Humanitarian studies: a field still in the making
It took a long time for humanitarian action to evolve from an act of activism to a subject of research. Valérie Gorin expertly traces this evolution, while reminding us that...
“Researchers should be in close dialogue with practitioners”
Maria Gabrielsen Jumbert has a PhD in Political Science and International Relations. She is a Co-Director of the Norwegian Centre for Humanitarian Studies (NCHS) and also Research Director at the...
Researchers and humanitarian actors: moving from mistrust to efficiency
In spite of some notable bridge-building efforts and much joint work carried out in recent years, researchers and humanitarian actors continue to regard each other too often with suspicion rooted...
Research and humanitarian aid: navigating the unpredictable, limiting the avoidable
This Focus opens with an article on the place of research within Médecins Sans Frontières, taking us headfirst into the tensions and dilemmas that are engendered by collaboration between researchers...
How to co-produce transdisciplinary and plural knowledge to solve complex humanitarian problems? An illustration in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Delving deeper, Camille Maubert and Jeremy Allouche shine a light on what the tensions and dilemmas might be. In addition to those inherent to the conflict of cultures between aid...
Improving collaboration between humanitarian and research actors to strengthen the evidence base for water, sanitation and hygiene interventions
It is the subject of “water, sanitation and hygiene” that is the focal point for the three authors in this paper as they single out the obstacles to combined actions...
How to better understand the management of sexist and sexual violence committed by humanitarian aid workers
To introduce this Focus, its joint editor Jan Verlin presents a non-exhaustive review of the academic literature devoted to the theme of gender-based and sexual violence in humanitarian work. The...
The contributions of clinical sociology research to the socio-humanitarian sector
In this article, the author invites us into her engaged and reflective personal journey as a researcher. When she began to measure the limits that she believes thwart the methods...
Operational research and malnutrition: state of knowledge and food for thought
Many NGOs have already responded to the requirement of linking action and research. For instance, since 2016, Action Against Hunger has been holding a conference to take stock of these...
Use of research by NGOs: a call for reflection and action
The authors stress the importance of taking research findings into account for NGO interventions, and identify the technical and political challenges this presents. They put forward several approaches favorable to...
HIV/AIDS: may our struggle not become undetectable
Despite scientific research, nearly 800,000 people still die from HIV and 1.7 million others are newly infected each year across the world. Allocating financial resources to this struggle is therefore...
The principles and challenges of the interplay and dual commitment between research and humanitarian action
The author’s career perfectly illustrates the hybridisation at work between the worlds of humanitarian action and research. Drawing on her experiences and various projects carried out in Laos, Pascale Hancart...