November 13, 2024 | Washington DC On November 13, 2024, the Social Science Research Council’s (SSRC) African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa (Next Gen), in partnership with the Wilson Center’s Africa Program, hosted a policy dialogue at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington DC. This inaugural session of the “Trendlines and Transformations in African Democratic Governance: Lessons for 21st-Century US-Africa Relations” series brought together African and US scholars and experts to discuss political developments across Africa, exploring strategies for strengthening democracy in the region.   Robert Litwak, Senior Vice President and Director of International Studies of …

Virtual Launch Event of the Study Custom Built / Feito Sob Medida How can tech and democracy programs better serve the needs and challenges of Global Majority countries? What are divergence points between Global North and Global Majority tech justice advocacies? How are so-called “whole-of-society” tech and democracy coalitions guilty of knowledge and data extractivism?   This event launches an important new study entitled Custom Built / Feito Sob Medida: Reforming Tech and Democracy Programs for the Global Majority. Retelling both frustrations and creative aspirations of over 100 frontliners of election integrity and media freedom initiatives from Brazil to India to …

On December 6, 2024, the Social Science Research Council will convene institutional leaders from the College and University Fund for the Social Sciences, together with leaders of philanthropic organizations and federal science agencies, to share insights about how to foster social and behavioral science that helps policymakers solve pressing social problems. What kinds of partnerships, funding streams, and administrative supports can sustain a pipeline of knowledge production and transfer aimed at public sector innovation? What can we learn, if anything, from the research infrastructure dedicated to supporting knowledge production and transfer for private sector innovation? Are there good examples of research-to-policy pipelines on our campuses?

Research to Solve Problems December 6, 2024 On December 6, 2024, the Social Science Research Council will convene institutional leaders from the College and University Fund for the Social Sciences, together with leaders of philanthropic organizations and federal science agencies, to share insights about how to foster social and behavioral science that helps policymakers solve pressing social problems. What kinds of partnerships, funding streams, and administrative supports can sustain a pipeline of knowledge production and transfer aimed at public sector innovation? What can we learn, if anything, from the research infrastructure dedicated to supporting knowledge production and transfer for private …

The Social Science Research Council’s African Peacebuilding Network (APN) and the Next Generation Social Sciences in Africa (Next Gen) program sponsored a panel of selective current and former fellows, “More than Local Expressions of the Global? Interrogating Emerging Patterns and Practices of Conflict, Peace and Development in Africa,” featuring presentations based on the fellows’ research findings. The panel was held during the 2024 African Studies Association (ASA) Annual Meeting in Chicago, USA, from December 12 to 14, 2024.  Chaired by Dr. Cyril Obi, Program Director of APN and Next Gen, the panel addressed how local cases of conflict, peace, and …

About the Lecture For decades, Harvard professor Lawrence Katz has worked with federal and local housing agencies to learn how public housing policy might more effectively support economic opportunity. This lecture will cover his work on three landmark projects: Moving to Opportunity, enabling residents of public housing to move to lower-poverty neighborhoods; Creating Moves to Opportunity, providing additional support to families considering leaving high-poverty neighborhoods; and HOPE VI revitalization grants, investing in mixed-income developments in neighborhoods with distressed public housing. Professor Katz’s pathbreaking work on these projects demonstrates how collaborations between researchers and government agencies can improve the delivery of …