Marina Apgar
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View article: A Synthesis of Systemic Action Research Processes in the CLARISSA Programme on Worst Forms of Child Labour
A Synthesis of Systemic Action Research Processes in the CLARISSA Programme on Worst Forms of Child Labour Open
This paper describes, synthesises and analyses the work of 25 Action Research Groups that were the heartbeat of the CLARISSA Systemic Action Research programme. The CLARISSA programme worked to create participatory and systemic solutions t…
View article: Raising the Bar: Improving How to Assess Evidence Quality in Evaluating Systems-Change Efforts
Raising the Bar: Improving How to Assess Evidence Quality in Evaluating Systems-Change Efforts Open
Facing the great scale of societal challenges, philanthropic organizations are increasingly calling for systems change. Evaluating systems change requires innovative approaches that respond to the complexities of such change in ways that s…
View article: Reflexivity and interdisciplinarity: the reflexive journey of an interdisciplinary research team in disaster risk reduction
Reflexivity and interdisciplinarity: the reflexive journey of an interdisciplinary research team in disaster risk reduction Open
Purpose Reflexivity supports research teams in developing and implementing interdisciplinarity perspectives, but there is still limited literature on this topic. To fill this gap, we explore how reflexivity can support a research team in i…
View article: Evaluating Systemic Action Research as a Participatory Peace-Building Intervention in Mali: Findings from Djenné and Mopti
Evaluating Systemic Action Research as a Participatory Peace-Building Intervention in Mali: Findings from Djenné and Mopti Open
This Working Paper presents the findings from an embedded theory-based evaluation of a participatory peace-building initiative implemented in the Djenné and Mopti cercles in Mali as part of the ‘Vestibule of Peace’ project. The project use…
View article: Consolidated Findings from Evaluating Systemic Action Research as a Participatory Peace-Building Intervention in Kangaba, Mali
Consolidated Findings from Evaluating Systemic Action Research as a Participatory Peace-Building Intervention in Kangaba, Mali Open
This paper presents the findings from an embedded theory-based evaluation of a participatory peace-building initiative implemented in the Kangaba region of Mali as part of the ‘Vestibule of Peace’ project. The project used Systemic Action …
View article: Evaluating CLARISSA: Evidence, Learning, and Practice
Evaluating CLARISSA: Evidence, Learning, and Practice Open
This research and evidence paper presents a synthesis of the findings from the embedded theory-based evaluation of the CLARISSA programme. It is structured around the three main impact pathways of the programme. The evaluation found that t…
View article: Opening the Black Box of Participatory Action Research in Response to the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Nepal and Bangladesh
Opening the Black Box of Participatory Action Research in Response to the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Nepal and Bangladesh Open
How, for whom, and under what conditions does Participatory Action Research (PAR) generate innovation to tackle the drivers of the worst forms of child labour (WFCL)? This paper presents the findings of a realist evaluation that investigat…
View article: Bridging Learning and Action: How Did CLARISSA’s Participatory Adaptive Management Approach Foster Innovation, Effectiveness, and Stakeholder Empowerment?
Bridging Learning and Action: How Did CLARISSA’s Participatory Adaptive Management Approach Foster Innovation, Effectiveness, and Stakeholder Empowerment? Open
Child Labour: Action-Research-Innovation in South and South-Eastern Asia (CLARISSA) is an evidence and innovation-generation programme funded by the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), responding to the chal…
View article: Rethinking rigour to embrace complexity in peacebuilding evaluation
Rethinking rigour to embrace complexity in peacebuilding evaluation Open
The field of peacebuilding evaluation has evolved over time in response to the complex nature of peace efforts. However, it still predominantly relies on evaluation models that aim to measure discrete peace outcomes adhering to rigid notio…
View article: Early Findings from Evaluation of Systemic Action Research in Kangaba, Mali
Early Findings from Evaluation of Systemic Action Research in Kangaba, Mali Open
This paper presents early findings from evaluation research embedded in a community-driven peace-building project implemented in Mali. Called the ‘Vestibule of Peace’, the project uses Systemic Action Research (SAR) to first support divers…
View article: Research legitimacy as a precursor to effectiveness: the role of equitable partnerships in transforming aquatic food systems
Research legitimacy as a precursor to effectiveness: the role of equitable partnerships in transforming aquatic food systems Open
Competing interests in aquatic food systems pose challenges for small-scale food producers trying to secure their place in the blue economy. These challenges include development aspirations, pressure from conservation interests, climate an…
View article: Using a ‘Partnership Rubric’ in Participatory Evaluations
Using a ‘Partnership Rubric’ in Participatory Evaluations Open
Programmes that aim to tackle complex societal issues, such as the worst forms of child labour, require rich partnerships that bring together different perspectives. CLARISSA’s consortium partnership adopts an empowerment approach to the i…
View article: The Art and Craft of Bricolage in Evaluation
The Art and Craft of Bricolage in Evaluation Open
This CDI Practice Paper by Tom Aston and Marina Apgar makes the case for ‘bricolage’ in complexity-aware and qualitative evaluation methods. It provides a framework based on a review of 33 methods to support evaluators to be more intention…
View article: Learning from Life Story Collection and Analysis With Children Who Work in the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Nepal
Learning from Life Story Collection and Analysis With Children Who Work in the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Nepal Open
The CLARISSA Nepal team collected and analysed 400 life stories of children and young people engaged in or affected by the worst forms of child labour (WFCL), particularly in the “Adult Entertainment” sector in Nepal, which includes childr…
View article: Designing Contribution Analysis of Participatory Programming to Tackle the Worst Forms of Child Labour
Designing Contribution Analysis of Participatory Programming to Tackle the Worst Forms of Child Labour Open
This Research and Evidence Paper presents the theory-based and participatory evaluation design of the Child Labour: Action-Research- Innovation in South and South-Eastern Asia (CLARISSA) programme. The evaluation is embedded in emergent Pa…
View article: Learning from Life Story Collection and Analysis with Children who Work in the Leather Sector in Bangladesh
Learning from Life Story Collection and Analysis with Children who Work in the Leather Sector in Bangladesh Open
CLARISSA (Child Labour: Action-Research-Innovation in South and South-eastern Asia) is a participatory evidence and innovation generating programme. We are generating evidence on the drivers of the worst forms of child labour (WFCL) and ex…
View article: Exploring the Nexus of Covid-19, Precarious Migration and Child Labour on the Cambodian-Thai Border
Exploring the Nexus of Covid-19, Precarious Migration and Child Labour on the Cambodian-Thai Border Open
This report shares findings from qualitative research on the impacts of Covid-19 on Cambodian migrant workers in four sites along the Cambodia-Thai border. Government restrictions in Thailand and the border closure in February 2020 led to …
View article: Capacity Development in a Participatory Adaptive Programme: the Case of the Clarissa Consortium
Capacity Development in a Participatory Adaptive Programme: the Case of the Clarissa Consortium Open
Doing development differently rests on deliberate efforts to reflect and learn, not just about what programmes are doing and achieving, but about how they are working. This is particularly important for an action research programme like Ch…
View article: Emerging insights and lessons for the future
Emerging insights and lessons for the future Open
This concluding chapter summarises the key findings of the ‘Pathways’ transformative knowledge network (TKN), its contributions to the ‘sustainability transformations’ literature and the lessons and implications for internationally network…
View article: How Does Participatory Action Research Generate Innovation? Findings from a Rapid Realist Review
How Does Participatory Action Research Generate Innovation? Findings from a Rapid Realist Review Open
This Emerging Evidence Report shares evidence of how, for whom, and under what circumstances, Participatory Action Research (PAR) leads to innovative actions. A rapid realist review was undertaken to develop programme theories that explain…
View article: Designing a Participatory Programme at Scale: Phases 1 and 2 of the CLARISSA Programme on Worst Forms of Child Labour
Designing a Participatory Programme at Scale: Phases 1 and 2 of the CLARISSA Programme on Worst Forms of Child Labour Open
CLARISSA (Child Labour: Action-Research-Innovation in South and South-Eastern Asia) is a large-scale Participatory Action Research programme which aims to identify, evidence, and promote effective multi-stakeholder action to tackle the dri…
View article: A framework for examining justice in food system transformations research
A framework for examining justice in food system transformations research Open
Global interest and investment in food system transformation should be accompanied by critical analysis of its justice implications. Multiple forms of injustice, and the potential role that research might play in exacerbatingthese, are key…
View article: Defining and Evaluating Equitable Partnerships: A Rapid Review
Defining and Evaluating Equitable Partnerships: A Rapid Review Open
Equitable partnerships are central to the GCRF portfolio overall, the interdisciplinary hubs, and specifically to the Tomorrow’s Cities Hub. Achieving the Hub’s aim of catalysing a transition from crisis management to multi-hazard risk-inf…
View article: Evaluating CLARISSA: Innovation Driven by a Participatory Learning Agenda
Evaluating CLARISSA: Innovation Driven by a Participatory Learning Agenda Open
Children end up in child labour as a result of many, often unknown or hidden, interactions between multiple actors and multiple factors within households, communities, and labour systems, leading to unpredictable outcomes for children and …
View article: Unpacking and undoing ‘the crisis’: database activism for strange times
Unpacking and undoing ‘the crisis’: database activism for strange times Open
What is the role of social scientists (broadly defined) in times of crisis? How do we document, historicize, analyse and archive experiences at times of crisis? And how do we do it in a climate of anti-intellectualism on the one hand and i…
View article: Structured Collaboration Across a Transformative Knowledge Network—Learning Across Disciplines, Cultures and Contexts?
Structured Collaboration Across a Transformative Knowledge Network—Learning Across Disciplines, Cultures and Contexts? Open
Realising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will require transformative changes at micro, meso and macro levels and across diverse geographies. Collaborative, transdisciplinary research has a role to play in documenting, understandi…