The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in unprecedented challenges for researchers and policy analysts, and accentuated the need for access to civil society and advocacy movements within politically closed spaces. The impact of locally led Covid-19 response research in the global South has subsequently raised questions about traditional research methods that often prioritise academic rigour over practical relevance and result in research disconnected from the realities of people’s lives.
This issue of the IDS Bulletin presents learning gathered from rapidly mobilised Southern-led research by institutions who designed and delivered research aimed at influencing the response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The articles here are drawn from the Covid-19 Responses for Equity (CORE) programme, a rapid research initiative funded by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) created to understand the socioeconomic impacts of the pandemic in order to generate better policy for recovery.
The IDS Bulletin explores the particular characteristics of Southern research organisations that were able to mobilise quickly. It discusses the types of knowledge that were needed in these unique circumstances, and how organisations mobilised knowledge in an emergency to facilitate engagement and influence response to a global challenge with local implications.
The examples here demonstrate how researchers have developed new skills to present research findings in accessible ways for different audiences. The explicit use of digital technologies, for instance, has allowed researchers to facilitate collaboration across geographic boundaries and engage diverse stakeholders.
This all highlights how essential locally led research is for pandemic response and for development more broadly. There is also acknowledgement that how organisations responded to the pandemic may have a longer-term impact on the future of those organisations themselves.
Articles (open access)
Introduction: Lessons for Locally Driven Research Responses to Emergencies
Andrea Ordóñez Llanos and James Georgalakis
Introducción: Lecciones para la investigación sobre respuestas a emergencias impulsada a nivel local
Andrea Ordóñez Llanos and James Georgalakis
Introduction : Leçons issues des recherches menées localement en réponse aux situations d’urgence
Andrea Ordóñez Llanos and James Georgalakis
Co-Modelling for Relief and Recovery from the Covid-19 Crisis in Zimbabwe
Ramos E. Mabugu, Hélène Maisonnave, Martin Henseler, Margaret Chitiga-Mabugu and Albert Makochekanwa
Research During the Covid-19 Pandemic: Crucial Arms for Struggle
Ana Carolina Ogando
Policy Influence in Crisis: Reflections from a Southern Thinktank
Helani Galpaya, Gayani Hurulle and David Gunawardana
Lessons Learned from Mobilising Research for Impact During the Covid-19 Pandemic
Benghong Siela Bossba
Arab Region Social Protection Systems: Research and Policy Design Challenges
Farah Al Shami
نظم الحماية االجتماعية في المنطقة العربية: التحديات أمام إجراء البحوث وسن السياسات
Farah Al Shami
Humanitarian vs Pandemic Responses: Vulnerable Groups among Rohingyas in Bangladesh
Sameen Nasar, Bachera Aktar, Muhammad Riaz Hossain and Sabina Faiz Rashid
Resilience in the Time of a Pandemic: Developing Public Policies for Ollas Comunes in Peru
Ricardo Fort and Lorena Alcázar
Resiliencia en tiempos de pandemia: generando políticas públicas para las ollas comunes en Perú
Ricardo Fort and Lorena Alcázar
(Re-)Thinking a Collaborative Research Model After Covid-19: Introducing
Colabora.Lat
Jennifer Cyr, Matías Bianchi, Ignacio F. Lara and Florencia Coda
(Re)pensar un modelo de investigación colaborativa después del Covid-19: presentación de Colabora.Lat
Jennifer Cyr, Matías Bianchi, Ignacio F. Lara and Florencia Coda
Launch webinar
The editors and authors will be speaking about this issue at the launch webinar: Mobilising knowledge in emergencies with care and intent on the 23 November. Register here.
Editors
