Education Research in Conflict and Protracted Crisis

One in five children worldwide is affected by armed conflicts and/or protracted crises. While increased attention to education in conflicts and crises has led to the establishment of new funding streams and innovative programmes, the sector suffers from a fundamental weakness that will seriously constrain its impact. Without a coherent approach to research what works to improve education in conflict and crisis, the sector cannot make the best use of its scarce resources and is unlikely to achieve the educational outcomes that children deserve. The inadequate and deeply fragmented evidence base means that policy-makers, educators, and sector leaders in search of the most effective policies and interventions are forced to make decisions and investments based on hunches rather than on systematic, rigorous research.

To address the chronic lack of research, the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has awarded £15.8 million to the Education Research in Conflict and Protracted Crisis (ERICC) consortium. ERICC is led by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and expert partners include Centre for Lebanese Studies, Common Heritage Foundation, Forcier Consulting, ODI, Osman Consulting, and Queen Rania Foundation. During ERICC's inception period, NYU-TIES provided research leadership, developed the original ERICC conceptual framework and contributed to early research agenda development. ERICC is supported by UK Aid. Countries in focus include Bangladesh, Jordan, Lebanon, Myanmar, Nigeria, South Sudan and Syria

1. Research on the most effective approaches to improving education outcomes for children and youth in settings affected by conflict and protracted crises.

2. Providing in-country support with an emphasis on technical guidance, small-scale research, and grants to establish and grow new education programs.

3. Promoting research uptake amongst relevant education and other stakeholders throughout the humanitarian sector.

4. Strengthening research capabilities and policy networks for education in emergencies in regions affected by conflict and protracted crisis

At the regional and global levels, we aim to:

1. Create a new and higher standard for education research in the humanitarian sector.

2. Contribute to the growing global body of evidence to increase access, quality, and continuity of education in regions of conflict and protracted crises around the world.

To achieve these ambitious goals, we worked during the inception phase to develop:

A Conceptual framework

We worked with partners to develop a cohesive conceptual framework for education research in conflict- and protracted-crisis settings to inform, organize, and support the generation and curation of a robust evidence base.

Research agendas

We supported the co-construction of research agendas with in-country stakeholders to ensure evidence addresses the priorities and needs of diverse stakeholders.