristic of other poor countries in terms of wide learning inequalities. India shows some advances in identifying strategies to tackle disadvantage, while Pakistan is similar to many other low income countries in not yet having such strategies. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South Asia, regional

8942.97

25810.16

10717.23

2504.03

7336.2

9334.91

6635.02

8942.97

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-PCVLGJ2-JFYHNL3

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Pedagogies for Critical Thinking: Innovation and Outcomes in African Higher Education</narrative> New understanding of the ways in which higher education contributes to economic and human development has strengthened the justification for investment in higher education in lower-income contexts in recent years. This, in turn, has prompted a wave of reform and revitalisation efforts within African higher education systems. One of the primary assumptions motivating such reforms is that higher education encourages the ability to think critically about problems and to use evidence when making decisions. However, there is evidence to suggest that the assumption that students improve their critical thinking skills as a result of university study may not be valid in many African contexts. Concern about the capacity of graduates from African universities to demonstrate 'high skills', such as critical thinking, has prompted a growing recognition of the need for pedagogical change within many African higher education institutions. A problem for higher education policy in the region, however, is that this renewed interest in the importance of teaching and learning is supported by limited empirical evidence, as there has been little analysis of the effectiveness of pedagogical practice within African universities. Although there is a substantial body of literature investigating the ways in which academic experiences at university can positively influence the development of student critical thinking skills, much of the current evidence rests on research conducted in other cultural contexts, particularly the USA, UK, Australia and, to a limited extent, East Asia. There are, therefore, concerns about how applicable such findings may be to African university contexts. This project aims to expand the existing evidence base around how pedagogical practices affect the development of critical thinking at African higher education institutions by investigating the impact of locally-generated pedagogical interventions on student critical thinking ability in Kenya, Ghana and Botswana. The study follows a mixed methods design, comprising a longitudinal study of student outcomes and a qualitative investigation of how institutions are able to encourage processes of pedagogical change. In each country context, our institutional sample will consist of six faculties: three which have been purposively selected due to their attempts at pedagogical reform, and three 'matched' faculties which have similar characteristics to the intervention faculties but have not yet attempted any pedagogical interventions. Within each faculty, a random sample of 100 incoming students will complete a critical thinking assessment (adapted for use in the study contexts) at the beginning of their first year and again at the end of their second year at university. Gains in assessment scores will be compared between faculties, in order to investigate whether students enrolled in the intervention faculties demonstrate more progress than students enrolled in faculties which have not attempted any pedagogical reform. Additional analysis will investigate which pedagogical practices have the strongest impact on improvements in critical thinking ability. Parallel to the longitudinal study, in-depth qualitative case studies will be conducted within the 'intervention' Faculties, in order to gain insight into the intervention implementation process. The results of the project will provide potentially generalisable evidence of the effectiveness of pedagogical interventions currently being implemented within African universities. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South of Sahara, regional

8027

20993.170000000002

4962.84

6610.7

8378.79

6003.68

8027.0

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-PCVLGJ2-YPQVCF5

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>The Literacy Laboratory Project (LLP) under the Northern Uganda Literacy Program</narrative> The Literacy Laboratory Project (LLP) will scale up and evaluate the Mango Tree literacy program, whose model delivers better-quality teacher instruction, access to relevant literacy materials, inclusive approaches to learner assessment, parental and community engagement in schools and strengthening literacy infrastructure so that reading and writing, especially in local languages, becomes a meaningful part of daily life in households and communities. This scale-up will test a piloted and improved model to evaluate its effectiveness and test the mode of program delivery. Under the LLP, researchers from the University of Michigan will conduct a rigorous randomized control trial of the program in the Lango Sub-region over 4 years to measure the effectiveness of the instructional model, teacher training and support supervision innovations and literacy materials and methods on Primary 1- Primary 3 pupils' literacy achievement and explore public-private avenues for scale-up. We will study 128 schools, which are randomly assigned to either the full LLP implemented by Mango Tree's field officers, a partial-program implemented by Government Teacher Tutors, or a control group. The study will also randomize instructional materials to evaluate their contribution to effective teaching. The study will collect a rich set of pupil, parent, teacher, classroom, and school-level longitudinal data. Learning will be measured principally in terms of improvements in EGRA and Early Grade Writing Assessment scores. Our goals are to: 1) demonstrate that big effects on learning are possible (as the 2013 pilot evaluation results point toward); 2) show that with the right combination of training, teaching and learning materials and correct support, teachers can be supported to effectively teach literacy - even in rural, under-resourced, overcrowded classrooms; and 3) to test and evaluate economic approaches to implementation at scale to determine value-for-money impacts on pupil learning and teacher performance in African schools. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Uganda

15327.9

44250.92

42432.159999999996

24792.04

10393.1

15179.03

16860.03

4485.66

12521.98

15871.11

11372.17

15327.9

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-VKHXMQX-JQHTGH3

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Raising Learing Outcomes (RLO) - Phase 1 - Evaluation 2020</narrative> Impact evalution for the Raising Learning Outcomes Programme Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

4403.28

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-VKHXMQX-MTFNZVK

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>ESRC-DFID Raising Learning Outcomes in Education Systems Research Programme, Programme Research Lead</narrative> The Programme Research Lead will help to maximise the scientific value of the programme by identifying, promoting and supporting opportunities for research collaboration and synergy across the portfolio of grants. It will seek to publish evidence of the scientific, conceptual and methodological contributions of the programme and develop a sophisticated analysis of how the research under the programme aligns more strategically with those of the broader scientific landscape. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

29270.03

34924.1

-1748.13

6829.92

6874.65

10053.1

11166.43

2970.86

26299.17

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-MVDY2ZX-2H6LWAV

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Promoting Children's Learning Outcomes in Conflict-Affected Countries: Evidence for Action in Niger</narrative> Children in conflict-affected countries (CACs) experience profound constraints on their academic learning and socioemotional well-being. Children exposed to violence and poverty come to "school" (formal or non-formal education settings) with poor executive function skills (e.g. working memory, inhibition, attention), emotional/behavioral regulation skills and social-information-processing skills. And the formal and non-formal "schools" they attend rarely use effective strategies to advance their academic and socioemotional skills. What can be done? This project aims to develop both scientific and practical knowledge about how to lift these constraints on children in CACs like Niger. First, we propose to adapt and test novel, low-cost, targeted interventions (LCTs) like Mindfulness (MI) and Brain Games (BG) designed to improve children's executive function, emotional/behavioral regulation and social information-processing skills and, subsequently, their literacy and numeracy skills and socioemotional well-being. Second, even when interventions like MI and BG work, they often work better for some children, in some classrooms and schools, and under some conditions than for others. So this study will examine whether variability in the quality of implementation (e.g. dosage, fidelity) of MI and BG results in the variability in their impacts on children's learning and development in Niger. Third and finally, these types of complex interactions among students, teachers, "schools" and program interventions (like remedial support programs) are embedded in larger systems and broader contexts that may constrain or enable quality implementation of program strategies (such as MI and BG). But there is very little high-quality, rigorous research, grounded in social and systems theories, available in CACs to understand how these higher-level systems influence the dynamic interactions of schools, programs, classrooms, teachers and students. So we will conduct a theory-building qualitative study embedded in the school cluster-randomized field test of MI and BG and their implementation. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Niger (the)

32622.29

59630.03999999999

19780.35

17323.35

10395.56

15182.62

16728.51

4450.67

12424.31

15747.31

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-MVDY2ZX-M767QFT

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Peer to Peer Deaf Multiliteracies: research into a sustainable approach to education of Deaf children and young adults in the Global South</narrative> The exclusion of deaf children and young adults from access to school systems in the developing world results in individuals and communities being denied quality education; this not only leads to unemployment, underemployment, low income, and a high risk of poverty, but also represents a needless waste of human talent and potential. To target this problem, this project extends work conducted under a pilot project addressing issues of literacy education with young deaf people in the Global South. Creating, implementing and evaluating our innovative intervention based on the peer teaching of English literacy through sign language-based tutoring, everyday real life texts such as job application forms, and the use of a bespoke online resource, enabled us to generate a sustainable, cost-effective and learner-directed way to foster literacy learning amongst deaf individuals. To reach further target groups and conduct more in-depth research, the present project extends our work to new groups of learners in India, Uganda, Ghana, Rwanda and Nepal, both in primary schools (ca 60 children in India, Ghana, and Uganda) and with young adult learners (ca 100 learners in interventions, plus ca 60 young adults in scoping workshops in Nepal and Rwanda). Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

19166.56

34537.649999999994

63077.12

4401.33

12638.26

35723.73

5413.26

9301.87

9681.2

6107.71

8920.24

9828.5

2614.9

7299.65

9252.01

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-8XRJPF9-U6HPYCH

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Investing in our Future: The Early Childhood Intervention and Parental Involvement in Bangladesh</narrative> Our project sets out to investigate the impact of several novel programs targeting both pre-school children and their parents, with the goal of improving both short- and long-term outcomes of rural children in Bangladesh. Past research, such as that on the Perry Preschool Program, has demonstrated that the return to investment in high quality childhood education is substantial and that this is especially true for families from disadvantaged backgrounds. However, the vast majority of these programs are currently found in developed countries and it is uncertain whether these types of intensive programs can be effectively run in a poor developing country. Other research has shown that parenting skills are potentially as crucial as formal early life educational programs for child development. Again, this evidence is mainly from developed countries and no research has examined if this is true in the context of developing countries where many poor families have limited education themselves. Recent work has also shown that parental stress is a particularly important impediment to investments in children among the poor. Some researchers have argued that other investments, such as those in formal education, are unlikely to have benefits if parents are constantly worried about day-to-day stressors. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Bangladesh

8529.09

24822.51

33788.979999999996

51102.33

36139.69

36139.65

5476.28

9486.4

9793.91

5877.22

8583.63

9534.22

2516.23

7024.19

8902.88

6379.21

8529.09

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-8XRJPF9-2FAP4AR

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Multilingualism and Multiliteracy: Raising learning outcomes in challenging contexts in primary schools across India</narrative> This innovative project examines the causes of low educational outcomes in schools in India where many children fail to achieve basic literacy and numeracy levels, while dropout rates, affecting girls more than boys, are very high. A starting point of this research is that bilingualism and multilingualism have revealed cognitive advantages and good learning skills in children raised in western societies. Multilingualism is the norm in India. However, rather than enjoying cognitive and learning advantages, multilingual Indian children show low levels of basic learning skills including critical thinking and problem-solving. This project is innovative in seeking to disentangle the causes of this paradox. The project builds on Tsimpli's large scale (600K) EU-funded THALES bilingualism project which assessed cognitive and language abilities of 700+ children in five different countries, expanding this project into numeracy, critical thinking and problem solving in multilingual children which are key elements in the Indian context. The PI and co-Is have been preparing this application for the last two years in conjunction with the current project partners and consultants in India with 20k. Funding from the British Council and 3k funding from the Centre for Literacy and Multilingualism at the University of Reading. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

India

9159.46

21670.92

29498.96

55850.69

11908.35

39497.7

5985.13

10367.86

8550.42

5131.02

7493.81

8323.71

2196.75

6132.37

7772.53

5569.27

9159.46

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-8XRJPF9-9W2ZH4F

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Education systems, aspiration and learning in remote rural settings</narrative> Project aim: To provide insight into how education systems can develop effective polices and interventions that work with young people's aspirations to enhance learning outcomes and address structural disadvantage in remote rural places OBJECTIVES 1) To develop a robust understanding of the mechanisms that connect schooling, aspirations and learning outcomes 2) To develop methods suitable for capturing and understanding these mechanisms RESEARCH QUESTIONS 1) What roles do 21st century education systems play in shaping young people's aspirations in remote rural areas? 2) How are the aspirations of young people living in remote rural areas produced in relation to both schooling and their wider social, economic and cultural contexts? 3) How do young people's aspirations shape their educational engagement and learning outcomes? Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

18971.93

54941.58

16360.58

5597.05

15624.48

19644.28

14075.77

18971.93

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-8XRJPF9-BLA2J7D

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Improving school governance and learning outcomes at scale: A randomized evaluation of the Madhya Pradesh School Quality Assessment program</narrative> We propose to conduct a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of one of the most ambitious recent attempts by a developing country government to improve education governance at scale. The evaluation will have a particular focus on the state of school governance, processes and learning outcomes in rural tribal areas, which have been one of the most challenging contexts to improve education in India. The Madhya Pradesh (MP) School Quality Assessment (MPSQA) intervention is a comprehensive program that aims to improve school governance and outcomes through a combination of (a) regular monitoring of schools, (b) creation of school report cards, and a customized school improvement plan, (c) quarterly follow-ups on progress against this plan, and (d) leveraging of ICT tools to collect and report real-time records of all assessment results, school improvement plans, and follow-ups to a dedicated online system. The PI's have worked with the project implementation team and have successfully randomized the rollout of the program across ~20,000 schools in the 2015/16 school year. The government is currently hoping to universalize the program to cover all 120,000 schools in MP by 2019. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

India

27325.97

24496.660000000003

19832.41

897.97

5670.83

17927.86

27325.97

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-8XRJPF9-MEJX9PC

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Facilitating Innovative Growth of Low Cost Private Schools: Experimental Evidence from Pakistan</narrative> The current project is a RCT that seeks to explain how alleviating these constraints one at a time or simultaneously would affect learning outcomes, enrolment and school profitability. The randomized component means that schools are randomly allocated to either receiving offers of a loan product or an equity product to alleviate financial constraints, and/or receive access to buying ESS such as teacher training, improved curricula or student testing services. The controlled component of the trial means that some - randomly chosen - schools do not get any of these treatments, which allows us to compare the treatment outcomes with the counterfactual. The two financial products were developed together with one of Pakistan's largest microfinance banks. The equity product represents an innovation in the type of financial product offered to SMEs, and it is particularly relevant to LCPS since its revenue-contingent interest rate (if the school earns more, it will pay a higher interest rate) effectively shifts some of the risk of an investment over to the bank, and LCPS tend to have to make more lumpy investments than other SMEs. Our theory is that a less risky financial product would allow schools to take on more risky investments, such as investments in quality-improving ESS services. Our earlier studies have shown that schools are, under most circumstances, more prone to undertake capacity-improving investments such as buying more chairs when they get access to finance, perhaps because the school owner can more accurately predict and advertise the result from buying new chairs than from buying teacher training services. This results in a stagnant quality development of learning outcomes, which are already very poor in rural Pakistan. In conclusion, the present study will broaden the knowledge about what policy makers and providers of financial and ESS products can do to facilitate the improvement of learning outcomes in challenging rural contexts where LCPS are present. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Pakistan

13874.52

36286.28

57848.47

11426.46

14482.58

10377.24

13874.52

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-8XRJPF9-CQPEF73

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Inclusive higher education learning outcomes for rural and township youth: developing a multi-dimensional capabilities-based higher education index</narrative> South African higher education (HE) is characterised by inequalities of access, participation and success, and hence youth disadvantage, yet it is also seen as central to economic development and social mobility. The aim of the research, captured in the production of an innovative HE Index, is to develop an integrated, policy-oriented theorisation of pathways to learning outcomes that foregrounds equality and quality for young people from rural areas and townships when they are preparing for university, their experiences at university, and their graduate outcomes, and to understand what enables the realization of the transformative potential of HE for them. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South Africa

10016.04

29005.86

39508.8

74884.73

7481.56

-38550.4

7481.56

15014.41

42440.24

6379.34

11050.74

11501.38

6901.86

9999.11

11106.45

2954.91

8248.79

10371.0

7431.16

10016.04

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-8XRJPF9-T4QEMYP

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Succeeding Against the Odds: Understanding resilience and exceptionalism in highfunctioning township and rural primary schools in South Africa</narrative> The aim of the present study is to understand resilience and exceptionalism in high-functioning township and rural primary schools in South Africa. Previous research has shown that a large part of the explanation behind these schools' success is the leadership and management practices of teachers and particularly principals. Despite this near universal acceptance of the pivotal role of school leadership and management (SLM) for student achievement, accurate quantitative indicators of these practices remain elusive. Put simply, we do not currently have appropriate questionnaires that can accurately capture the school leadership and management practices among schools in challenging contexts in developing countries. One of the reasons for this is that these instruments are designed primarily with a developed-country-context in mind and do not account for possibilities that are prevalent in developing countries and typical in challenging contexts. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South Africa

9237.7

26829.289999999997

19540.14

38827.65000000002

215598.7

-176771.05

9296.77

10243.37

2725.28

7607.77

9642.55

6853.69

9237.7

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-8XRJPF9-VCDA2MV

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>AFLA - Assessment for Learning in Africa: Improving Pedagogy and Assessment for Numeracy in Foundation Years</narrative> The low level of numeracy skills of millions of poor and marginalised students, particularly in developing nations, is of international concern. This project focuses on improving these through developing teachers' and teacher trainers' pedagogical and assessment skills in extremely deprived urban areas in South Africa and Tanzania. Eighteen schools and three training colleges will be involved. Our approach is to develop classroom materials for primary school numeracy and use these as the basis for workshops and for the development of teacher learning communities in each area. The workshops will focus on how formative assessment ('Assessment for Learning') can be used to enhance the quality of the teaching and learning of numeracy. The aim is to improve teachers' own numeracy skills and their understanding of how numeracy can be more effectively communicated to their students. The workshops and teacher learning communities will draw on the extensive experience which has been generated by the implementation of Assessment for Learning internationally. One task for participants will be to adapt this experience to the limited resources of schools in slum areas (for example, large classes and few materials). Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South of Sahara, regional

12684.73

36916.82

35686.25

-12385.56

8740.8

12765.85

14179.6

3742.21

10446.6

13240.65

9487.36

12684.73

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-YMY8U9C-5FHYDJK

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Accountability for gender equality in education: Critical perspectives on an indicator framework for the SDGs</narrative> The Framework of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the UN in 2015 set ambitious targets for achieving an expansion of education provision worldwide and enhancing gender equality. The Policy Document Education 2030 sets out the detail on this. Some new indicators to monitor, evaluate and build accountability for this framework have been developed and others are under discussion by a number of technical committees. This project aims to contribute to this work. We propose to i) review the scholarly literature refining insight into what is entailed in definitions of learning outcomes linked with gender equality, ii) discuss some of the critiques and limitation of indicators as a technique for building accountability, and iii) develop an indicator framework for gender equality in education that can support the work of Education 2030, particularly the monitoring of the SDG targets on gender and education (Target 4.7 and 4a) , while also responding to concerns of organisations that work at international, national and local levels. South Africa and Malawi have been selected as research sites for detailed work reflecting on a proposed indicator framework for accountability for gender eequality in education. Both have policies in place in support of an expansion of education provision and addressing aspects of gender inequality. Howevever, both face complex challenges of implementation. Through a series of key informant interviews in each country with partipants who have knowledge of the needs of the education sector, women's rights and gender equality issues, we aim to refine the proposed indicator framework we wish to develop . We also plan a number of interviews regarding the proposed indicator framework with key informants located in global women's rights networks and who work at the global level in multilateral, bilateral, NGO and large donor organisations. Outputs from the project will include a revised indicator framework on gender equality in education, with particular relevance for monitoring for SDG targets 4.7 and 4a. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South of Sahara, regional

3491.06

46611.939999999995

70330.58

49737.9

7536.84

13055.84

13588.24

8088.65

11813.39

13121.66

3491.06

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-YMY8U9C-SDKKL9N

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>STRENGTHENING SCHOOLS ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISMS THROUGH PARTICIPATION: ADDRESSING EDUCATION QUALITY AND EQUITY IN AFGHANISTAN AND PAKISTAN</narrative> Disadvantaged children in Low Income Countries (LICs) particularly children with disabilities are increasingly accessing schools, but not learning effectively due to social exclusion within the classroom and poor teaching methods, that perpetuate inequality. In order to unpack the equity-quality nexus, education research and policy need to move beyond considerations of service delivery assessed through achieving benchmarks on basic cognitive skills and completing school cycles, traditionally considered valid proxies for quality of education; a view challenged by experts advocating for the importance of non-cognitive or psychosocial skills in assessing quality education. Promoting processes of accountability is recognised as a way of promoting quality and equity in education. We argue that the role that parents and community members can play in improving the quality of education through innovative social accountability mechanisms has not been sufficiently explored in LICs. Building upon previous research, we will develop, implement and evaluate a social accountability intervention - combined with inclusive education training - engaging parents, teachers and children. We will assess the intervention's impact on basic cognitive but also psychosocial skills of learners as well as parent's expectations and engagement, and teachers' confidence with regards to inclusion of children with disabilities. Two partners, Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA) and the National Rural Support Programme in Pakistan (NRSP) run Community Based Schools (CBS) in remote areas. They require knowledge as to the factors that can promote or hinder a meaningful learning experience. We hypothesize that strengthening existing social horizontal accountability mechanisms through a Community Based System Dynamics (CBSD) - a participatory approach promoting local ownership in the process of deciphering and changing complex systems from the feedback perspective of system dynamics - can enhance inclusion and the learning experience of disadvantaged children. Developing an effective role for school management committee (SMCs) members requires careful consideration of context and community dynamics, which CBSD upholds. We will carry out Group Model Building (GMB) sessions with SMCs - a specific CBSD method- to identify insights about social accountability reforms. SMCs supported by SCA/NRSP will implement changes based on these insights in intervention CBSs. A randomised control trial (RCT) will evaluate this intervention. Qualitative methods will validate psychosocial assessment tools and explore stakeholders' perception of education. In stage 1, investigators will (i) decipher existing mechanisms of accountability and monitoring being used in CBSs (ii) train teachers, 4 NRSP and SCA teams of 3 facilitators and 2 coordinators each on inclusive education and (iii) train SCA/NRSP teams on GMB to facilitate sessions in 80 randomly selected intervention schools. In stage 2, SMCs members (principals, staff, teachers and parents) will participate in separate GMB sessions to design a relevant school social accountability system and identify leverage points on which to focus the intervention. In stage 3, each school, with the support from SCA/NRSP teams and the investigators will implement the intervention. In stage 4 the investigators will measure the impact of the social accountability intervention on learning outcomes using a cluster RCT with two waves of interviews: baseline survey in all 160 schools from staff, teachers, students in classes 3 to 5 and parents in year 1; end line survey will take place at the beginning of year 4. In depth interviews and FGDs, games and audio-visual activities with children will take place in years 2 and 3. In stage 5, the investigators will develop capacity in countries (universities, education NGOs) and disseminate findings to a broad audience in various formats through academic, policy makers and practitioners' networks. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Asia, regional

3118.13

41632.729999999996

78661.48

40959.899999999994

53664.48

45147.33

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

45147.37

8517.11

15064.46

18000.6

7894.84

15843.8

44424.77

6731.73

11661.18

12136.71

7224.6

10551.45

11719.97

3118.13

263184.05

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-YMY8U9C-X88VE4Y

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Can schools' accountability for learning be strengthened from the grassroots? Investigating the potential for community-school partnerships in India</narrative> Our project explores the potential of community based accountability relationships to raise children's foundational learning outcomes, with a focus on the most disadvantaged primary-school learners: namely those who are from poorer households and, within these, girls. We ask both whether and how changes occur when school actors are supported to view their accountability as being primarily to their local community and their goal as being to raise all children's learning. To do this, we evaluate a grassroots intervention that supports school actors to work directly with their communities to develop a shared understanding of children's learning levels, collaborate in planning how to raise them, and facilitate action both inside and outside the classroom. In addition to analysing changes in children's learning, we will examine the intervention's capacity to create changes in school-community relations, and teachers' attitudes perceptions, and actions in the classroom. The intervention builds on two of Pratham's grassroots literacy campaigns to incorporate school-community accountability relationships. Lakhon mein Ek (LME) was primarily an information campaign, supporting communities to undertake and discuss their own independent assessments of children's learning outcomes. Reading Week (RW) provided community volunteers with packages of simple materials with which to work with children to improve their foundational literacy and numeracy skills. The proposed intervention, which we call LME+, seeks to enhance the impact of these previous interventions by working directly with school actors to help them engage and work with their local communities. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

India

3896.85

52030.04

98306.32

32362.53

-3025.89

22496.05

9866.48

19800.61

55519.37

8412.91

14573.43

15167.72

9028.86

13186.56

14646.9

3896.85

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-YMY8U9C-92U4NZM

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Organizational Perspectives on Accountability and Learning (OPAL): School Management Models and the Social Impact of Schooling in Mumbai and Kathmandu</narrative> The project will investigate how the accountability of schools differs according the school management model and whether accountability is linked to differences in learning outcomes. Recently, a great deal of attention from international development donors has focused on new models of school management (e.g. community-managed schooling or privatization), however there is insufficient data on the extent to which these management models are linked to differences in perceived accountability and/or students' learning. Furthermore, the exclusive focus on cognitive outcomes does not capture schools' social contribution in terms of social inclusion and participation. We propose to take a more sophisticated approach to accountability than previous research by examining the perceived accountability of multiple stakeholders: parents, teachers and school management. We also take an expanded view of accountability, drawing upon the concepts of social return impact and blended value accounting to consider how the outcomes of education can include increased social inclusion by addressing marginalities along the lines of caste and gender in addition to cognitive outcomes. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South Asia, regional

12605.380000000001

44451.74

19610.76

7177.46

12433.3

12940.32

7765.35

11250.09

12495.98

3324.59

9280.79

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-YMY8U9C-MYQFPBK

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South Asia, regional

93028.3

23311.03

24310.74

68717.56

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-YMY8U9C-UDNQVR6

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Making the elementary schooling system in India work for disadvantaged learners: a cross-scalar comparative study of accountability relations</narrative> This project focuses on learning outcomes for 'disadvantaged learners' in India: children of primary school age who are disadvantaged by a range of structural inequalities, which are often cross-cutting, such as gender, location, caste, and class. It takes key quality and equity provisions in India's Right to Education Act (RTE) and examines how these are taken up in different ways, and with respect to differing understandings of education quality and equity held by actors across the four system scales of home, community, school, and bureaucracy. Empirical work takes place in two States, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, focusing on two districts and within each, two blocks which are purposively selected to enable intra-block, inter-district and inter-state comparisons. In each block, we sample ten schools, which include government, private and large scale 'alternative' provision to examine the accountability relations that surround differently positioned learners. The study design follows a sequential mixed methods approach, beginning with qualitative investigation and then using a quantitative survey to validate and extend the qualitative analysis. We will use an innovative process tracing approach, anchored in the sample schools, to track how specific policy initiatives stemming from RTE directives are understood by multiple actors across system scales. This enables the study to identify how their practical actions converge and diverge with goals for learning - as understood both by the RTE and these actors - and the impact on children's learning outcomes. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

India

57398.13

108527.53

10909.99

-4217.02

10909.99

21718.85

61391.24

9302.68

16114.76

16637.14

9983.78

14581.21

16196.0

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-YMY8U9C-62WATHW

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Partnership Schools for Liberia: Impact on Accountability Mechanisms and Education Outcomes</narrative> Liberia's public education system is moribund. The civil war of 1999-2003 and the Ebola epidemic of 2014 have left the Ministry of Education with little capacity to run a national school system. An effort to clean thousands of ghost teachers from Ministry payrolls was cut short (New York Times, 2016), and while systematic data is scarce, teacher absenteeism appears common (Mulkeen, 2009). Nearly two-thirds of primary aged children are not in school, including over 80 percent of children in the poorest quintile, placing Liberia in the lowest percentile of net enrollment rates in the world, and at the 7th percentile in youth (15-24) literacy (EPDC, 2014). Faced with these dire statistics, the Liberian Ministry of Education announced in early 2016 that it would contract the operation of government primary schools to a group of private companies. Key features of this public-private partnership are that (a) all schools will remain free to students, and (b) teachers will be unionized civil servants, drawing from the existing teaching corps. We propose a large-scale field experiment to study the effect of this new Partnership Schools for Liberia (PSL), comparing 120 schools that have been delegated to management by private operators to 120 control schools under government management.This proposal seeks support for a follow-up study to track the longer-term effects of the PSL program in years two and three of operation (2017/18 and 2018/19) focused on scalability and sustainability. A separate evaluation of the first year PSL pilot (2016/17) is already underway and will be nearing completion when DFID-ESRC funding decisions are made. The longer-term follow-up study is of paramount importance for several reasons. First, it is important to document whether any learning gains achieved in year 1 can be maintained over a longer horizon. Second, the year 1 pilot has been heavily subsidized and disproportionately concentrated in Monrovia, whereas years 2 and 3 will focus on more cost-effective and sustainable models, including new schools in more remote and underserved areas. Third, in years 2 and 3 the program will introduce new top-down results-based accountability measures mentioned above, which are a major focus of our current proposal. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Liberia

4928.61

65805.81999999999

29072.34

10640.36

18431.98

19183.62

11419.39

16677.91

18524.9

4928.61

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-YMY8U9C-LGEKDYB

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Technology, Monitoring and Teacher Support in Niger</narrative> Our research team ran a randomized evaluation in Niger between 2014-2016, which showed that a mobile phone monitoring intervention in the context of an adult education program - whereby teachers, students and village chiefs were called on a weekly basis - significantly improved students' test scores (Aker et al 2016). Although the intervention did not include financial incentives for teachers, mobile monitoring increased teachers' attendance and motivation. At the same time, teachers often asked for pedagogical support, which the monitoring team was unable to provide. This proposal builds upon this initial research in five ways. First, it will expand the program to more villages in order to test the intervention at a larger scale. Second, the research will test different types of mobile monitoring - i.e., calling the teacher only, as compared with calling the teacher, the village chief and students - to determine which approach is the most effective in increasing teacher performance and learning. Third, the program will assess the potential for using mobile phones to provide pedagogical support to teachers. Fourth, our research will seek to understand how education and technology affect intra-village dynamics, as well as the dynamics between the teacher, community and education service providers. And finally, these interventions will be piloted in a small number of primary schools in order to understand whether the dynamics of teacher monitoring and support are different in a primary school setting and with governmental institutions. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Niger (the)

57715.7

85094.15

28013.07

19472.62

8540.45

17139.45

48057.68

7282.23

12614.79

13129.21

7815.4

11414.31

25356.78

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-YMY8U9C-24H8PVA

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Improving Learning: Developing Measures of Accountability and Evaluating their Association with Students' Gains in Achievement in Nepal</narrative> We propose to develop and validate measures of accountability to be shared with the Nepal Ministry of Education (MOE) and to use those measures in an analysis of the determinants of accountability and its association with students' gains in achievement. The proposed study will build on the resources of the Chitwan Valley Family Study (CVFS), a 20-year ongoing panel study of 116 schools with 3,000 households with 3,500 school aged children in 151 communities located throughout the Western Chitwan Valley of Nepal. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Nepal

15462.5

54527.07000000001

103350.27

10325.48

20721.76

58572.82

8804.29

15251.4

15873.34

9525.43

13800.01

15328.29

4078.14

11384.36

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-YMY8U9C-99WBGMH

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Accountability, capacity and trust to improve learning outcomes in South Africa; a systems approach</narrative> Several authors point to problematic accountability relationships and a lack of trust and capacity in the South African education system as key issues in the lack of improvement of learning outcomes. Spaull (2001) for example explains how the national, provincial and local levels of government are not held accountable for their use of public resources, and how there are few (if any) tangible consequences for non-performance or to address the high rates of teacher absenteeism and low rates of curriculum coverage. Eddy Spicer, Ehren et al's (2016) systematic review also points to lack of teacher accountability in South Africa as school-based registers of teachers' attendance are not checked and national government fails to sanction teachers who are often absent. Lack of trust inhibits the implementation of effective assessment and inspection systems as teacher unions, for example, reject inspections of teachers and block the publication of assessment data, while lack of capacity subsequently prevents district managers, area managers, principals, heads of department and teachers to effectively use the data that is available (see Eddy Spicer, Ehren et al, 2016; Howie, 2012). This 'vicious' cycle of distrust, lack of accountability and lack of capacity renders the system powerless to improve and creates a series of 'binding constraints' (e.g. weak institutional functionality, undue union influence) that need to be addressed in order to improve learning outcomes, according to Van der Berg et al (2016). These examples highlight the need to understand the intricate relations between accountability, capacity and trust and how these relations produce (or fail to produce) a pattern of change in learning outcomes over time and create a divided unequal system. We aim to study these relations in South Africa's public primary education system in three phases: 1) Social network analysis of the (accountability and trust) relations and flow of resources in a low and high performing school in quintile 1 and 5 (20% of schools in most deprived and wealthy areas), 2) A focus group in which we will map the causal loops which describe how trust, capacity and accountability interconnect through a series of balancing and/or reinforcing feedback loops and how these loops have (in the past) produced (or failed to produce) a pattern of change in learning outcomes and have created large inequity in the system, and 3) Collecting quantitative (assessment and questionnaire data) to test the causal loops via longitudinal path models and multiple-indicator multiple-cause (MIMIC) models. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South Africa

4491.24

30025.22

-90874.87

4848.06

8398.16

8740.62

5245.16

7598.95

8440.49

4491.24

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-YMY8U9C-XDJQ2AL

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South Africa

53809.02

27821.77

4057.92

10232.45

12226.8

5362.52

53809.02

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-5XW59EN-FVJJQTJ

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>South-South collaboration in realising the impacts of Peer-to-Peer Deaf Multiliteracies research in India, Uganda, and Nepal</narrative> Research Grants to introduce key elements from Peer to Peer Deaf Multiliteracies research into concrete educational contexts, working with partners in India, Uganda, and Nepal, 1 year. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

28735.809999999998

3741.88

-2295.63

3741.88

7509.42

21226.39

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-5XW59EN-ASHZPLC

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>The Management of Teachers in Primary Schools: Using Phone Calls for Oversight</narrative> Under a current DFID-ESRC grant, our research team is conducting a randomized control trial in Niger that provides mobile phone-based "monitoring" and pedagogical support to community teachers in the context of an NGO-implemented adult education program - whereby teachers, students and village chiefs are called on a weekly basis. A prior study showed that these simple weekly phone calls could increase adult students' reading and math skills by .12-.15 s.d. as compared with the standard adult education curriculum (Aker et al 2019). It is somewhat striking that this simple intervention led to changes in learning outcomes, especially without any financial incentives for teachers. During our current work, we learned that similar challenges confront the primary school system in Niger; limited budgets, long distances and teacher contracts often make it difficult for the Ministry and school directors to monitor and provide support to teachers. It is estimated that 49% of primary school teachers miss any school in a month, often between 1-3 days (Malam Maman 2016). This proposal seeks to explore new but related avenues in our existing research in three ways. First, we will pilot the mobile phone-based approach in a different educational context, namely primary schools. Second, we will seek to understand what types of mobile engagement - i.e., calling the teacher only, as compared with calling the teacher, school director, village chief and parents - are the most effective in reducing teacher absenteeism and increasing learning. And third, we will seek to better understand the mechanisms through which phone calls could affect teachers, students and communities by carefully measuring teacher attendance and motivation, student attendance and learning and parental involvement. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Niger (the)

5943.87

15366.27

10916.59

5651.49

6753.0

2961.78

5943.87

10916.59

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-5XW59EN-G672CJV

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Education Marketplace Platform</narrative> Key objective is to explore whether it is possible to expand impact by scaling up access to financial and ESS services for a larger number of schools in a cheaper and faster way as compared to physical melas and school visits. For over a decade the LEAPS (Learning and Educational Achievement in Pakistan Schools) Program has studied Pakistan's education landscape and growing low cost private school (LCPS) sector. In a country where over 40% of enrolled students attend private school, the LEAPS program has shown that a number of market failures limit the ability of schools to expand and provide higher quality education, ranging from teacher shortages and informational constraints to lack of financial resources and knowledge failures (Andrabi et al. 2013, Andrabi et al. 2014). This project will build on its parent study, "Facilitating Innovative Growth of Low-Cost Private Schools: Experimental Evidence from Pakistan," which demonstrated that the ability of low cost private schools to innovate and improve is hindered by two key constraints: 1) lack of access to financial resources, and 2) lack of access to affordable, quality enhancing educational inputs such as better textbooks, teacher training and teaching and learning aids. It also demonstrated that these obstacles can be successfully overcome by market-making interventions that connect low cost schools (especially remote rural ones) to finance providers and education support service (ESS) providers that offer products specifically tailored to their needs. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Pakistan

29227.21

11430.95

6496.76

4210.66

5031.34

2188.95

4392.91

24834.3

6496.76

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-5XW59EN-J5W7SBA

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Reading and socio-emotional skills in challenging school contexts: Evidence from South African primary schools</narrative> Learning to read for meaning is the most important skill that children learn in primary school. Yet children in 90% of South African schools are not acquiring this skill by the end of grade 4 (Spaull & Pretorius, 2019). The most recent Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (2016) (PIRLS-Literacy) indicates that almost one in every eight grade 4 students in South Africa cannot read for meaning in any language, despite the curriculum assuming that students can read in both their home language and English by the end of grade 4 (Howie, et al., 2017). Against this context, 'reading for meaning' among young children has recently been identified by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa as a top five national priority (South African Government, 2019). In adopting this new priority goal, South Africa needs to significantly advance the local body of knowledge on reading in African languages, identifying why children can't read, how reading could be improved, and how much improvement we could reasonably expect. In this study, we aim to fill some gaps in this body of knowledge. First, we will explore reasons for why children are failing to read with comprehension in African languages and English. Comprehension is what reading is all about - and this is what is measured in nationally representative surveys. However, reading comprehension is just the 'tip of the iceberg' with respect to underlying skills required to read (Spaull, et al., 2018). Necessary but not sufficient skills for comprehension include oral language, vocabulary knowledge, print awareness and decoding components such as phonemic awareness, letter-sound knowledge, word reading and oral reading fluency (Hoover & Gough, 1990). Using new emerging datasets on reading in African languages in South Africa, we will identify to what extent children can master these basics of reading across different languages. We will be able to construct a clearer picture of which of the reading 'building-blocks' children do and don't have, how these differ by language and whether reading skills systematically differ by poverty levels and gender. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South Africa

11499.720000000001

27741.97

6730.09

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

6730.09

12675.37

2391.23

4229.43

5053.77

2216.52

6730.09

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-5XW59EN-6SLMXGQ

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Organizational Perspectives on Accountability and Learning: Cases Highlighting Innovative Practice (OPAL-CHIP)</narrative> This project conducts further work related to Organizational Perspectives on Accountability and Learning (OPAL), a three-year project that examines the relationship between school funding models, accountability, and learning outcomes in Mumbai and Kathmandu. Preliminary results from OPAL show that there is a substantial overlap in the literacy and numeracy outcomes in public and private schooling when taking into account students' home backgrounds. OPAL-CHIP takes this finding as a point of departure, investigating school management practices and relationships in those public schools with higher than expected literacy and numeracy outcomes. OPAL-CHIP surveys high performing public schools in Mumbai and Kathmandu, looking at schools with high learning outcomes and those that are undertaking innovative change programmes to improve learning. From this survey, it selects six schools for case study research, with data collected from interviews, focus groups, and school observations. These are analyzed using thematic analysis both within and across cases. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South Asia, regional

27929.44

17580.79

23496.75

4432.69

17580.79

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-C8XYD28-5XW59EN-EHMFE7J

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Solid Foundations, Mother-Tongue Literacy, and the Transition to Adolescence</narrative> A large amount of money goes into funding education, especially literacy, with the belief that there will be long-term, positive effects. However, literacy rates - especially in Sub-Saharan Africa - remain incredibly low. Very few of the hundreds of rigorously evaluated interventions show more than moderate gains in student learning; almost none provide longitudinal evidence on longer-term outcomes. In short, there is little evidence from longitudinal studies in Africa about the effects of early learning on later school or life outcomes, and whether a strong early foundation better supports transitions, paving the way for continuing education, life-long learning and post-primary success. In response to this gap, our project will provide some of the first rigorous evidence regarding how investments in the early years of schooling from a highly successful literacy program can translate into long-term academic success and life outcomes. The project builds upon a randomized evaluation of an early grade literacy program in Northern Uganda. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Uganda

4238.76

33011.68

25406.64

12703.32

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

12703.32

7707.11

12703.32

12601.25

4238.76

12703.32

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-6C7FZH5-8P5FZPT

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Youth, poverty and inequality in urban Tanzania: New perspectives, new interpretations</narrative> Young people in urban areas are at the forefront of the development challenges facing Tanzania. Indeed, with countries across Sub-Saharan Africa characterised by rapid urbanisation and large and expanding youth populations, these two major demographic changes have the potential to 'make or break' the region's development. While urbanisation has the potential to open up new social and economic opportunities, in many countries, including Tanzania, urbanisation has been accompanied by high levels of poverty and inequality. These problems are exacerbated by a lack of serviced and secure homes in which to live, and a lack of stable jobs through which to survive. Despite the magnitude and severity of these problems, little is known about what this means for young people as they seek to negotiate the path to adulthood.Firstly, the research will examine the role of different assets and institutions in shaping the economic, social and political opportunities and obstacles facing young people in two cities of Tanzania. In doing so, it will use innovative research methods to capture the dynamism of youth experiences and to reveal a greater understanding both of the factors that promote positive outcomes and of those that lead to negative outcomes for youth. In doing so, it will prioritise localised meanings and definitions of poverty and well-being and reveal new insight into the experiences, struggles and successes of urban youth. In-depth research with urban youth themselves will be contextualised against research with parents and other adults. This will explore how perceptions and stereotypes of young people influence the level of support they receive, as well as situate youth experiences within broader experiences of urban poverty, inequality and disadvantage. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Tanzania, United Republic of

13910.6

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-6C7FZH5-AVZA92E

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Predicting urban food insecurity under climate change in Brazilian Amazonia</narrative> The ultimate goal of climate policy is to mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, this is a strategy with decadal or centurial timescales. An equally important and more urgent concern is to reduce the impacts of climate change by improving the adaptive capacity of poor, marginalized populations to severe weather events such as droughts and floods. Extreme events such as floods and droughts cause significant economic losses, and threaten human health and food security. Droughts probably have the greatest negative impacts in regions such as the Amazon, where river transport is the main way of distributing food. For example, Amazon droughts in 2005 and 2010 disrupted food distribution and led to dozens of deaths from malnutrition and declarations of state of emergency. Increased journey times and transport problems leads to higher food prices. When food prices are high, poorest families suffer most and lack access to adequate food and nutrition. The danger that droughts pose to food security in these regions will increase in the future because of climate change causing reduced rainfall, which leads to lower river levels. This project will develop a computer-based tool for predicting where and when food security of city-dwellers will be threatened by droughts, because of higher food prices. The tool will be based on data that we collect in small cities in the Amazon, including prices of important foods (meat and rice, for example). We will also use a series of questions to establish whether urban families have sufficient access to nutritious and affordable food. We will combine this information with information on river levels and poverty distribution across the whole Amazon (collected by the Brazilian government) and analyze data using statistical techniques normally used to predict disease outbreaks. The outcome of this analysis will be a tool that can generate maps to show the level of Food Security Risk for each of the hundreds of municipalities in the Amazon. This will help the Brazilian government to be strategic and invest their resources in the cities that are predicted to have most people suffering from malnutrition during droughts. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Brazil

20307.92

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-6C7FZH5-DH2JEPQ

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Social contracts in transformation: Tax reform in Nigeria</narrative> The research will build upon my previous research on policing in Nigeria, by adopting a similar perspective, working as participant observer not just with the public as they interact with revenue officials and become subject to new forms of taxation demands, but also working 'inside' the state with revenue officials themselves, to ascertain with what meanings they imbue their work, and what practices they evolve in pursuit of its goals, as an emergent transition in political economy gathers pace. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Nigeria

12531.94

25063.88

12355.78

12531.94

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-6C7FZH5-HME3QLY

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Multi-level governance, REDD+ and synergies between climate change mitigation and adaptation</narrative> This research project seeks to understand the extent to which policy processes related to forest mitigation and adaptation should be integrated at different scales (global, national and local) in order to deliver effective emission reductions and development compatible outcomes. It will identify existing governance constraints to such integration and explore how they can be overcome. Policy processes addressing forest mitigation and adaptation of forest dependent communities to climate change operate at multiple scales. In addition, the scale dimension differs across the two policy domains. REDD+ policies are developed at the national level, yet need to be informed by local level realities in order to be effectively implemented. Adaptation of local communities occurs locally, yet national policies need to be in place in order to support adaptive capacity of these communities and reduce their vulnerability. In investigating multi-level governance processes, this research contributes originally to the interdisciplinary literature on multi-level forest governance as well as the literature on climate change mitigation and adaptation. In examining the governance constraints and opportunities for integration, this project will inform ongoing global and national policy processes about how to improve effectiveness of policy formulation and implementation. The study will be undertaken in two countries - Brazil and Indonesia - that are at the forefront of REDD+ policy formulation and that contain among the most extensive remaining tropical forests in the world. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

18738.79

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-6C7FZH5-TY5KSJD

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Political Remittances: The Migration of Ideas, Identities and Practices</narrative> Our project begins by explaining the challenges that secondary patents present, developing a typology of approaches to restrict secondary patenting, and mapping countries according to this typology. Our empirical analyses will focus on five countries that have adopted pre-emptive approaches to limit secondary patenting (with variation in the types of pre-emptive mechanisms adopted), and two that have not. We will assemble novel datasets of pharmaceutical patents filed in the seven developing countries, read and code each of these patent applications to identify which are primary and which are secondary, and undertake analysis of patent prosecution histories to determine the outcomes of these applications. In doing so we consider not just the outcomes per se (i.e. was a given patent granted or rejected), but also the role that the pre-emptive mechanisms played in producing the outcomes. Our analysis allows us to assess the effectiveness of different national patent policy approaches. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

15861.89

30842.989999999998

14981.1

15861.89

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-6C7FZH5-PGJDV3K

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Attitudes to Domestic Violence in Low- and Middle-income Countries: A Multi-Level Approach to Prevention</narrative> The project will provide reliable, high quality data on attitudes to domestic violence (DV) in low- and middle-income countries across East Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. This is one of the first studies to focus on the systemic social, political and economic influences on societal acceptability of DV making a much needed contribution to research and national and international policy aimed at changing attitudes and preventing DV. This work is important because DV against women is the most common form of violence against women worldwide and is far-reaching in its impact. There is clear evidence that gender equality is integral to the achievement of the MDGs, however the failure to address DV is a gap in the current MDGs. Research in over 35 countries worldwide has shown that women's and men's attitudes justifying DV is strongly associated with DV perpetration and victimisation. Thus, to optimally target resources into evidence-based prevention it is vital to identify those wider social, political and economic factors that reinforce societal acceptability of DV. This study will use nationally-representative household surveys with individual-, country- and regional-level data and sources of high quality metadata on the social and economic development of countries and geographic regions to answer a set of important questions about attitudes to DV across low- and middle-income countries and the systemic factors influencing these attitudes. For example, how do attitudes to DV differ between countries and geographic regions? Are economic factors like women's labour force participation, ownership of property and other assets associated with societal attitudes to DV? Does access to education and educational attainment explain differences in attitudes to DV? Does social development and economic inequality influence attitudes to DV? Are social institutions like family laws, access to productive resources associated with attitudes to DV? Does women's representation in Parliament and participation in public life influence societal attitudes to DV? While government legislation is considered important to combat this problem, there has been little research on which governments act and the effects of legislation on attitudes. This study will answer these questions by analysing the social, economic and political profile of nations (and geographic regions within which they are nested) which have DV legislation, and the effect of legislation on shifting women's and men's attitudes to DV. These questions are best addressed using a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches. In addition to analysing datasets, a review of DV legislation and key informant interviews will be conducted with policy-makers and representatives of national and international organisations within select case study countries. Data produced by the study will allow for the creation of a database which will provide robust and interpretable data on attitudes to DV within the context of key social development and economic empowerment indicators, and the existence and quality of DV legislation and policy. These data will be of interest to and can be used by academics across disciplines, policymakers, non-governmental organisations, international development agencies and donors interested in DV prevention strategies and the measurement of attitudes to DV as a component of gender equality and empowerment. There is increasing recognition of the need to focus on prevention, however evidence-based prevention is still nascent especially in relation to tackling societal acceptability of DV. This work is timely given that the thematic priorities of UN Women are gender-based violence, economic empowerment and women's political participation and the focus of the 2013 UN Commission on the Status of Women is on preventing violence against women and girls. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

15332.35

13233.59

15332.35

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-6C7FZH5-GQNLFX3

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>People, animals and infectious disease transmission: A new synthesis</narrative> We aim to understand whether countries with pre-emptive mechanisms grant fewer patents on secondary innovations than they otherwise would, and we want to understand how pre-emptive mechanisms function in practice. We complement the quantitative analyses with case studies of three countries that aim to understand reasons for the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of these policies and the sources of any gaps between laws on the books and laws in practice. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Sierra Leone

15532

31064

13975.71

15532.0

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-6C7FZH5-UKL6NMS

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>The Promise of Science: Deliberating on biomedicine, health and democracy in the Ugandan parliament</narrative> The proposed research explores science and democracy through the lens of scientific capacity building in Uganda. While scientific capacity building is often cast as a common good, its practices and implementation at the level of local institutions are little understood, and yet it broaches concerns about the globalisation of science and health governance, the spatialisation of development practices, and the relationship between liberal democracy and scientific knowledge. These concerns are contrasted against urgent calls to secure the health needs of poorer populations, and through international research networks, advance knowledge and understanding of major health issues affecting world populations, such as how to mitigate the health effects of environmental change, how to cope with growing populations, and how to contain infectious diseases. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Uganda

24812.47

70881.45999999999

17755.32

17756.03

17613.37

24812.47

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-6C7FZH5-AEX2QPT

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Peacemaking What's Law Got to Do with It?</narrative> In response to demands from practice, this project aims to clarify the role of international law in peace negotiations in 3 ways. First, it assesses whether the 'norms' suggested by the literature in fact amount to international law. Most of the proposed norms are based on moral philosophy or a review of practice. But these are not sources of international law. This project is the first to examine through an interpretive empirical study whether the putative norms find support in the sources of international law. This will not only advance the discipline of international law, but also assist practising negotiators. Secondly, this project aims to clarify the existing scholarship on the 'law' of peacemaking by developing a taxonomy of the various concepts of 'law' that are currently used in this body of literature. This clarity is also important to practising negotiators. If the 'law' of peacemaking is 'law' in the sense of 'model law', then it can be ignored at will. Ignoring binding 'international law', however, can lead to international responsibility. Finally, evaluating the empirical findings, the project will explore what drives attempts to govern peacemaking by more international law. In doing so, it will contribute to a literature on possible changes in the sources of international law and to scholarship on the more general phenomenon of legalisation in society. It will also assist those who make international law in the evaluation of proposals towards further legalisation. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South of Sahara, regional

20725.39

83405.20000000001

-29539.38

20893.27

20725.39

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-6C7FZH5-D5UUNQZ

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Predicting the escalation of conflict: A global forecasting approach to conflict escalation using big data</narrative> The key objective of this research project is to forecast conflict escalation of intra-state armed conflicts, such as Syria, Libya, or Egypt, and deliver forecasting software packages that can be implemented by users of this project. The project considers two dimensions of escalation: temporal and spatial escalation of armed conflicts. In the context of this project, conflict escalation is an increase in the number conflictual events (e.g. episodes of fighting) over time and space. In focusing particularly on conflict escalation, this research project makes a new and unique contribution to the prediction of intra-state conflicts by developing a split-population forecasting framework that is motivated by a novel formal theoretical argument of conflict escalation. The split-population approach allows to forecast which countries are at risk of conflict, and in a second step assesses when and where conflicts escalate. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

18635

18635.0

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-6C7FZH5-2KH6AV9

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Anticipating Prosperity: A Study of Community Expectations and the Petroleum Industry in Timor-Leste</narrative> Timor-Leste is a small country in Southeast Asia currently facing the challenge of state-building after an exceptionally brutal occupation by Indonesia (1975-1999) and prior colonisation by Portugal. Historically, Timor has recurrently evoked El Dorado-like dreams of great resource wealth, which until recently were never realised. When the country re-gained independence in 2002, the government managed to secure a 50% share in revenues from its offshore oil and gas reserves that Australia had claimed. Even though negotiations with Australia are still ongoing, the East Timorese government is currently planning to build a large industrial complex to bring oil and gas from offshore fields in the Timor Sea to its shores. The planned scheme has given rise to a great sense of anticipation that Timor-Leste's oil wealth will facilitate the development of a modern and prosperous nation. The aim of this study is to examine these visions of the future ethnographically and to explore how public expectations are articulated in relation to pre-existing ideas about the sacred significance of the lived environment. It seeks to advance anthropological debates about resource extraction and related expectations of modernity by investigating how local logics inform national imaginaries of modernity and how government promises foster utopian dreams of sudden societal transformations. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Timor-Leste

25855.59

54237.78

18079.26

25855.59

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-56MCYPE-XYTPTFN

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Sensing bodies: urban exposure and asthma in Delhi, India</narrative> The project will look at what it is like to wear these sensors, and how scientists use the information they provide. To do this, we will talk to the young people, and walk around the city with them as they are wearing the sensors. We will also interview the scientists, and observe how they do the research and what they do with the results. We will also use group workshops. These will explore how young people with asthma who wear these bodily-worn sensors understand, experience and contribute to scientific knowledge about air pollution and health. Studying how participants in this research use these personal sensors will provide knowledge about the social contexts of exposure and the way in which air pollution is seen (or not) as affecting health. The research will also raise awareness of the potential societal and ethical challenges of involving people in research about air pollution. The research aims to contribute to air pollution research involving personal sensors by examining how these may help us better understand the health effects of exposure, but also the potential risks and ethical problems that may arise as a result. This will be achieved by: i) Conducting interviews and walking interviews around Delhi with young people with asthma wearing the air pollution sensors on their body. ii) Drawing maps with some of the young people with asthma to understand how they manage their asthma as they move around the city. iii) To study how the young adults participating in the scientific research and scientists conducting the research interact and communicate. iv) Examine how the research in Delhi can be used to understand air pollution in other cities around the world. v) Share the findings from the interviews with the young adults with the scientists using these sensors in their research to consider their social and ethical implications. vi) Present the drawn maps by the young adults with asthma in exhibitions open to the public in London and Delhi. The research findings of this project will contribute to the development of policies that can help reduce exposure to air pollution and improve health. There is currently little knowledge about the ways in which some people are exposed to different levels of air pollution and therefore at higher risk of health problems. What is known, however, is that some people are more at risk to air pollution than others. This means the health effects of air pollution are not equally shared by society. Generating knowledge about how people use cities and why some people may be more at risk to pollution than others is urgently needed if we are going to help build cities that protect their citizens' health now and in the future Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

India

25089.32

59501.42

59909.52

12748.71

17206.05

12544.66

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-56MCYPE-KXSKD9A

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>From Walls to Corridors: The Global Logistics of Israel's HaEmek Railway</narrative> This project shifts focus to the infrastructures Israel has developed to bypass its own built-up fortresses, unseen and under-the-radar: rather than the walls that keep people and violence in or out, it examines the corridors being built to channel goods, capital and people through them. The need to shift focus away from walls to corridors goes beyond Israel/Palestine. Wall infrastructures have engulfed populist politics throughout the globe. Yet, as states develop new means and technologies to control their borders, corridors are built alongside them, surreptitiously reconfiguring national and regional lines, opening territories to the needs of an ever-mobile capitalism. The most prominent of these is China's 'One Belt One Road' project that connects over 10,000 km of sea and land corridors across Asia and Europe; but other significant examples include the Kenya-South Sudan-Ethiopia transport corridor (that connects ports, pipelines and airports across some of East Africa's most volatile terrain), or the Asia Pacific Gateway, that treats Canada as a corridor between the US and Asia. These operate through both soft and hard infrastructures, made possible through a revolution in technological and logistical capacity. The logistics industry organises the information, technology, customs regulations and security operations that link global transport hubs, and keep these chains moving past potential human, legal or physical obstructions. The 'corridor', a narrow archipelago of physical and virtual transport links that cut across national boundaries, is the material partner to the logistics industry: together, they ensure that the right capital, goods and people keep flowing at any cost, in large part by ensuring threats are contained. While few are looking, these channels are changing global economic and political relations. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

West Bank and Gaza Strip (Palestinian territory)

18519.42

82399.65

18820.64

22771.89

22588.92

18519.42

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-56MCYPE-SDSMBSJ

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>SLOW DESIGN DRIVEN INNOVATION: DEVELOPING A BUSINESS MODEL FOR GLOCALISED ENTERPRISES</narrative> SLOW DESIGN DRIVEN INNOVATION: DEVELOPING A BUSINESS MODEL FOR GLOCALISED ENTERPRISES. This research will directly impact Vietnamese slow design groups who have selfidentified as lacking appropriate business models which encompass the values which their industries promote. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Viet Nam

95956.04

96733.32

24183.33

23989.01

47978.02

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-56MCYPE-XFXMRYJ

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Acts/Crimes of solidarity: an ethnographic study of illegalisation and criminalisation amongst pro-migration activists and other citizens</narrative> The project has been co-designed and will be co-delivered with two international Project Partners: GADEM and PSMigrants. GADEM (Groupe Antiraciste de Défense et d'Accompagnement des Etrangers et Migrants, or the Antiracist Collective of Advocacy and Support for Foreigners and Migrants) was established in 2006 by migration activists and researchers in Morocco. GADEM produces regular reports to monitor practices and policies on migration and human rights and delivers capacity building for other organisations. GADEM takes an active part in national and international networks, (e.g. Migreurop, a Euro-African network on migration). PSMigrants (Plateforme de Service aux Migrant.e.s, or Migrants' Support Platform) is a network set up in 2011 by local (e.g. L'Auberge des Migrants), national (e.g. Cimade) and international (e.g. Doctors without borders) civil society organisations working on migration in the northern French region Hauts-de-France and along the Channel French coastline. The platform exchanges resources, knowledge, skills, practices and experiences to enhance the defence of migrants' rights. It supports civil society organisations in advocacy work, including building awareness amongst decision-makers, the media and the wider public about migration issues, compiling reports, and developing legal actions. The partnerships with GADEM and PSMigrants will be crucial to: 1) foster collaboration with other research projects on migration in Morocco and France; 2) facilitate access to other organisations and activists (including foreign activists such as British citizens in northern France) in the two field sites for research; 3) to enhance the impact of the project beyond academia through the co organisation and co-delivery of impact activities and the dissemination of outputs via their extended networks Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Morocco

26738.13

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-56MCYPE-CSZU9TZ

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Return from Peacekeeping: Mission Effects on Veterans, States, and Communities</narrative> The project uses a multi-method approach including an in-depth series of qualitative interviews with peacekeepers, life histories, key informant interviews with military, government, and donor leadership and document/media analysis of relevant material related to provisions for returned peacekeepers. It will provide cross-country comparative analysis through three field research sites: Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Uganda. Individuals participating in the first year will be re-interviewed approximately 2 years later to observe changes across time. The proposed methodology allows for the investigation of post-peacekeeping to move beyond a snapshot in time to envisage the experience as one which may have long-term effects. The three country comparison provides the opportunity to examine how different political environments and framings of peacekeeping may impact the expectations of the soldiers involved and their experiences upon their return home. It also allows the chance to explore military institutions with diverse experiences and former peacekeepers at various stages since their return from deployment. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South of Sahara, regional

17741.84

71254.8

71831.98000000001

18030.43

17885.56

17741.84

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-56MCYPE-KG95QEQ

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Green Revolution epic narratives and their echoes in today's South-South technology transfers</narrative> After decades of neglect of African agriculture, the beginning of the 21st century was marked by growing attention to this sector. Governments, aid agencies and foreign investors increasingly recognised the strategic importance of agriculture in driving growth and addressing poverty and hunger in Africa. Among those mobilised were public and private actors from Brazil, China and India. These countries are part of the rising powers in global development, whose presence in Africa spread quickly in the new century. They have offered finance, trade opportunities, loans and technical assistance, combined in a package that became known as South-South cooperation (SSC). Agricultural SSC includes not only private investments in farming land but also the transfer of technology, such as seeds and machinery, and know-how concerning agronomic research and farming practices. These countries claim to have much to offer to African countries struggling with challenges of hunger, food insecurity and low yields. After all, they had themselves successfully addressed these challenges back home through public investment in technological innovation that delivered unprecedented results in production and productivity, particularly in the 1960-80s. This chapter in these countries' history became known as the Green Revolution (GR). Despite remarkable achievements, criticism to the GR is well established, particularly regarding the social distribution of benefits and negative environmental externalities. The GR remains therefore a disputed moment in the world's agricultural history. Yet, its celebration has gained impetus in recent years. In Africa, there have been calls for an African GR, reinforced by SSC. SSC providers emphasise their own successes and the suitability of their policies and technologies to other developing countries with parallel agro-climatic conditions and development challenges. Their cooperation initiatives have helped reviving the GR history and narratives of past transformations of heroic achievements. These narratives stress the technological dimension of the transformation and the role of scientists who, through innovation, dedication and hard-work, contributed to addressing the calamity of hunger. These 'epic narratives' are being used today to emphasise the role that science and technology (S&T) from countries like Brazil, China and India can play in African agriculture today. So how do epic narratives of the GR currently shape current agricultural S&T transfers into Africa? This research will answer this question by looking comparatively at the GRs of Brazil, China and India. It will look at how these countries have made sense of their history - how epic narratives of the GR got established, evolved over time and across generations. It will then analyse how epic narratives are shaping the transfer of S&T to Africa today, as part of SSC. Led by a team from the Institute of Development Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University and China Agricultural University, this research will offer a new perspective on the history of the GR that puts the focus on the domestic protagonists of the GR and their roles in contemporary S&T transfers in the Global South. This research has analytical development, policy enhancement and capacity building objectives. It will generate original evidence on the GRs of Brazil, China and India, with comparative insights that will inform debates in these countries about the role of the state in agricultural S&T and the contribution of S&T to sustainable development. It will also produce new insights on 21st century GRs, connecting domestic experiences with new forms of international S&T transfers. This will feed policy and practice on SSC and inform debates on the role of S&T to the sustainable development of agriculture in Africa. It will also make theoretical and methodological contributions by developing a framework that combines history, politics and discourse to the study of S&T in development. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

INSTITUTE OF DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

China (People's Republic of)

45236.6

90839.64

92791.76

23594.36

15674.88

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

15674.88

23594.36

22801.52

22618.3

45236.6

15674.88

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-56MCYPE-W4W66PJ

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Relative poverty and decision-making: Investigating the impact of incentivised conservation programmes on poverty in Madagascar.</narrative> This project focuses on how relative poverty affects decision-making in developing countries, where conservation programmes are used to encourage behaviour change amongst farmers. Recent evidence suggests that the psychological impact of being poor exacerbates a poverty trap mechanism. People living in developing countries' rural area are exposed to stress that affects the way they make decisions over time. It increases their discount rate (Tanaka et al, 2010) and their propensity to behave in a manner consistent with hyperbolic discounting, that is, overweighting immediate outcomes (Ashraf et al, 2006; Clot and Stanton, 2014). This prevents them from making choices consistent with improving their prospects for long-term sustained improvements in well-being (Haushofer and Fehr, 2014). In parallel to the effect of absolute poverty, additional findings demonstrate the aggravating role of relative poverty (unbalanced cash flows over a calendar year) on individuals' preferences (Haushofer et al, 2013; Carvalho et al, 2016). Participating in a conservation scheme can change farmers' cash flows over a year. Participation could also impact farmers' individual preferences by changing their level of relative poverty. The following question thus arises: Could payment (re-)scheduling help poor farmers to escape poverty traps? We propose to test two main hypotheses: 1) Relative poverty impacts farmers' risk, time and social preferences; 2) Rewards (such as those offered to promote alternative activities) are more likely to translate into stress-biased decisions, worsening farmer's prospects for long-term sustained improvements in well-being, when occurring in a context of relatively higher poverty. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

UNIVERSITY OF READING

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Madagascar

85015.77

113813.46

28568.14

28338.59

28568.16

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-56MCYPE-6KP6GFU

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Shock tactics: urban health futures in the wake of Ebola</narrative> This research will address the interconnected challenges of rising urbanisation and vulnerability to infectious disease. From acute epidemics to slower onset issues such as antibiotic resistance, the world is facing a resurgence of infectious disease challenges. Far from being a thing of the past, these diseases have the potential to spread extensively in densely populated urban settings and to 'go global'. This research will focus on health in informal settlements in Freetown, Sierra Leone, in the aftermath of Ebola. It will explore if and how such a major epidemic is changing the game and what lessons can be drawn for other contexts. To be able to know this we need a much deeper understanding of the social, political and economic relationships which surround urban health systems and which will determine the opportunities for change. Although aspects of the political and social determinants of urban health have been broadly characterized, less is known about the logics and practices of health in informal settlements from the perspectives and experiences of local community members - for example urban residents' own understandings of transmission, or socially embedded hygiene practices. It is equally unclear how such local norms and practices do or do not connect to policy understandings of these contexts, and to what effect. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

INSTITUTE OF DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Sierra Leone

87101.64

92913.38999999998

74118.47

16115.83

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

16115.83

16115.79

34157.21

23845.47

23653.87

21951.78

21775.41

16115.83

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-56MCYPE-V4WHBFN

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Financial Market Frictions, Beliefs, and the Macroeconomy; An Application to the Case of China</narrative> The research proposal aims at understanding the relationship between the financial system and the macroeconomy. The new aspect is that financial market frictions interact with beliefs of market participants, which will play an important role in our analysis. The empirical application has a particular focus on the case of China. This emerging economy has attracted a lot of attention, but its financial markets are still subject to various frictions and are particular vulnerable to variations in market confidence. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

14950.8

60045.42

60531.799999999996

45828.09

15317.05

15193.99

15071.91

14950.8

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-56MCYPE-9FR8UYP

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Digital livelihoods? The online gig economy and the future of decent refugee work in cities</narrative> This project aims to have a positive impact on the future of decent refugee work in the online gig economy, with a focus on refugees in urban areas. Lebanon – an Upper Middle Income Country – will thus directly benefit from the outcomes of this project. Secondly, due to the high numbers of forcibly displaced persons from Syria currently living in Beirut, and the resulting relevance of this project for this particular population, the project will also be indirectly beneficial to Syria, and directly beneficial to Syrians living in exile. The labour markets in urban areas of Lebanon have been under severe pressure since the Syrian mass displacement, resulting in restrictions on Syrian labour to a limited number of economic sectors. Access to fair and just work is thus very scarce for Syrian refugees in Lebanon. Yet, ‘Decent Work’ is a key pillar of the global sustainable development agenda, with particular endorsement by the International Labour Organization, with which this project collaborates. At a time of widespread mass displacement with uncertain economic futures for many displaced families and individuals, the need for decent work as a key component of sustainable development necessarily includes the need for fair and decent work among registered refugees. By looking at the particular risks and opportunities that are provided by the growing online gig economy in Beirut among refugees, this project is directly relevant to key development challenges of Lebanon, with special regard to displaced persons living in the country. Secondly, digital labour may provide new opportunities for linking informal refugee labour with a positive impact on displaced persons’ re-integration in the home country, once safe return has become possible. The project is therefore directly relevant to the development challenges a post-crisis Syria will be facing, especially in terms of its labour market and its economy. The activities and outputs, and the pathway to impact this project follows, are designed to promote more just and equitable forms of economic development in Lebanon and beyond, mainly through offering a better understanding of the development-related impact of digitally mediated refugee labour. The project will contribute to better labour market policies that take refugees’ complex economic lives into account. Though its outputs and partnerships (with the ILO), it will also reach diverse policy actors and seeks to influence their policies through research. One example for this is the production of a policy paper in collaboration with the ILO, with a focus on just digital refugee work. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Lebanon

28308.11

101183.01999999999

28537.4

36322.81

28308.11

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-56MCYPE-W89AAU4

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Exploring the opportunities for learning justice: a case study of girls' educational experiences in English medium Rwandan basic education</narrative> This study aims to critically explore the ways that learning in English influences Rwandan girls' educational experiences and outcomes throughout the basic education cycle. Sustainable Development Goal 4 calls on all governments to ensure that, by 2030, all children complete a basic education that is inclusive, equitable and of high quality. While much research has explored the ways that gender and the language-of-instruction separately present a challenge to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 4, there is an evidence gap about girls' learning in a dominant language, such as English. This study will address this gap through a mixed-methods case study of girls' learning in Rwandan upper primary and secondary education; the years of basic education where the language-of-instruction is English. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

UNIVERSITY OF BATH

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Rwanda

44962.16

90288.5

68173.09

16807.1

22846.75

22663.17

22481.08

220230.85

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-56MCYPE-VTNNP9K

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Learning on the streets. Urban youth and vending in Zimbabwe</narrative> Existing scholarship on political socialization has predominantly generated knowledge on 'socialization mechanisms' in Western settings and emphasizes the role of family, schooling and civic associations. Research in Africa has, however, mainly looked at the socialization of violent youth in/into gangs and violent extremism. The proposed project will fill an important gap in knowledge by focusing on youth that are not mobilized into violence, and by developing a new conceptual framework for studying political socialization of African, urban youth. The project will contribute to theories of political socialization by conceptualising how participation in informal networks in the informal economy shapes political learning. This conceptual framework can be used in future research, thus contributing to theory in the field of youth studies. The project will also contribute to the fields of international development and African politics through the analysis of informal networks in African cities. The study will be carried out in Zimbabwe, where many unemployed youth in cities work as informal vendors. Some networks of vendors are regulated by city councils, while other networks are regulated informally by the ruling party. The recent change in political leadership in November 2017 presents a unique opportunity to explore how informal networks among vendors contribute to their political socialization. This study will compare networks of second-hand clothes vendors that are regulated by the city council with networks that are regulated by actors linked to the party. It will study how these political actors promote ideas and behaviours through these networks, and how this affects the political ideas and behaviours that vendors acquire. The study will use qualitative research methods that have been designed to generate robust data; are exciting and interesting to young people; and are safe and feasible within the political context of Zimbabwe: participatory and visual methods, interviews, focus group discussions, and observation. The project will first focus on understanding the nature of informal vending networks and how they are regulated. The project will then focus on understanding how informal networks function as sites for political socialization, and the kind of political ideas and behaviours young vendors adopt as a result. The study pays attention to the gendered experiences in these networks, and whether differences in educational and economic backgrounds matter for political socialization. The project will produce academic outputs (three articles in high-ranking journals and a book proposal) and outputs for civil society and donors in order to improve their programmes (Handbook for civil society and training, donor roundtable, online scrollify, a webinar) that will be promoted widely through the networks of project partners. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

INSTITUTE OF DEVELOPMENT STUDIES

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Zimbabwe

27723.39

111791.8

28174.34

25292.52

28174.34

27947.95

27723.39

192982.05

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-U7CVUPX-3YL3NUJ

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Financial Inclusion and Digital Connectivity in Refugee Governance</narrative> The project examines emerging trends in refugee governance: debit cards for cash assistance and digital connectivity initiatives. We analyse uptake and challenges of these technologies in four countries: Greece, Jordan, Lebanon and the UK. We include these countries because each has innovated solutions to refugee governance and integration, but in different ways with different outcomes. Our project includes surveys of organisations working in this field and in-depth case studies with humanitarian and refugee-led initiatives. Working across four countries, we are uniquely able to identify both local and global trends in techno-humanitarianism. Working with refugee-led organisations, the project will generate alternative models of financial inclusion and digital connectivity and work with international stakeholders to overcome exclusion. As the first transnational study of connectivity and debit cards for refugees, this research produces a timely and rigorous intervention in the context of refugee governance, where enduring refugees' forced displacement and destitution are matched by rapidly changing and often experimental governmental approaches using digital technologies. Our study of connectivity and debit cards for refugees maps their operation, effects, and long-term impact. Our study improves the understanding of these digital solutions offered to refugees beyond the promotional or anecdotal slogans that reduce complex processes to either 'innovations' that speed and individualize aid, or 'traps' that disguise surveillance under service provision Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Jordan

55665.16

267644.88

142602.32

58407.11

66836.57

75765.75

63959.71

55665.16

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-U7CVUPX-L9P6PDA

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>After Exit: Assessing the Consequences of United Nations Peacekeeping Withdrawal</narrative> In this project, we aim to address this empirical gap by addressing two questions. We first ask, 'What are the trajectories of state capacity following the withdrawal of peacekeeping missions and associated peacekeeping forces?' This question invites an empirical descriptive response, which we will produce by gathering original data on the functionality of formerly peace kept states after exit. Our data collection effort will involve an aggregation of cross-national quantitative and qualitative data, as well as large-scale surveys in Liberia and Haiti after long-standing UN missions close in those countries. Our second question moves from description to explanation by asking 'Under what conditions are state functions sustained after exit, and under what conditions is there a shift in state functionality?' This question rests on the assumption that we will observe variation in the degree to which states are able to deliver public services after the withdrawal of UN peacekeeping support. Where such variation is indeed observed, we will explore three sets of factors that may shape post exit state capacity: (1) the strength and scope of domestic institutions before, and during, the period of PKO deployment; (2) the scope of international intervention and strategy of international withdrawal; (3) the degree to which diverse domestic and international actors step in and substitute for the roles previously played by the UN PKO, after exit. To assess the relative impact of these possible causal factors, we will compare quantitative and qualitative measures of state functions before and during periods of UN PKO deployment with indicators of state functionality during the five years that follow the withdrawal of UN forces. We will focus on four state functions, in particular: security capacity, governmental/administrative capacity, productive/extractive capacity, and external relations. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Liberia

297163.32

74290.83

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-U7CVUPX-8GBXND2

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Spatial Inequalities in African Political Economy</narrative> The main objective of this project is to develop the theory and data needed to solve this analytic and policy problem. Based on our earlier research and the results of our LSE-funded pilot study, our objective is to show that there are economic, socio-economic and institutional drivers of regionalized competition that have been systematically overlooked in policy and social-scientific understandings of political competition and conflict in Africa. Our results should shift scholars' and policy-makers' attention away from simplistic analyses that overemphasize political identity (ethnicity) as a driver of politics, and toward factors amendable to policy and administrative reforms -- institutions and regional inequalities -- as drivers of competition and conflict. Lack of data and theory about the political effects of regional inequalities in sub-Saharan African countries persists in spite of the fact that many scholars recognize that African countries are characterized by extreme disparities across subnational regions (Brown and Langer 2009). This gap is costly for scholars, policy makers, and citizens alike: social scientists know that very high levels of spatial or "horizontal" inequality are correlated with socio-political ills that hit African countries hard. These include the underprovision of public goods, deep social cleavages, the prominence of political grievances around inequality and exclusion, and civil conflict (Stewart 2000) Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

250360.24

252388.12

247209.32

61802.33

63097.03

62590.06

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-U7CVUPX-WQ7WHKQ

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>The power of 'suggestion': an ethnographic study of therapeutic vernacularisation, sociality, and governance in Indonesia's hypnosis boom</narrative> This project, which builds on pilot research by the PI, will be the first ever dedicated ethnographic study of hypnotherapy. Combining intensive participant observation of the hypnotherapy scene in three Indonesian towns with semi-structured interviews of hypnotherapists and their clients, it will examine why so many people in Indonesia have come to embrace hypnotherapy, why they practice it as they do, and the influence that learning about hypnotherapy has had on their everyday lives. Time will also be spent conducting research in Malaysia (Indonesia's primary export market for hypnotherapy training) and discussing the data with British hypnosis associations, so as to illuminate, and gain critical perspectives on, the ways that the experience and practice of hypnotherapy can be shaped by specific national histories and cultural traditions. The project addresses core theoretical issues in anthropology. A priority for medical anthropology is to understand how and why cosmopolitan therapeutic forms are embraced, rejected, or modified as they move around the globe. This project will illuminate Indonesians' motivations for engaging with hypnotherapy, the challenges therapists encounter as they attempt to implement principles and procedures devised in Euro-American settings within the Indonesian context, and the strategies they adopt to overcome these. It will thus shed light on how and why therapeutic vernacularisation occurs. But it will also make a contribution to psychological anthropology by revealing the possible limitations of Euro-American theories of hypnosis and suggestion for understanding hypnotic interactions in a setting where cultural traditions, postcolonial histories and perspectives on one's global situation differ markedly from those in the secular West. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Asia, regional

51999.86

52210.46

26210.53

25999.93

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-U7CVUPX-2UFNU3J

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>The politics of services subcontracting to NGOs in China</narrative> There is little evidence to date on how these new sub-contracting arrangements affect welfare provision or NGO-state relations. So this project aims to fill this gap by investigating how the sub-contracting process unfolds on the ground, why NGOs and local governments co-operate to deliver services through sub-contracting, and how this affects provider capacity and the development of an NGO sector. The research has several objectives: a) To collect and analyse the laws, policies and contractual rules governing sub-contracting from NGOs in China nationally and in the selected sites, and gather information about the debates and arguments around this. b) To generate original empirical data on why local government officials and NGOs co-operate in these service delivery contracts, and how sub-contracting affects NGO operations and relations with the local state. c) At the policy and practical level, to highlight examples of best practice that can inform policy development in China and other similar contexts. d) To conceptualise the emerging models of sub-contracting and NGO-state relations and to advance theoretical understanding of welfare-state building and civil society development in China. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

China (People's Republic of)

117956.14

236867.72

238786.36

59937.39

59455.79

58978.07

117956.14

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-U7CVUPX-48CF5GB

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Understanding and managing intrastate territorial contestation: Iraq's disputed territories in comparative perspective</narrative> This project examines the dynamics of the disputed territories - internally in terms of the social and political aspirations of communities there, and 'externally', in terms of their links with Baghdad and Erbil (the capital of the Kurdistan Region), and the interests of these two power poles, plus their regional and global interactions. It does so with a view to assessing current proposals (including those submitted by the UN in 2009 and Kurdish demands for a referendum on the disputed territories) to resolve what remains a dangerous political stand-off, while presenting an empirically rich and comparative analysis to assist in the formulation of approaches that may assist in the management of the dispute. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Iraq

63495.1

247842.77

36850.06

56328.81

64009.43

63495.1

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-U7CVUPX-LQXA5N5

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Explaining and Mitigating Electoral Violence</narrative> The aim of this project is to develop conceptual, methodological and practical tools to facilitate an enhanced understanding of electoral violence and the behavioural interventions best suited to preventing it, with a view to sustaining fair and vibrant societies. The project will involve the construction of two databases of electoral violence and will make these data available to those engaged in electoral assistance, electoral administration and electoral observation as well as academic and other researchers. The project will also use the resulting data to develop and test a series of theoretically-driven propositions about the causes of electoral violence and to assess a range of interventions designed to prevent violent behaviours. Finally, the project will generate an online electoral violence early warning tool that can be used to provide relevant information about current electoral risks. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South of Sahara, regional

79546.34

119319.51

19948.62

39773.17

79546.34

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-U7CVUPX-ES4JPZS

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Social Movement Learning and Knowledge Production in the Struggle for Peace with Social Justice: Case Studies from Four Conflict-Affected Contexts</narrative> This participatory, co-produced research seeks to understand how social movements, in some of the most complex and conflict affected contexts in the world, build knowledge, develop strategy, and educate in the pursuance of peace with social justice. Four participatory case-studies of four very different types of social movement, in Colombia, Nepal, Turkey and South Africa will be explored through a process of participatory, collaborative research that is carried out in close collaboration with the respective social movements. The case studies will then be synthesized to draw out comparative insights on the learning and knowledge production strategies of social movements in contexts of conflict. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

61204.42

245313.45

123400.38

50159.82

61700.19

61204.42

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-U7CVUPX-JMCXDUB

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Sustainable Consumption, the Middle Classes and Agri-food Ethics in the Global South</narrative> The research is essential to understand how sustainable food consumption is mobilised and practised in distinct global South contexts, how this might be affected during times of increasing political instability and social precarity, and how this relates to the wider context of global population growth and globalising consumerism. Pilot research in the case study countries suggests that digital technologies are increasingly interwoven into societies and food systems as follows: consumers share, receive information about, purchase and review food online; food retail companies optimise their distribution with the help of IT technology; and state procurement systems increasingly move online. Recognising these realities, the research provides an innovative investigation of the interconnectedness of online and offline spaces of sustainable food consumption in the global South. The research is organised into four phases. The first focuses on institutional and cultural drivers of sustainable food consumption. It analyses policy and media reports, business strategies, codes, campaigns and initiatives in the policy and popular domain. Key informant interviews are conducted with government departments responsible for food procurement and standards, campaigners, and leading food retailers, wholesalers and restaurateurs. The second phase, focusing on consumer habits and everyday trends, comprises ethnographic research in middle-class residential areas of Guangzhou, Rio de Janeiro and Johannesburg. Interviews address household food consumption practices, judgments about 'good' food, and popular influences on food ethics and environmental values. Digital ethnographies examine the online practices of consumers, including how they collect information, shop or review online, and the influence of social media on ethical judgment and creating markets for sustainable foods. Accompanied shopping interviews and co-cooking sessions capture the nuances of food choices, moral judgments, engagement with government and corporate ethical initiatives, and the ordinary ethics of food purchase and use. The third phase, focusing on fashion and trends, uses text mining of social media to trace lines of influence in sustainable food consumption. To widen the reach of the research, and provide material with traction with policy and commercial actors, the final phase gathers quantitative data through a web-based survey of the drivers of sustainable food consumption and the behavioural intentions arising from these. The research is an innovative analysis of different global South contexts in which shifts towards sustainable food consumption are likely to have global impact. The three case studies offer comparisons of the potential of different drivers of food sustainability. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

301587.55

216872.76

54673.66

72290.92

75036.19

75036.45

75036.46

76478.45

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-U7CVUPX-9WZY49F

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Do neighbourhoods matter? Country- cluster- and individual effects on attitudes towards intimate partner violence in low- and middle-income countries</narrative> The study will address significant knowledge gaps in our understanding of women's and men's attitudes towards intimate partner violence against women (IPV) at the neighbourhood-level in 54 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) across Central-, East- and South Asia, the Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, and North- and Sub-Saharan Africa. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

31496.31

144705.36

138752.56

73259.79000000001

38361.35

34898.44

34618.04

38885.31

39983.86

34339.88

31496.31

44665.46

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-U7CVUPX-268HG25

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Adaptation and mitigation strategies to cope with the effects of extreme heat in developing countries: implications for climate change.</narrative> The increase in extreme temperatures associated to global warming and climate change are creating drastic effects at a planetary scale. These impacts seriously disrupt economic activities, particularly among the most vulnerable in the developing world, such as traditional farmers or low productivity informal workers in urban areas. Their ability to cope with environmental disruptions and to adapt to a changing climate can have strong implications in terms of vulnerable households' wellbeing. The goal of the proposed research is to deepen our understanding on how environmental events associated with climate change affect income generating activities and individuals' subsequent adaptive behaviour in developing countries. Accounting for these responses is very important to obtain more precise estimates of the economic costs of climate change, to identify potential winners and losers, and to inform the design of context-specific mitigating policies. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

ROYAL HOLLOWAY, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

23557.13

94419.33

95184.12

47880.6

23940.3

23747.94

23557.13

23940.34

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-U7CVUPX-BTX2H2N

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>The Making of an Integrated Landscape of Conservation: Sustainable Development, Environmental Justice and the Politics of Territory in the Amazon</narrative> Research will centre on the Purus-Manu conservation corridor in Peruvian Amazonia which is representative of the complex social, cultural and political realities of contemporary forest usage and conservation. The area encompasses a diversity of peoples and communities involved in a range of agricultural and extractive activities associated with differing regimes of ownership and rights. This includes not only officially recognised PAs and indigenous land claims but also extractive concessions and nascent carbon market financing. The tensions between different understandings and uses of the environment have, at times, led to physical violence and intimidation at the local level. These tensions are also evident up to the highest levels of the Peruvian government where ministries for land, development and infrastructure tend to be more powerful than the ministries that oversee conservation and rights. In this context while there are actors within Peru's government seeking a more equitable and effective system of forest conservation and the support of indigenous rights they are stymied by a lack of data, knowledge and capacities to carry out participatory planning and active multi-sector and multi-level coordination. The project will address these issues, first through an innovative ethnographic 'landscape approach' that will engage across different locations simultaneously to study and compare environmental, social and political dynamics at different levels of society and governance. In doing so, we will interrogate indigenous territorial and environmental conceptions and priorities, and how they relate, intersect and diverge from those of NGOs and government actors, as well as the hierarchies of power that privilege certain types of knowledge and information. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Peru

169037

339443.22

170406.22

85203.11

84518.5

82457.55

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-BK3MFHS-U7CVUPX-5VC56LH

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Tackling Fire in Informal Urban Settlements: An Interdisciplinary Approach</narrative> Around one billion people across the globe live in shack settlements. Many of these settlements are at constant risk of lethal fires, due to the use of flammable construction materials and contents, open flame lighting, heating and cooking methods, the close proximity of the shacks, and the lack of effective fire services, amongst other factors. Our project focuses on this problem in South Africa (specifically the Cape Town area) where shack fires are an everyday occurrence leading to death and injuries, displacement, and damage to property, possessions, businesses, and communities. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

South Africa

32451.86

130070.31

131123.89

65959.4

26379.7

32979.7

32714.73

32451.86

385985.16

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-ZE3DRYM-FGMLVUB-NRVX4YL

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>China and Africa Research Programme Evidence and Policy</narrative> Part of the ESRC/DfID Growth Programme. Separate strand of work focused on the development impact of China’s engagement in sub-Saharan Africa and the lessons China’s own economic development can offer. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

2211.22

4453.42

17213.1

3919.72

5772.99

1853.27

3919.72

9373.66

3919.72

533.7

2211.22

GB-GOV-13-OODA-ESRC-KRYEWNA-5ABMVK8-SEDRYYP

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

<narrative>Transcapes: transient populations transforming the European political space</narrative> Transcapes is a collective research project using what Europe's mainstream political and media discourse has framed as a refugee crisis, in order to understand wider transformations in the geopolitical body of Europe itself. Situating ourselves in the island of Lesbos, we examine the key actors on the island - humanitarian, social, political - and the contestation over fields and spaces of action opening in the midst of this emergency and the greatest population move in the continent in decades. Broadening our scope, we also look at Greece as a vector of its own contradictions and as the object of political decisions which will inevitably compromise its already weak position within the EU. In the third and largest of our cognitive concentric circles (Lesbos, Greece, the EU), we are trying to understand the crisis of Europe's own decision-making and executing mechanisms as a whole: to read through the inconsistencies and gaps in these and to follow and map out what emerges out of these transformations. Research and development activity contributing to the UK’s strategy to address key development challenges.

DEPARTMENT FOR BUSINESS, ENERGY & INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY

ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL

Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 4th Floor, 1 Victoria Street, SW1H 0ET

Developing Countries, unspecified

17473.37