International Rescue Committee (IRC)
https://www.rescue.org/
Safety of children in areas of active and protracted conflict
As part of a George Arnhold fellowship, a partnership between the International Rescue Committee, Airbel Impact Lab and the Georg Eckert Institute, I have joined the Education Research in Conflict and Protracted Crisis (ERICC) program. ERICC is a large-scale, multi-country partnership that seeks to identify the most effective approaches for improving access, quality, and continuity of education to support sustainable and coherent education systems holistic learning, and the development of children in conflict and crisis. I conducted a large meta-data analysis of educational interventions seeking to promote safety in and around schools and reduce violence, seeking to support upcoming global-level studies across countries such as Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, Nigeria, South Sudan and Bangladesh. The final deliverables include an article: “What evidence-based interventions have been helpful in reducing violence and improving safety in schools located in conflict and protracted crisis settings?” (to be published as part of a special issue for the Journal on Education and Conflict), and a policy brief: “Violence Reduction and Safety in Schools in Conflict and Protracted Crisis Settings”. Both will be uploaded once they become publicly available.
Resonance Global
https://www.resonanceglobal.com/
Evaluation of the Humanitarian Migrants to Israel (HMI) Program
The Department of State Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (DOS/PRM) Humanitarian Migrants to Israel (HMI) Program supports humanitarian migrants as they resettle in Israel upon leaving the Former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Africa, and other regions where they have experienced discrimination and prejudice. HMI is implemented by the United Israel Appeal (UIA) through the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI). UIA/JAFI manage a network of absorption centers for humanitarian migrants throughout Israel. The centers seek to integrate migrants into the larger Israeli society: They offer temporary residence, Hebrew language instruction and cultural education, and support in securing new livelihoods and affordable housing. The majority of humanitarian migrants arrive from the Former Soviet Union and Ethiopia, and they encounter different challenges to integration. DOS/PRM contracted Resonance, and its subcontractor MSI, to conduct a performance evaluation using a mixed methods design of the HMI Program’s success in providing integration-related services to humanitarian migrants from 2016-2018. As part of the team I participated in conducting a:
A comprehensive desk review and analysis of best practices in local integration of migrants, including an analysis of HMI program documents and reporting.
Field-based data collection in Israel, including site visits to absorption centers and data collection with center staff, humanitarian migrants, and HMI program leadership.
An evaluation report and debriefings on findings, conclusions, and recommendations on the effectiveness of HMI’s efforts to prepare migrants for successful integration as well as efforts to measure progress and success.
Center for International Migration and Integration (CIMI)
https://www.cimi-eng.org/
Mapping of non-citizen children in Jerusalem
The research project included the mapping of asylum-seeking and labor migrants’ children in Jerusalem. The study included over 60 interviews with parents, facilitators, and educators and visits to different educational facilities across the city. The report was used to inform municipal and international organization spending and resource allocations for the following 3-year financial cycle.