Why is science important for local democracy development?
World Science Day for Peace and Development 2022
Researchers work day and night to make sense of the world we live in. The interdisciplinary field of international development within academia looks at digitalization, governance, climate change, equitable health, gender dynamics and conflict analysis (we can keep going) – towards socially, environmentally and economically sustainable societies.
But research needs to reach policy for change to happen. Just as policy needs research for good decision-making.
This is what we work for at ICLD – data-driven, well-founded policy transformation based on solid research. We try to pave the way for implementation and action. Three new research projects have recently received impact grants from ICLD to help solve municipalities’ policy dilemmas and needs. Using Participatory Action Research, studies intertwine research and low-cost interventions for democratic change.
The three ongoing projects are:
- Let’s get together and make change: Towards the Child-Focused Cities Analytical Framework. In this project, a global group of researchers teams up with Livingstone and Victoria Falls in Zambia to find out how SDG’s as seen from children’s perspectives can inform urban planning for safe and equitable spaces.. Full list of researchers via link.
- Strengthening women’s representation and effective participation in decision-making positions in Ngara District, Tanzania. Dr. Lilian Mtasingwa and Sophia Mgoba identify barriers to women’s political engagement and train prospective female councillors accordingly.
- Using Digital Tools to Improve Service Delivery in Pemba District, Zambia. This project helps Pemba District develop a digital strategy that corresponds to the community’s actual needs and practices. Researchers: Channel Zhou, Kabaso Kabwe, Luiza Jardim and Ekaterina Surguladze.
These projects create transformation in local democracy through co-producing impact. This is more than pushing reports into the hands of politicians. In a collaborative, cyclical process of research, dissemination, uptake and implementation, knowledge can be continuously mobilized between academia and practice.
On this very day, the Child-Focused Cities group are in Livingstone, Zambia to map out how child rights are perceived and upheld in the local government. Concluding the first step in their joint ambition, the researchers emphasize the generosity, input and critical reflections of their municipal partners and the exchanges they have created as unbelievably valuable.
For this World Science Day for Peace and Development, we emphasize the urgency of connecting research and practice (it is believable and doable!). Science is critical thinking. Science is refuting disinformation. Science is tailoring solutions to the actual needs. In a world where democracy is sliding back, science continues to be crucial for equity, inclusion, transparency and accountability in governance at all levels.
