Description

The Center for Faith and the Common Good (CFCG), a small Washington, DC-based organization dedicated to research and education in support of multi-religious collaboration, will serve as the fiscal agent for this grant.  The project is a collaboration between University College London (UCL) and the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith & Local Communities (JLI), an international network of practitioners, academics and policymakers on religion, humanitarianism and development.
 
The JLI network is organized around thematic “Learning Hubs,” including one that focuses on refugees and forced migration.  This Hub convenes more than 100 members to communicate results of research on the roles of religious actors in responding to the needs of refugees.  Elena Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, co-chair of the Hub and co-director of UCL’s Migration Unit, will serve as PI on this project, bringing together the work of the two entities.  A leading scholar in this field, Fiddian-Qasmiyeh has also directed other HRLI-funded work (e.g. a discretionary grant to Oxford in America), and has been a valuable interlocutor for HRLI staff in the area of refugees, religion, and faith-based humanitarian efforts.
 
As the proposal indicates, the project seeks to “translate” research on religion and refugees for policy audiences, most importantly at this time for the United Nations, which will be negotiating and implementing a Global Compact on Refugees.  Consultations on the Global Compact will continue through July 2018; the Compact will be adopted by the UN General Assembly in September.  The project would provide input into consultations as well as implementation, advising practitioners about best practices in working with local faith communities.
 
The proposal argues that better understanding of the ways local religious actors respond to refugees can foster more productive partnerships with international humanitarian organizations.  While academic research provides relevant contextual analysis, such scholarship is often not accessible or easily understood by policymakers and practitioners.  Drawing on a wealth of research, the project aims to overcome those limitations by: engaging directly with policymakers; producing written materials, including policy guidelines and resource briefs; and sharing research findings and recommendations on a range of media platforms.
 
The Center’s founding director is Jean Duff, who also serves as Coordinator of the JLI.
 
http://www.faithforcommongood.org/
https://jliflc.com/
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/