PEP’s ED promotes locally-contextualised evidence on the global stage

Prof. Jane Mariara, Executive Director of PEP, represented the organisation and shared important insights from PEP’s work with international audiences at the 2024 RC19 Annual Conference in Norway, the Global Evidence Summit in the Czech Republic, and an online roundtable event.

OSLO, NORWAY – Prof. Mariara participated as one of four panellists in a plenary panel discussion held at the International Sociological Association (ISA) RC19 Annual Conference for 2024.

The plenary discussion was on the theme of the conference: “Sustainable welfare in a global context: Responding to societal and environmental transformations”.

Prof. Mariara focused on four key aspects:

1. Sustainable welfare as a helpful notion to help bridge policy silos in Africa, particularly environmental policies (such as energy efficiency measures, transitioning to renewable energy, and reforestation) and social policies (such as cash transfers).
2. Implementation of social policy programs—such as direct subsidies and transfers to vulnerable households—and their potential to address the challenges resulting from the ecological crises.
3. Universal social policy efforts to sustainably deal with risks and opportunities arising from urban growth, increased life expectancy, etc.
4. Governance issues as crucial matters of the policy architecture that can help or deter national governments from making progress to address the social challenges posed by the climate crises.

She highlighted where there are policy opportunities to address the social challenges caused by the climate crisis. These included innovative financing mechanisms (such as the Green Climate Fund and Green Bonds), and international financial architecture reform to direct debt restructuring proceeds towards providing basic services to vulnerable citizens.

Prof. Mariara shared how stronger governance, community involvement, stakeholder engagements, and regional and international cooperation are needed to make these policies a success.

Her contributions were based on PEP findings and ongoing research relating to climate change and ensuring a sustainable future. Find out more about these research initiatives here, here and here.

Her presentation was well-received by the audience of over 50 international delegates, with many showing interest in what is happening relating to social welfare and taxation in Kenya.

“This event was important for showing a broad new audience how PEP’s economic policy analysis work aligns with work from a multidisciplinary background when discussing social policy related to poverty and inequality,” said Prof. Mariara.

The other panelists for the plenary session were Daniel Künzler (University of Fribourg, Switzerland), Pieter Vanhuysse (University of Southern Denmark), and Fiona Williams (University of Leeds, UK).

PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC – Prof. Jane Mariara participated in the Closing Session of the Global Evidence Summit 2024. The plenary session featured three presentations on the topic of “From global evidence to local impact”. Prof. Mariara spoke on “Contextualizing evidence to maximize impact: Insights from Partnership for Economic Policy”.

During her presentation, she shared how global PEP connects to regional and local levels through:

• common themes
• common methodological approaches
• policy application across the global south countries
• peer learning and interaction between Global South researchers
• global mentorship (scientific and policy outreach).

Prof. Mariara also shared PEP’s strategy to maximise the impact of evidence in local contexts. She highlighted 1) the localization and coproduction of research, 2) an innovative knowledge translation process, and 3) a new approach to support policymakers in assimilating evidence into decision processes.

The audience of over 600 delegates appreciated her contribution and the key role that PEP is playing to advance local evidence and local impacts using a global model.

“Internationally, the importance of local context in research is being understood and appreciated. I am proud to see PEP being recognised for our role in promoting locally- produced and locally-contextualised evidence,” said Prof. Mariara.

The other Closing Session presenters were Dr. Alric Ruether, Head of International Affairs at the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) and Chair of the International Network of Agencies for HTA (INAHTA), and Dr.  John Lavis, Director of the McMaster Health Forum and Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Evidence-Informed Policy.

ONLINE – Joined by several PEP colleagues, Prof. Mariara participated in “Gendered impact of external shocks in low-income economies and policy priorities – International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Roundtable.”

The roundtable explored the gendered impact of the war in Ukraine in low-income economies through the lens of research supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Global Affairs Canada (GAC).

An invitation-only event, it brought together more than 30 participants from PEP’s collaborating institutions for this program (African Economic Research Consortium (AERC), Economic Research Forum (ERF) and ODI) as well as from the IDRC and GAC that are managing and funding the program, respectively.

Representing PEP’s contribution to this research initiative, Prof. Jane Mariara shared that both Kenya and Egypt have seen increased poverty due to the economic shocks caused by the war. However, the nature of the economic impacts faced by each country differs.

Using Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) and micro-econometric models, PEP researchers, Jorge Davalos, Martin Henseler and Hélène Maisonnave, found that increased inequality is a particular problem in Egypt, while many Kenyan households face food insecurity.

While women in both countries experience negative effects from the shocks, it is rural women who face the deepest impacts. In Egypt, rural women are affected due to labour market constraints and cultural norms, whereas rural women in Kenya are heavily reliant on agriculture and informal jobs.

The governments in both countries have implemented mitigation policies, subsidising food in Egypt and petrol in Kenya. However, Prof. Mariara shared how providing direct cash transfers to poor women is likely to be more effective in reducing overall poverty in both countries.

A Q&A session followed the presentation during which project co-author and PEP scientific mentor Hélène Maisonnave added to the discussion. She explained the data the research team used, in response to audience comments that data is important for this type of analysis.

“The roundtable provided a valuable opportunity to share how PEP’s findings complement those of the ERF and AERC, helping to identify policy solutions that can really boost African women’s resilience in the face of economic shocks,” said Prof. Mariara.