The Refugee Law Initiative (RLI) has been working with prominent international NGO’s – Save the Children and the International Rescue Committee - to support humanitarian responses during the global COVID-19 pandemic. These research projects examine how the two organisations coped with the challenges posed by the pandemic and adapted their working practices on their accountability to refugees and affected populations during this time of particular global crisis.

Research with Save the Children and partner organisations in Bangladesh evaluated the impact of the COVID-19 emergency on Save the Children’s use of feedback from adults and children, and the ways in which approaches to feedback informed the organisation’s decision-making. Drawing on the Rohingya humanitarian response and selected development programmes across the country, the research provides a valuable tool to support organisational learning by documenting innovations and ways the response can be strengthened, particularly as the organisation seeks to reach and engage with the most vulnerable and remote segments of the populations they serve.

The RLI also collaborated with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to examine the impact of Covid-19 on IRC Uganda’s humanitarian response and accountability to refugees. This research focused on the adaptation of IRC’s Client Responsiveness approach to accountability in the West Nile, Lamwo and Kiryandongo districts, and the urban area of Kampala. It demonstrates how challenges can be overcome by adapting programming and communication channels, and by finding new and alternative strategies to support refugee populations, including the most vulnerable and persons in remote areas. One key output from this research has been the development of a series of audio podcasts for refugees, a demonstrably effective communication channel, which is currently being piloted by IRC in the West Nile region.

Drawing on these research projects, the RLI has also developed Guidance on Accountability to Affected Populations during COVID-19 and other emergency contexts. This guidance synthesises learning on accountability to affected populations in crises and is designed to an accessible and practical reference point for practitioners working in COVID-19 and other crisis contexts across the globe.

Dr Sarah Singer talks about the RLI’s research on accountability during COVID-19 in this short video. You can also view a presentation on the Uganda and Bangladesh research projects in this webinar recording.

This research was funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) as part of the RECAP Project: ‘Research capacity strengthening and knowledge generation to support preparedness and response to humanitarian crises and epidemics,’ grant number ES/P010873/1.

The Refugee Law Initiative (RLI) has undertaken research supporting the humanitarian response in Uganda and Tanzania. This research collaboration with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) examines humanitarian organisations’ responsiveness to displaced populations, and how communication with and feedback from such communities is utilised in the humanitarian organisation’s decision-making processes.

During the pandemic, the RLI examined on the impact of Covid-19 on IRC Uganda’s humanitarian response and accountability to refugees. The research reveals how humanitarian organisations can be accountable to the communities they serve even during a pandemic when engagement between humanitarian staff and affected populations is heavily restricted. It demonstrates how challenges can be overcome by adapting programming and communication channels, and by finding new and different strategies to support refugees, reach remote areas and the most vulnerable, strategies which can be applicable in ordinary times too. 

In parallel, the RLI undertook research in collaboration with IRC Tanzania. This larger case study examines how the organisation does and can foster meaningful participation of and feedback to refugees, and influence its own staff culture to foster greater receptivity to refugee engagement. Spanning five sectors of the organisation, the research provides a detailed evaluation of the country office’s operation, and key findings and lessons which are relevant and applicable to other IRC country programmes, as well as other humanitarian organisations.

This research has resulted in the development of a series of audio podcasts for refugees. These podcasts aim to empower refugees by providing information on how they can engage with IRC and partner organisations, the importance of their feedback, and how communities can respond to cases of fraud, corruption or sexual exploitation and abuse. Produced in five local languages, these messages are being broadcast by IRC and humanitarian partners in early 2022 in Uganda’s West Nile region. If successful, the initiative will be replicated in other areas of interest within Uganda and serve as a basis for organisational learning in the region.

On December 1, the Refugee Law Initiative (RLI) and RECAP are co-hosting a webinar on Accountability to refugees during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Refugee Law Initiative collaborated with the International Rescue Committee and Save the Children to assess the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the humanitarian response and accountability to refugee populations in Uganda and Bangladesh. These case studies provide a timely insight into how these organisations’ communication and accountability strategies have adapted to the challenges posed by the pandemic in markedly different contexts. The webinar discusses the different approaches these organisations have adopted to keep serving affected populations within the restrictions imposed by lockdown regulations and new health risks, to protect their beneficiaries and reach the most vulnerable. To register, and for more information, visit the RLI website.

RECAP staff are proud to contribute to the Health and Internal Displacement Network (HIDN) seminar series. The seminar will be held on 3 November 2021 and you can secure your place now.

RECAP is delighted to support an important new IDP health network. Convenors include RECAP’s Dr. David Cantor and Dr. Bayard Roberts. Watch the recording of the panel launch event held in April 2021 on 'Enabling Health Solutions for Internally Displaced Persons'.

RECAP-funded researchers, Dr. Caitlin Wake and Dr. Michelle Lokot, have written a piece on co-production within research in humanitarian settings. Read more about how co-production can help “enable humanitarian actors to rethink and reshape research partnerships”.

RECAP has provided vital support to COVID-19 responses in the UK and countries affected by humanitarian crises. Find out more about RECAP’s support and research for COVID-19 responses.

RECAP is partnering with Thanzi la Onse to develop the REACT project proposal on refugee policy and financing in East Africa. Please see some reports produced by REACT partners for the development for the REACT proposal.

RECAP partner, BRAC, are hosting capacity building training on Impact Evaluation from April 19-21. The training aims to equip participants with the knowledge of relevance, design, methods and application of Impact Evaluation concepts in Development Policy. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, please read the training agenda, and to register, visit this website.

Researcher Sasha Fahme has written a piece on the potential benefits of “mobilising Syrian refugee healthcare workers in Lebanon to respond to the COVID-19 crisis”.

RECAP partners from the American University of Beirut in Lebanon have collaborated to publish an article highlighting the need for “reliable, disaggregated and openly shared data” on COVID-19 in the Middle-East and North Africa Region.

A video recording is now available of the talks given at the “Defining a Roadmap for Outbreak Analytics” Workshop, which took place in December 2020. This online workshop, organised by Thibaut Jombart of RECAP, showcased talks from experts from around the world.
 

The capacity strengthening information on our website has been updated to include a comprehensive list of all ongoing, planned, and completed activities. These activities include a capacity strengthening training programme run by Save the Children, an impact evaluation training developed by BRAC and many more. Details and further information can be found on the RECAP Capacity Strengthening page.

RECAP-funded staff have been involved in supporting responses to COVID-19 through research, senior-level policy engagement in the UK and globally, seminars, and media engagement. The extensive published research and guidance on COVID-19 generated by RECAP-funded staff and partners can be found in the RECAP publications page (COVID-19 drop down menu).

As part of RECAP, researchers from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the University of Sierra Leone completed a capacity strengthening assessment at the University of Sierra Leone. This assessment identifies areas for strengthening institutional and individual research capacity, and focuses on key aspects to support good research practice – including research strategies, support services, facilities and infrastructure, human resource management for research, training for researchers, and the external promotion of research. It puts forward recommendations for the University of Sierra Leone to consider, including: infrastructural investment in the libraries, laboratories and research study space; investment, including financial investment in individuals in terms of training and development for researchers and research support staff, and some systems strengthening to support the management of research at all stages of the research cycle. RECAP will support the University of Sierra Leone in prioritising and actioning some of the recommendations. More broadly, the University of Sierra Leone is going through a transformational phase and its commitment to strengthening its research capacity will see future research increasingly being directed and led by the University. The final assessment report can be found here.

A key component of strengthening capacity to respond to humanitarian crises is building resources within organisations and affected countries so that they can respond effectively to future emergencies. RECAP researchers working on epidemic modelling for real-time decision making have been busy using knowledge gained through research to help strengthen capacity through formal training, ad hoc training and deployments.

In the last year, RECAP researchers have provided formal training in outbreak analytics in Malta and Benin, and have an upcoming course planned in Sweden. They have held spatial analysis training in Benin, Lebanon, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, and the UK, with more courses planned for next year. These courses have strengthened the capacity of researchers, policy makers and professionals involved in humanitarian response by training people working in government ministries, UN agencies, academic institutions and NGOs how to analyse data during disease outbreaks.

In addition, RECAP modelling experts have been deployed to the field to reach staff on the front lines. Our researchers work together with humanitarian responders, strengthening capacity by collaborating to solve real-time challenges as they emerge, introducing new models and tools, and providing ad hoc training. In the past year, our staff have been deployed to the Democratic Republic of Congo to assist with the Ebola response, and to Mozambique for Cyclone Ida. Through these deployments, they have provided surge capacity, expert support, and advised, mentored and trained individuals, helping humanitarian responders address current crises and prepare for the challenges of the future.

Dr Christopher Jarvis - Research Fellow LSHTM

In June 2019, RECAP and the Firoz Lalji Centre for Africa co-organised a writing workshop for social scientists at Njala University, Sierra Leone. Colleagues from LSHTM (Melissa Parker, Fred Martineau), LSE (Tim Allen and 5 post-docs) and the University of the Andes, Colombia (Maria Del Pilar Lopez Uribe) travelled to Njala to work with 20 Sierra Leonean social scientists. They had diverse academic backgrounds including: history, economics, political science, anthropology, and public health and came from several academic institutions – notably, Njala, University of Sierra Leone's Fourbay College and COMAHS.

During the week, we divided up into small groups to focus on specific pieces of writing that colleagues were trying to complete for their PhDs or publication. This was interwoven with sessions where we met as a single group – either to hear academic seminars about social research on humanitarianism or for specific training on activities such as ‘blog writing’ or ‘doing a literature review’. It was an intense week, with sessions running from 9.00am to 11.00pm – by popular demand!

Although blog writing was optional, the vast majority of people wrote their own blog – and many of these have now been published on the Firoz Lalji Centre for Africa website at LSE. At the beginning of the workshop, a colleague said: “why are you always talking about blogs, blogs and blogs?!” By the end of the week, he answered his own question: “ it is a good and simple way to communicate ideas quickly. Writing a 10,000 word article or chapter of a thesis is daunting, but it becomes easier, if you write up key findings as you go along.”

The workshop also spawned a WhatsApp group where people are sharing chapters of their thesis and conference papers; and it has helped to develop a South-South partnership. We are hoping that the next writing workshop will take place in Bogota, Colombia for PhD students in Sierra Leone and Colombia.

Melissa Parker, Professor of Medical Anthropology, LSHTM

In June 2019 Dr Melissa Parker collaborated with RECAP partners in the UK and Sierra Leone to organise and co-lead a workshop focussed on paper and blog writing at Njala University in Bo, Sierra Leone. More information including blog articles written by participants can be found here.

On Monday 24 June 2019, Professor Bayard Roberts (RECAP PI), Professor Alba Sibai (RECAP Lebanon PI) and Dr Hazel McCullough (RECAP Capacity Strengthening Consultant) presented at the GCRF R4HC-MENA one day symposium on 'Health Research in Conflicts and Complex Environments' at Kings College London. Their presentations ranged from building and sustaining equitable partnerships to the scope of RECAP's Capacity Strengthening activities to scaling up mental health interventions among conflict-affected populations

On Tuesday 25th June 2019 join RECAP will be joining the colleagues from the R4HC MENA Project based at Kings College London to discuss Health Research in Conflict & Complex Environments with experts in the field.

Register here for this free event here

The second training workshop of the Towards Leadership Programme took place this week in London and was hosted by our partners, the Crick African Network at the Francis Crick Institute.

The final training workshop for the 2018/2019 cohort will take place in Nairobi, Kenya, in November 2019.

In March 2019 RECAP's Dr. Christopher Jarvis was deployed to Mozambique in response to Cyclone Idai as part of his role as a volunteer with Mapaction. He provided mapping and information support to the humanitarian response and was involved in large-scale multi-agency rapid aerial survey of the affected populations. He worked alongside multiple groups including the United nations, International Federation of the Red cross, WHO, and the Mozambique Government. He was able to utilise the expertise gained as part of RECAP to responds in real time to the emergency and gained experience  which will help inform future research and capacity strengthening such as during recent courses conducted in Benin, Beirut, Barbados and on site training provided to staff in Goma for the DRC Ebola response.

RECAP partners attended a three day training workshop funded by the Global Impact Accelerator Accounts. The workshop was facilitated by the Knowledge to Policy Center and the American University of Beirut was was attended by researchers, policymakers, and NGO representatives from nine different countries.

On 4 & 5 March 2019 Dr Munshi Sulaiman from RECAP Partner BRAC, and Dr Zia Sadique and Dr Gulia Greco from LSHTM lead a short course on Economic Evaluation for Health Interventions in Kampala, Uganda.

The course, which has received excellent feedback, was attended by participants from BRAC, The University of Sierra Leone, The Centre for Disease Control, the UK Department for International Development, the International Development Research Centre, The International Rescue Committee, Save the Children, UNFPA and USAID.

RECAP is partnering with two other GCRF GROW funded projects, the Crick African Network and PRECISE, to build leadership capacity in research institutues across Africa.

The first workshop of The Towards Leadership Programme, facilitated by the African Research Excellence Fund (AREF), was held last week in Johannesburg, South Africa and was attended by two RECAP delegates, Ayesha Idriss and Dr Edries Tejan from the University of Sierra Leone.

On 15 & 16 January 2019 RECAP Partners gathered together in Beirut for the project's Annual General Meeting hosted by our partners the American University of Beirut. The two day meeting consisted of presentations and panels chaired by RECAP project partners and guests from AUB and the Nuffield Council on Bioethics.

A two day course will be run by RECAP researchers Dr John Edmonds and Dr Chris Jarvis at the American University of Beirut in January 2019. Please see the advert for further information.

Date: January 17-18, 2019
Location: American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon

A RECAP project event was held in Freetown, with presentations by the Minister of Higher Education, the Chief Medical Officer, the Statistician General of the Government of Sierra Leone, senior representatives of the University of Sierra Leone, students and staff from the University of Sierra Leone, and RECAP staff from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

Prof Bayard Roberts, RECAP PI, presents at the Houses of Parliament on 22 November for the launch of a new practice guide on the use of evidence in the humanitarian sector. This practice guide was led at LSHTM by Dr Karl Blanchet and supported by RECAP. For further details please see Evidence Aid - Use of Evidence in Humanitarian Settings

Bayard Roberts spoke about RECAP as part of his presentation on ‘forced migration: gaps in mental health research and accountability‘ at a colloquium on Forced Migration and Humanitarian Policy held at Yale University on 4 October 2018.

Tim Allen (RECAP), Anna Macdonald and Henry Radice have recently published Humanitarianism: A Dictionary of Concepts (London: Routledge, 2018) a collection of 24 pithy and provocative essays engaging with a selection of established and emerging topics crucial to the understanding of contemporary humanitarianism with contributions from several RECAP researchers including RECAP PI Prof Bayard Roberts, and Dr Melissa Parker.

RECAP is pleased to announce the release of ‘Research Evidence in the Humanitarian Sector: A Practice Guide.’  This was written in collaboration with Evidence Aid and Nesta, and involved RECAP Co-Investigator, Dr Karl Blanchet

This guide is intended for humanitarian decision-makers and practitioners working in the field or with donor, international, national, or non-governmental organisations. It is intended to help with decisions around financing, supervision, delivery, or evaluation of humanitarian interventions. It defines evidence-informed decision making, explores when and which evidence may be of use, and advises how to choose evidence, where to source it from, and how to assess the quality.

Read the full report here.

If you have any further questions, please contact Karl Blanchet (karl.blanchet@lshtm.ac.uk).