Evidence Fund: Covid-19 Social Science Research – Evidence Platform

It is anticipated that COVID-19 will have considerable effects on urban areas in particular via rapid spread and/or subsequent reductions in mobility, and that this will have damaging consequences for aggregate economic growth and particularly negative consequences for low-income and vulnerable groups engaged in informal activities and/or living in informal settlements. How the outbreak is handled in urban areas will also directly shape the extent and pace of COVID-19’s spread to rural areas. IDS and University of Manchester have received a grant from FCDO to understand the complex priority problem of pandemics in Africa’s urban context and learn about how their primary and secondary impacts can be addressed. This project has an action-research design to catalyse, support and test better governance responses to the pandemic. It includes a component to support policy impact with briefing notes designed to assist governments and other agencies by providing summaries of the most recent evidence and of the implications for policy and practice. IDS and UofM have proposed research in three African cities.