Research in Development

1. Research in Development Research in Development Kate Laburn-Peart World Vision UK

2. Research, evidence or knowledge? • Research: • “any systematic effort to increase the stock of knowledge” (OECD) • Can be used as evidence • Takes on different forms: documents, testimonies, books, reports, interviews, articles, briefings • Not much use if it doesn’t get disseminated! • Evidence: knowledge that may be contested, interpreted and/or applied in different ways • One of our jobs as researchers in development is to use the knowledge and evidence we have generated to persuade government to change unjust policies and practices – to improve people’s livelihoods

3. Why research? What difference can research make? INFORM: Collect and share new information INSPIRE: Questions received wisdom, generate support, challenge taken-for-granted ideas IMPROVE: Ensures appropriate development programmes, add, correct or change policy issues, hold policymakers accountable, monitor and evaluate

4. Research that informed and inspired: Why were children missing school?* Save the Children was concerned about low school attendance within a Kurdish community in Northern Iraq. The organisation had assumed that the cause of the problem would be the parents’ lack of money. However, when researchers talked with the children, they found out that teachers were beating the children so severely that they were afraid to go to school. There were also allegations of sexual abuse. Save the Children was then able to discuss with the local authorities a programme of teacher training which addresses how children should be treated as well as how to convey information. Their research questioned the received wisdom (lack of money) and shared new information. * Laws et al(2003), Research for Development: A Practical Guide, Sage Publishers

5. Research that improved: Identifying an effective intervention* The research into children stitching footballs in Pakistan was partly aimed at clarifying what would be the most useful intervention for Save the Children and other organisations to make. Some campaign groups were pressing the industry to build more schools. However, the research established that it was not lack of schools which was preventing children from going to school. The key factors were the high cost and low quality of schooling, as well as their families’ need for income. It would have been ineffective just to set up more schools. * Laws et al(2003), Research for Development: A Practical Guide, Sage Publishers

6. Investigating the needs of a community, or a specific group of people Investigating the need for a particular development programme Evaluation of a particular development programme Raising a new issue in the public domain Putting forward a new perspective on a ‘live’ issue Producing strong evidence of the benefit or harm of a particular policy (impact assessment) Research to support a policy position Range of issues for research in development Programmes / Projects Policy / Advocacy

7. Range of issues research can deal with in development • Agenda setting: build momentum behind an issue - key lies in the way the research and evidence is communicated • Policy influence/ formulation: Quantity and quality / credibility of the research • Policy implementation: improving the effectiveness of development programmes – key is making research relevant and practical • Monitoring and evaluation of policy – key lies in communicating evidence in a clear and accessible way • Importance of the political context: evidence must be relevant, timely and appropriate to context

8. About World Vision • World Vision works globally with over 15,000 communities to reduce poverty and promote social inclusion at the grassroots level. • We are an international partnership working on relief, development and advocacy projects in nearly 100 countries. • We are a Christian, child-focused organisation: we work in the areas of shelter, water, sanitation, health, nutrition, education, sustainable livelihoods, humanitarian protection and peace-building. We work in and with all communities regardless of race, creed or colour. • The only development INGO present in all G8 countries, we have growing policy influence with governments and international institutions. • We connect people fighting poverty worldwide – from 40 million people in the South to over 3 million in the North – building support for development in the UK through our constituency of 130,000 supporters www.worldvision.org.uk/advocacy

9. World Vision and Development World Vision has adopted the Area Development Programme (ADP) approach as a comprehensive way to tackle poverty ADPs can include several communities and may last for up to 15 years. WV focuses on helping communities work together to find ways to improve their futures, and especially focuses on the needs of children The creation of an ADP is only the start, the goal is to enable communities to develop skills and confidence to manage their own development after WV has left the area WVUK has Programme Officers covering WVUK’s work in about 70 countries worldwide

10. World Vision and Advocacy Work to challenge the processes and structures that keep people poor Work to transform injustices that cause poverty Analyse root causes of poverty in key focus areas Seek changes to unjust policies and practices that sustain poverty Work to transform the hearts and minds of those that engage with us Developing key relationships with policy makers and key influencers Build WV credibility to gain influence

11. Key areas of advocacy for World Vision • Economic Justice – aid effectiveness / Paris Declaration / Accra Agenda for Action / lobbying UK government, G8, G20 and EU on accountability, conditionality of aid / working with communities in the south to hold their own governments accountable for how aid is spent • Child Rights – focussed on care and protection of vulnerable children in the areas where we work: child sex tourism / child trafficking / child labour / access to education for all, including disabled children / birth registration • HIV and AIDS – monitor, lobby UK government to implement policy commitments on CABA, advocating for “universal access” for prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010. • Peace and Conflict – situation in Northern Uganda, Middle East, Sudan (Darfur), DRC, Somalia, Afghanistan

12. Examples from WVUK research work Child Rights - Child Sex Tourism Report: “Children’s Work, Adult’s Play” based on field research in Cambodia Press Release:“Legal loophole allows convicted child sex offenders to roam abroad for eight days before telling the authorities ” TV coverage / Newspaper articles: “The darker side of travel”Malcolm Macalister Hall reports from Cambodia, where child prostitution is rife(Filed: 13/09/2003) Meetings with a government minister - ultimately to a change in the extra-territorial legislation

13. Examples from WVUK research work Education for All – MDG 2 In 2000, 189 UN Member States pledged to achieve universal primary education by 2015 (MDG 2). • Despite this, disabled children still miss out disproportionately on receiving any kind of education. It is estimated that • one third of the 77 million children still out of school are disabled children • fewer than 10% of disabled children in Africa attend school(UNESCO, 2006). Lobbying UK Government, World Bank, United Nations, International conferences, Governments of Ethiopia and Cambodia. WVUK Report: “Education’s Missing Millions” (2007) “Sometimes disabled children are forgotten when we are developing education programmes in the poorest countries. We should never forget that the people who have the least chance of advocating their own case are those whom we should support most.” (Gordon Brown, 2006)

14. Who does the research? • In-house researchers • Development project staff • Community members • Freelance researchers • Universities / colleges • NGOs • Research agency

15. What skills are needed? Summarisingskills Library / Information Searching Work plan and organisation skills Teamwork Research and design skills Communication / presentation skills Numerical skills Interviewing skills Analytical skills Report writing Computing skills Observation Skills

16. Good things about a career in development research? Asking questions, finding answers Pushing the boundaries of knowledge about development Getting people the information they need to make their jobs in development more effective Making a difference: policy change / influence Meeting people / going places Expanding your horizons Expanding their horizons!

17. Worst things about a career in development research? Difficult to get ‘in’ – highly competitive We are in a global market : many NGOs are being decentralised - a corresponding reduction in staff needed in NGO headquarters in the North There is an increase in the number of experienced researchers employed on a short-term basis (for a few weeks or months). Effects of global financial crisis Development specialists from the South are increasingly recruited to posts in the North Not ‘doing’ development: on the outside looking in

18. How to get ‘in’? • Get your degree! • Make contacts, network, talk to researchers • Find out about organisations where you think you’d like to work (do some research!) • Be prepared to work for little or nothing if necessary in order to get some experience at first • Think about volunteering to work with an NGO in the field – invaluable on a CV • Know what you have to offer - skills and knowledge and experience • Perseverance pays

19. Top tips • Sort out your CV • Invest time and energy in the application • Know the jargon: Use the language of international aid and development, trawl through websites • Send suitable enquiries to suitable agencies. • Send appropriate information to appropriate people • Get experience – work overseas, do some contract work, perhaps volunteering? Some resources: • Join your GradClub • Join theDevelopment Studies Associationhttp://www.devstud.org.uk/ • Sophie Laws, 2003 “Research for Development: A practical guide (Sage) • Journal of International Development (Vol14:6, Aug 2005) • http://www.reliefweb.int • http://www.bond.org.uk/classifieds/internationaldevelopmentjobs.htmlCurrent vacancies with British-based international development NGOs • www.charityjob.co.uk; http://www.wse.org.uk/

20. www.worldvision.org.uk/advocacy