Between the Lines

In this episode of the IDS Between the Lines podcast we look at an ‘accompanied’ approach to sustaining poverty reduction through long-term research. It focuses on work undertaken by the IDS-hosted Chronic Poverty Advisory Network (CPAN) in Zambia, and draws on insights from the project’s funder – the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and partners from the World Bank and researchers in Zambia.Leading the podcast is Vidya Diwakar, Deputy Director of the Chronic Poverty Advisory Network. In the podcast she talks to:Joseph Simbaya, a Research Fellow and Director of the Institute of Economic and Social Research at the University of Zambia who talks about the project research findings and what was the problem this piece of research was trying to solve.Makda Abebe, Senior social protection specialist at the World Bank about her earlier work with FCDO especially in Ethiopia and Zambia. Makda talks on what makes this type of long-term collaboration around poverty reduction evidence and policy engagement worth it and how can it best be replicated, if it is sufficiently valuable?Leah Gaffney, Social Development Advisor, FCDO. Leah talks on what she values most in this research and how can this knowledge about poverty dynamics be used to shape development thinking? The three speakers all offer a different slant on the benefits of being with a project for a long period of time, speaking from their point of view as either a researcher, project partner or funder. This podcast is essential listening on how we can learn from long-term research funding for creating a more sustainable and equitable world.

In this episode of the IDS Between the Lines podcast IDS Research Officer Catherine Grant from the IDS-led Pandemic Preparedness project talks to Paul Richards an anthropologist with over forty-five years' experience of living and working in West Africa and author of the book Ebola: How a People’s Science Helped End an Epidemic. In the podcast and drawing on extensive first-hand experiences in Sierra Leone, Paul and Catherine discuss that the international community’s panicky response failed to take account of local expertise and common sense.Crucially, they discuss that the humanitarian response to the disease was most effective in those areas where it supported these initiatives and that it hampered recovery when it ignored or disregarded local knowledge.

In this special episode of the IDS Between the Lines podcast, Andy Sumner, Professor of International Development at Kings College London and President of the European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI) interviews Professor Melissa Leach who leaves IDS after 33 years. This includes the last decade of her being the Director of IDS.In the conversation Melissa talks about: What her main research and policy contributions have been and how have these evolved over the yearsHow has development studies changed over her time at IDS?And what does she see as the main opportunities and challenges for the future in an uncertain world?This podcast is a must-listen for people interested in how development studies has changed over the last 30 years and how we re-cast development studies for future generations.

In this episode of the IDS Between the Lines podcast, Dominic Glover (IDS Research Fellow) interviews Professor Rachel Wynberg (University of Cape Town) about her new book: African Perspectives on Agroecology: Why farmer-led seed and knowledge systems matter. In the podcast they discuss the critical voices of African farmers, activists, scientists, scholars, and policymakers whose viewpoints combine to articulate a shared and dynamic vision of a world where agriculture is productive, diverse, and sustainable; where different ways of seeing and knowing are respected; and where seed and food systems are in the hands of farmers and local communities.This podcast is a must-listen to students, policymakers and researchers interested in local-led expertise on Agroecology and farming systems.

Uncertainties of all sorts – environmental, market-based and political – are on the rise, as the world faces climate and environmental change. In this episode of the IDS Between the Lines podcast, Rashmi Singh, interviews Professor Ian Scoones from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) whose book: Pastoralism, Uncertainty and Development – makes the case that recognising how pastoralists make productive use of variability and embrace uncertainty is central to understanding how pastoral systems in marginal dryland and montane systems work.  They argue that learning lessons from pastoralists is therefore important for all of us, as well as ensuring that development efforts are more effective across the world’s rangelands, where millions of pastoralists live. This podcast offers wider lessons for rethinking development policy and practice for today’s uncertain, turbulent world.

In this special episode of the IDS Between the Lines podcast Jigyasa Agarwal, a development practitioner and recent graduate of the Institute of Development Studies, interviews three students from the University of Sussex whom despite coming from diverse socio economic and cultural backgrounds, what unites them is their struggle for accessibility. We interview Dan from the UK who identifies themselves as a non-binary person, Hamza from Nigeria who identifies as a man, and Diksha from India who identifies herself as a woman. This episode intends to open an avenue for discussions around disability and accessibility in a larger context of gender and development. Our guests shed light on their personal journey as disabled people and their fights for accessibility in academic and social spaces. They talk about their own country contexts and experiences of education ranging from childhood to the present day and offer solutions on what practical steps could be made for a more inclusive society.This podcast is an important listen for development practitioners, higher education institutions and anyone with an interest on how we can make development studies more inclusive when it comes to people with disabilities.Please noteThis podcast contains powerful testimonies of lived-in experiences from our guests which maybe triggering for some of our listeners.