The Development Economics Research Group has received an award of £9,500 from the University’s GCRF Partnership Development Fund.
Five members of the Development Economics Research Group (Amrit Amirapu, Anirban Mitra, Bansi Malde, Irma Clots-Figueras and Zaki Wahhaj) will lead an initiative to build a research network of researchers and policy experts in South Asia who are studying the socio-economic impact of Covid-19 pandemic, specifically on issues related to health, employment, gender and politics.
The GCRF funds will be used to initiate collaborative research activities between Kent and partner organisations in South Asia, specifically to collect evidence on the effects of the pandemic using telephone and online surveys. The purpose of the research network is to exchange ideas and engage in joint research that would help governments in South Asia respond more effectively to the pandemic.
Initially, the Group is organising a series of webinars in which the participants from South Asia and Kent present their knowledge and ideas around Covid-19 in South Asia. Presentations from the webinar series will be made available through a dedicated webpage for the research network.
The Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) is a £1.5 billion fund to support cutting-edge research that addresses the challenges faced by ODA recipient countries.