This project uses SSIA funding to address the challenges faced by people in low-income countries (LICs) whose livelihoods have become increasingly vulnerable to extreme weather events and who are largely excluded from the benefits of new technologies.
Award: Flexible funding
Academics: Ija Trapeznikova, JP Rud, Ahu Gemici
Department: Economics
Partners: The IGC-Uganda and the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MOFPED)
Context and Underpinning Research
This project builds on ongoing research to address the challenges faced by people in low-income countries (LICs) whose livelihoods have become increasingly vulnerable to extreme weather events and who are largely excluded from the benefits of new technologies. This is particularly true for women, who are more likely to work in subsistence sector and earn lower wages than men.
Project Overview
Ija and colleagues, in partnership with the International Growth Centre Uganda and the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, brought together leading experts, academics and policymakers in Kampala at the end of June 2024. This conference enabled an exchange of research and innovation around climate change issues faced by the local population. The project team led workshop sessions on topic areas including agriculture and climate resilience, sustainable urban development and pollution management.
Outcomes and Impact
Attendees engaged in discussions on the role of integrated approaches to green innovation and job creation in Uganda. The conference was a catalyst for interdisciplinary knowledge exchange and collaboration and led to the creation of three actionable policy recommendations. These policy recommendations will be synthesised and made available for public use, with the aim of informing policymakers of the specific constraints that women face in LICs, and what some of the potential solutions are. The collaborative nature of the project has enabled the team to establish new connections in LICs, which provides leverage to other capacity building and dissemination activities as part of their ongoing research on women’s employment in sub-Saharan Africa, funded by the IZA Institute of Labor Economics
The role of Flexible Funding
SSIA funding is pivotal to this project as it covers the costs associated with international travel and running the conference in Kampala. Working onsite in Uganda has strengthened the University’s relationship with the IGC Uganda and has provided a means of effectively transferring knowledge to, and co-creating policies with, target LICs. SSIA funding also enabled the project team to recruit an Impact Associate to assist with website updates.
Get Involved
We invite you to follow, engage with, and share the impact of this project. You can get in touch with project leads Ija: Ija.Trapeznikova@rhul.ac.uk , JP: Juan.Rud@rhul.ac.uk and Ahu: ahu.gemici@royalholloway.ac.uk via email, and you can read more about the conference in this press release and on the ICG website.
