Tomorrow’s Cities and Covid-19: A discussion

Covid-19 has changed the context for working and will likely change the local and policy landscape for the Tomorrow's Cities Hub - it has and will have a major relevance for our collective work and its legacy. In this document we outline the main aims for Tomorrow’s Cities and map out five entry points for working with Covid-19. These offer initial thoughts on how Covid-19 might be considered in our collective work, as well as opportunities for contributing to policy or practice on Covid-19 within broader processes of equitable resilience building. Discussion does not seek to cover all the areas of relevance that disaster risk management, crisis management, resilience or transformative action can bring (this is no less important but the focus for another conversation!). The aim here is to identify the specific contribution of Tomorrow’s Cities Hub given focus by our: Mission: To reduce disaster risk for the poor in tomorrow’s cities and Aim: To catalyse a transition from crisis management to multi-hazard risk-informed urban planning and decision-makin

Innovation Pathways to Adaption for Humanitarian and Development Goals: A Case Study of Aftershock Forecasting for Disaster Risk Management

The innovation process is central to effective adaption to climate change and development challenges, but models from business and management tend to dominate innovation theory, which sits outside the adaption-development paradigm. This paper presents an alternative conceptual framework to visualise innovations as pathways across the adaption-development landscape for humanitarian and development goals. This useful tool can reveal, map and coordinate innovation strategy. To demonstrate and validate this approach we analyse a case study of innovation in aftershock forecasting for humanitarian decision-making and show that the most effective strategy is for multiple innovation strands and hubs to move concurrently and cumulatively towards transformative humanitarian and development goals

Social Impacts and Responses Related to COVID-19 in Low- and Middle-income Countries

This report focuses on the social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in low- and middle-income countries and considerations around preparedness, response/mitigation, resilience, and recovery measures taken or proposed in response. However, it should be acknowledged that the different 10 impacts are interconnected and COVID-19’s social impacts do not exist in isolation from the health and economic impacts, for instance. The report is structured around the five areas of technical competency expected of FCDO’s social development advisers and draws on a desk-review of the available literature and research. It should be noted, however, that most of the issues in the different sections are in fact interconnected and reflective of intersecting inequalities. As the pandemic progresses, more evidence is emerging from different countries about the immediate impacts of the outbreak and response, with some also showing the impacts over time through the use of multiple rounds of surveys. The research carried out so far has been a mixture of quantitative and qualitative research of the situation on the ground and predictions based on various models. The literature available also includes policy papers based on experience with previous epidemics and work being carried out in the relevant areas prior to the outbreak of COVID-19. Suggestions for preparedness, response/mitigation, resilience, and recovery measures in the literature come from a mixture of what is happening at the moment, what has worked in previous epidemics, and adaptions and reinforcement of recommendations generally made for activities in the particular areas. Much of the focus currently is on the more short-term responses to contain the pandemic and some of its indirect impacts, yet the long-term, lasting impacts of the crisis should be considered concurrently and included in the current responses to the crisis. Health needs are connected to social, economic, and environmental wellbeing, and there is a “strong environmental sustainability and gender equality imperative to build back better” (UN, 2020d, p. 1, 38). This report presents a snapshot of the evidence available in July 2020, with recognition that more evidence continues to emerge which may bring up new issues and nuance those that are discussed in this report. Nevertheless, the impacts outlined are likely to remain important to consider and be long-lasting.FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Non-state actors and civil society adaptation to crisis: conflict and disaster

This portfolio of research comprises an in-depth exploration and critical analysis of different methods of responding to conflict and disaster, here collectively termed crisis. While recent years have experienced increasing movement in practice and especially policy towards localisation and recognition of domestic capacities in humanitarian and peacebuilding work, there remain significant gaps between policy priorities and operations on the ground. Local expertise, practices and knowledge are often not sufficiently integrated or even acknowledged in responding to conflict and disaster and reconstruction processes. Barriers to this include lack of basic recognition, falling under the radar of established systems and structures, colonial and interventionist mentalities, lack of contextual understanding of gender and other social divisions, and unwillingness or inability of established Global North institutions to genuinely share power and decision-making.However, the published outputs in this portfolio rigorously demonstrate that suitably crafted research agendas and data collection methods can accurately and equitably reflect the experiences and needs of affected people, and speak directly to the sensitivities of colonialism and the localisation agenda. This portfolio demonstrates that it is possible to make progress in research and humanitarianism that reflects a greater awareness of colonial legacies and shifts towards localisation, while recognising the complexities around these contestations in policy and programming. Improvements in these particularly sensitive and contentious areas tends to be iterative and piecemeal, but I attempt to show thorough this portfolio some case studies of demonstrable success in localising response to conflict and disaster. While this portfolio critically analyses alternatives to top-down and interventionist approaches in conflict and disaster, it also highlights the tensions and shortcomings in domestic or national level responses, if these replicate some of the same deficiencies outlined above. Thus, there may be limitations to locally-led agendas for peace and recovery if they also lack appropriate and inclusive approaches. Localisation is not a panacea, suggesting that a more nuanced understanding is required of what constitutes representation and participation to ensure durable peacebuilding and disaster reconstruction

Emerging Business Models for Local Distribution Companies in Ontario

Local Distribution Companies (LDCs) have the potential to be leaders in coordinating and stewarding a Sustainable Energy Transition (SET) in Ontario. However, under the current LCD business model structure, LDCs are unable to capture the benefits from sustainable energy and advance a sustainable energy transition. Separately from LDC operations, sustainable energy is disrupting the electricity system through the proliferation of Distributed Energy Resources, Information and Communication Technology occurring Behind the Meter (BTM). The adoption of BTM applications erodes LDC profitability and threatens their existence. The pushing force from an outdated LDC business model compounded with the pulling force from disruptive sustainable technology has created an opportunity for LDCs to innovate their business model in order to adapt to the changing energy paradigm of the 21st century. This paper explores and evaluates seven emerging LDC business models used in Ontario and provides a recommendation of a possible pathway for a viable LDC business model that can leverage sustainable energy while maintaining the electrical grid infrastructure

Disability Inclusive Early Childhood Development and Education in Humanitarian Settings

This review looks at the available evidence on disability inclusion in early childhood development and education in humanitarian settings. It found that little evidence and guidance is available relating specifically to the inclusion of children with disabilities in early childhood education in humanitarian settings and there is a lack of extensive provision. However, some guidance exists and the review presents a number of case studies of disability inclusion in early childhood development and education in humanitarian settings

The Pedagogical Life of Edible Verge Gardens in Sydney: Urban Agriculture for the Urban Food Imaginary.

Ph.D. Thesis. University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa 2018

A Qualitative Based Causal-Loop Diagram for Understanding Policy Design Challenges for a Sustainable Transition Pathway:The Case of Tees Valley Region, UK

The energy transition is a complex problem that requires a comprehensive and structured approach to policymaking. Such an approach is needed to ensure that transition pathways and policies enable greener energy alternatives whilst ensuring prosperity for people living in the region and limiting environmental degradation to the local ecosystem. This paper applies a qualitative approach based on systematic literature research and review analysis to identify and analyse previous work within this interdisciplinary field in order to understand the complexity of energy transitions and identify key variables and sub-sectors that need to be addressed by policymaking. The paper then looks at the problem from a regional level and uses the Tees Valley region in North East England as a reference case for the energy system and potential proposed policies for the energy transition. A system dynamics methodology was employed to help visualise and emphasise the major complexity of the energy transition and the challenges that policymaking needs to tackle for the successfully enable implementation and application of the energy transition policies. The results of this study identified that in relation to the Tees Valley energy system, its development and transition towards decarbonisation, the major challenge for the policymakers is to ensure that proposed policies foster growth in job creation without leading to job losses within the local employment market

Engendering Peace and Justice after Armed Conflict: A Call for Qualitative Research among Women\u27s Community Networks

Transitional justice refers to a variety of mechanisms established to help postconflict societies account for the war and build the peace, including war crimes tribunals, truth and reconciliation commissions, and reparations programs. The framework of transitional justice, while responsive to local actors and local realities, was largely constructed by external actors, including foreign states, international organizations, non-governmental agencies, advocates, and academics working in the fields of human rights and rule of law promotion. The gender dilemma for global and local transitional justice practitioners is the increasing awareness that most women in war-affected countries have not been well-served by the considerable analysis, resources, and programming devoted to post-conflict transition. Too often, women are worse off in the period after armed conflict than they were during the war, due to heightened risks of physical violence, deepening social misery, or extreme political marginalization. This paper argues for a rethinking of the logic, rhetoric, and direction of transitional justice so that it better serves the whole society, women and men alike. It offers one approach to this re-envisioning by proposing qualitative research among women engaged in grassroots peacebuilding working within country-specific contexts