From Research to Practice

The global struggle to end child labor and forced labor is hampered by a lack of relevant and accessible research on effective policies and strategies and how they can be applied in different contexts. Policy makers and practitioners, who are in a position to make decisions that would impact the economic and social drivers of forced and child labor and the risk factors affecting different populations, may not be aware of relevant research, may not be able to access it, or may not be able to apply it effectively to their own situation. On the other hand, research may not be fully attuned to the needs of policy makers, may suffer from lack of scientific rigor, and may not be accessible beyond a limited academic audience. This project addresses critical factors that prevent effective policies and strategies being widely applied. Firstly, it addresses the challenge of access. Drawing on the global networks and capacities of the ILO and the UNU and their long experience in the field, the project will collect, assess and validate relevant research, tools and data. Secondly, the project will identify knowledge gaps and develop both a global research agenda and country-level plans to address the gaps and (in the case of country level plans) actively apply knowledge and tools to eliminate child labor and forced labor. Researchers, academics, institutions and policy actors at all levels will be involved in identifying the gaps and developing the research agenda, building shared understanding of and commitment to the issues. The third outcome will improve the capacity of researchers to study child labor and forced labor issues by significantly increasing the supply, quality and accessibility of professional training for researchers at all levels of expertise and in all regions, but particularly those who may not have locally accessible access to training. The project will develop course modules that can be delivered in a wide variety of training contexts, and a delivery mechanism for open online courses. Finally, the project will work to increase the number and level of engagement of researchers from a variety of disciplines in issues of forced labor and child labor through a combination of small research grants (aimed at addressing the knowledge gaps identified through the project), a research fellowship and expanding access to relevant research awards.

Project symbol

GLO/18/20/USA

Admin unit

FUNDAMENTALS

Start date

03/08/2018

End date

03/08/2023

Total allocation

3298046

Total expenditure

Status

Closed

3298046

Development Partners

USA, United States Department of Labor, Bureau for International Labor Affairs, Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor and Human Trafficking

Country/Countries

Global

Outcomes

Outcome 7: Adequate and effective protection at work for all