Secure Livelihoods Research Consortium

The Secure Livelihoods Research Consortium (SLRC) is a six-year global research programme exploring livelihoods, basic services and social protection in conflict-affected situations.

Funded by UK Aid from the UK government (DFID), Irish Aid and the European Commission (EC), SLRC was established in 2011 with the aim of strengthening the evidence base and informing policy and practice around livelihoods and services in conflict.

What is the focus of SLRC’s research?

Back in 2011 the evidence base on livelihoods, services and social protection in conflict-affected situations is patchy and extremely weak in certain places. In particular, there was:

• little understanding of the relationships between service provision, legitimacy and state-building;
• little evidence on the service delivery and human well being outcomes of external actors’ state-building and capacity development efforts in conflict-affected situations;
• a lack of comparable and longitudinal research into how people are able to maintain or create secure livelihoods during and after violent conflict.

At the centre of SLRC’s research are three core themes, developed over the course of an intensive one-year inception phase.

1. State legitimacy: experiences, perceptions and expectations of the state and local governance in conflict-affected situations

Establishing, building or strengthening state legitimacy is a major element of state-building, and considered important for securing both peace and development.

Using a local-level, people-centred perspective, we explore how individuals’ experiences, perceptions and expectations of the state and local governance shape legitimacy, and attempt to identify some of the routes through which improvements in legitimacy might strengthen state-society relations. More specifically, we want to know whether government provision of basic services actually contributes to state-building via its possible effects on state legitimacy.

2. State capacity: building effective states that deliver services and social protection in conflict-affected situations

If the first theme focuses on the ‘demand’ side of state-building, then the second is concerned with its ‘supply’ side.

SLRC research under this theme follows a two-stage logic: we will first describe what international actors’ approaches to capacity development in conflict-affected situations look like, before analysing the outcomes of their engagement in order to draw out lessons for future programming. Theme 2 research therefore involves both descriptive and prescriptive elements, and will be of direct use to aid agencies engaging in state-building and service delivery operations in conflict-affected environments.

Taken together, these two research themes generate evidence that contributes towards a fuller understanding of the different dimensions of the state-building process.

 3. Livelihood trajectories and economic activity under conflict

Research under this theme asks: what do livelihood trajectories in conflict-affected situations tell us about how governments and aid agencies can more effectively support the ways in which poor and vulnerable people make a living?

SLRC addresses this using a longitudinal perspective – a key gap in the current evidence base – which helps to build a picture of how people attempt to secure their livelihoods in particular contexts and over time. Rather than tracing the impact of individual programmes, this enables us to start from the perspective of poor people, and to ask which, if any, aid interventions or government policies and programmes are making a difference in peoples’ lives.

By paying close attention to the governance structures that both support and undermine people’s livelihoods, we link our research within this theme with our work on legitimacy and state capacity.

Particular issues and sub-themes to investigate in more detail emerged through an iterative process, and included shifts in gender roles;  the role of the private sector; and markets (particularly agricultural markets).

How is SLRC doing the research?

At the heart of SLRC’s research is a survey on livelihoods and access to services, which also explores experiences, perceptions and expectations of the state and local governance. Round 1 of the fieldwork was carried out in 2012 and Round 2 was completed in 2015, thus providing a valuable longitudinal, panel-based perspective. The surveys are complemented by in-depth qualitative research. Full details of all SLRC publications are available here.

Developing capacity is at the core of SLRC’s approach to conducting high-quality research, and we achieve this through a combination of activities, including funding PhDs for students from the global south, holding training sessions and workshops, and facilitating collaboration between our partners (for the development of both northern and southern researchers).

SLRC also pays particular attention to mainstreaming gender throughout its work, both in terms of the content of our research (research questions, methods, analysis) as well as the way in which we carry out our work (management, staffing, uptake). In order to track performance and ensure accountability on this front, a core gender team has been established within the Consortium.

Where is SLRC working?

The Overseas Development Institute (ODI) is the lead organisation.

SLRC partners include: the Centre for Poverty Analysis (CEPA) in Sri Lanka, Feinstein International Center (FIC, Tufts University), the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU), the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) in Pakistan, Disaster Studies of Wageningen University (WUR) in the Netherlands, the Nepal Centre for Contemporary Research (NCCR), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). 

SLRC’s research focuses on eight countries, covering a range of conflict-affected situations:

• Afghanistan
• Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
• Nepal
• Pakistan
• South Sudan
• Sri Lanka
• Uganda
• Sierra Leone

What is done with SLRC’s research?

Through a combination of regular engagement with key stakeholders and disseminating compelling, accessible and relevant research outputs, we work to ensure our findings are used to facilitate better-informed policymaking and practices, and to promote spaces for dialogue.

SLRC pays particular attention to engaging with national and local governments, and national civil society, within our eight focus countries. In doing this we will leverage the strength of Consortium members by building on CEPA’s, SDPI’s and NCCR’s existing capacities and expertise at national levels, and ODI’s, Feinstein’s and Wageningen’s at an international level.

SLRC research also hopes to contribute towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, ongoing efforts by the g7+ to facilitate implementation of the New Deal and its principles, and to influence the International Dialogue on Peace-building and State-building .

How can I find out more?

• Visit us: securelivelihoods.org
• Email us: slrc@odi.org.uk
• Phone us: +44 (0)207 3817 0031
• Follow us: @SLRCtweet