NRI’s social scientists have been pleased to hear that our submission to REF2021 in Development Studies has been highly successful, with their percentage of research rated 3* or 4* (“internationally excellent” or “world-leading”) rising from 49% in REF2014 to 75% in 2021. 25 of their staff were submitted with research outputs focusing on topics including: climate change, forest management and the impact of oil palm cultivation, environmental change and conflict, agricultural technology and innovation, index insurance and risk-contingent credit services, social mobility, women in political leadership, women’s access to land and to decision-making, private standards and responsible business, and food environment research.

Impact case-studies, all of which were assessed as 4* or 3*, are available in summary form on NRI’s website:

Award: Prof Valerie Nelson has won the IDEAS (International Development Evaluation Association) Award in the category Evaluation in Support of Transformation for her work titled ‘Transformative Change in Tropical Forest Landscape Initiatives’. Valerie has also been nominated by the UK government and confirmed as a contributing author for the Transformative Change Assessment in The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). This work will include thematic assessment of the underlying causes of biodiversity loss, and the determinants of transformative change and options for achieving the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity (transformative change assessment).

Policy Impact: Dr Uche Okpara is a UKRI Future Leader Fellow at NRI whose research seeks to advance transformative pathways towards sustainable peace and equitable prosperity in transnational territories of the Lake Chad basin. Uche was invited to address the Ministerial Conference “Sustaining Peace Amidst the Climate Crisis: The Role of Data Science, Technology & Innovation” in Berlin 2-3 May. The conference was jointly organized by Germany’s Federal Foreign Office (FFO) and the US Department of State.

New and innovative MSc: The new MSc in Transformative Change for Sustainable Development, led by Dr Mofa Islam, is attracting considerable interest. A video presenting the programme is available on YouTube. More information about programme content and structure can be found online.

Iversen, Vegard, Anirudh Krishna and Kunal Sen (eds 2021): Social Mobility in Developing Countries – Concepts, Methods and Determinants, Oxford University Press, open access.

de Groot, Olaf J, Carlos Bozzoli, Anousheh Alamir and Tilman Brück (2022) The global economic burden of violent conflict. Journal of Peace Research. ISSN 0022-3433 (Print), 1460-3578 (Online) (In Press).

Freudenreich, Hanna, Anastasia Aladysheva and Tilman Brück  (2022) Weather shocks across seasons and child health: evidence from a panel study in the Kyrgyz Republic. World Development, 155:105801. ISSN 0305-750X (Print), 1873-5991 (Online).

Jellason, NP, EJZ Robinson, ASA Chapman, D. Neina, AJM Devenish, June Po  and B. Adolph (2021) A systematic review of drivers and constraints on agricultural expansion in sub-Saharan Africa. Land, 10 (3):332. ISSN 2073-445X (Print), 2073-445X (Online) (doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/land10030332)

Ksoll, Christopher, Rocco Macchiavello and Ameet Morjaria (2021) Electoral violence and supply chain disruptions in Kenya’s floriculture industry. Review of Economics and Statistics. ISSN 0034-6535 (Print), 1530-9142 (Online)

Deshpande, Ashwini, Christopher Ksoll, Annemie Maertens and Vinitha  Varghese (2022) The Impact of an adult education program for mothers: evidence from India. Economic Development and Cultural Change. ISSN 0013-0079 (Print), 1539-2988 (Online) (In Press) (doi:https://doi.org/10.1086/715116)

Gupta, Sweta, Christopher Ksoll and Annemie Maertens (2021) Intra-household efficiency in extended family households: evidence from rural India. The Journal of Development Studies, 57 (7). pp. 1172-1197. ISSN 0022-0388 (Print), 1743-9140 (Online) 

Islam, Md Mofakkarul, Md Sarker, Al Mamun Asaduzzaman, Md. Abdullah, Md. Mamun-ur-Rashid, and Debhasis Roy (2021) Stepping up versus stepping out: on the outcomes and drivers of two alternative climate change adaptation strategies of smallholders. World Development, 148:105671. pp. 1-17. ISSN 0305-750X (doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2021.105671)

Islam, Md Mofakkarul (2022) Distributive justice in global climate finance – Recipients’ climate vulnerability and the allocation of climate funds. Global Environmental Change, 73:102475. pp. 1-15. ISSN 0959-3780 (doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2022.102475) 

Tchuwa, Frank, Kate Wellard, John Morton , Daimon Kambewa, Daniso Mkweu, and Wezi Mhango (2022) From learning plot to main field: scaling-out soil health innovations in Malawi. Sustainability, 14 (3):1532. 

Apraku, Amos, John F. Morton  and Benjamin Apraku-Gyampoh (2021) Climate change and small-scale agriculture in Africa: does indigenous knowledge matter? Insights from Kenya and South Africa. Scientific African

Picchioni, Fiorella , Giacomo Zanello, Chittur Srinivasan, Amanda Wyatt and Patrick Webb (2020) Gender, time-Use, and energy expenditures in rural communities in India and Nepal. World Development, 136:105137. ISSN 0305-750X

Picchioni, Fiorella , Luis F. Goulao and Dominique Roberfroid (2021) The impact of COVID-19 on diet quality, food security and nutrition in low and middle income countries: a systematic review of the evidence. Clinical Nutrition.