Publications

In 2018, significant gains were made in generating evidence to improve the lives of the most disadvantaged children, build organizational capacity to conduct and use quality, ethical research on children, and set a foundation as an important convening centre for expert consultation on next-generation ideas on children. 2018 marks the first year the UNICEF Office of Research - Innocenti is reporting on the progress of research under the new UNICEF Strategic Plan (2018-2021). This plan is the first to clearly delineate the role of research and evidence as one of the eight priority change strategies for children. This report therefore is an account of the first year of work to generate critical evidence to inform programmes, policies and advocacy for children and young people around the world.

Our latest annual Results Report presents a review of the Office of Research - Innocenti’s top-line results delivered in 2017. It contains an excellent summary of how our research contributes to impact for children. Selected key results are highlighted for all research and capacity-building areas, while ‘deeper dive’ case studies provide in-depth narratives. The report also highlights capacity building, promotion of ethical research, and communications and operations milestones in 2017. Importantly, the report describes the Office of Research’s expanding role as a physical and virtual convening space for dialogue and critical thinking on issues concerning children and adolescents, in support of UNICEF’s new global Strategic Plan.

The 2016 UNICEF Innocenti Results Report presents the activities and key results of the Office of Research achieved in 2016. Research continues to influence policy and practice by addressing inequalities in child well-being and expanding the international evidence base in social protection, child poverty, child protection and education. New and emerging areas of research are beginning to address critical gaps for children, including migration and displacement, children in care work and gender inequality. Enhanced reach, improved dissemination platforms and growing influence are creating positive impacts on social policy for children in various countries. Over 140 research products were published in a range of print and electronic media, including peer-reviewed journal articles, contributions to edited volumes, working papers, research reports and resources, digests, briefs, blogs, podcasts and videos.

 

Le recueil d’ERIC sert d’outil pour générer la pensée critique, le dialogue introspectif et la prise de décision éthique ainsi que pour contribuer à l’amélioration de la pratique de recherche impliquant des enfants à travers les différentes disciplines, les points de vue théoriques et méthodologiques et les contextes internationaux. L’accent est mis sur la nécessité d’une approche introspective de l’éthique de la recherche qui favorise les relations dynamiques et respectueuses entre chercheurs, enfants, familles, collectivités, organismes de recherche et autres intervenants.

El compendio de ERIC ha de servir como herramienta para generar una reflexión crítica, un diálogo introspectivo y decisiones éticas, así como contribuir a mejorar la práctica de la investigación con niños a través de diferentes disciplinas, puntos de vista teóricos y metodológicos y contextos internacionales. Concede especial importancia a la necesidad de contar con un enfoque reflexivo de la ética de la investigación capaz de fomentar relaciones dinámicas y respetuosas entre los investigadores, los niños, las familias, las comunidades, las organizaciones de investigación y otras partes interesadas.

The UNICEF research programmes at Innocenti were established in 1989 with funding from the Government of Italy, a contribution and commitment that continues today. Two broad areas of research were established early on: the impact of socio-economic change on children, and the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which had recently come into force. The Centre’s most significant contributions to date have continued to be in these fields, but programmes, projects and plans have grown, developed, evolved and been re-dimensioned over the 25 years of the Centre’s existence, according to global needs and resources. This publication offers a brief history of both the Florentine Ospedale where the UNICEF Office of Research is house and with contributions from former directors and staff members, an overview of successes, opportunities and a look towards the future.

2014 marked a successful year for the UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti and included the development of key research outputs, active advocacy for research, successful growth in the research portfolio, and expansion of outreach, tools and products. The Office actively engaged in: generating high-quality research to inform programmes and knowledge about children; strengthening the capacity to improve the quality and use of evidence; convening international events by acting as a catalyst for research globally. In 2014, research activities ranged from multi-disciplinary initiatives to large-scale international collaborative projects. High-calibre, policy-relevant research was conducted in the areas of: equity, poverty and well-being; child rights and governance; child protection and violence against children; social protection systems and cash transfers, among others.

Abbiamo accolto l’occasione del 25° anniversario per ascoltare le voci di coloro che hanno contribuito in vari modi alla vita del Centro di ricerca, non solo per farne un esercizio storico, ma per aiutarci a porre in contesto il nostro presente, per evitare di ripetere gli stessi errori e per contribuire a risolvere le problematiche ricorrenti. In questi brevi ma interessanti articoli il resoconto dell’impegno comune e delle divergenze d’opinione interne all’organizzazione si arricchisce dell’esperienza personale dei diversi autori e si avvale del senno di poi. Gli scritti offrono suggerimenti importanti e analisi utili per le nuove generazioni di ricercatori e amministratori.

In addition to recognizing high quality research, the Best of UNICEF Research process aims to share findings with UNICEF colleagues and with the wider community concerned with achieving child rights. This year the competition received 99 applications With global reach, the 12 projects in the final selection cover many of the ‘traditional’ areas of UNICEF work (health, nutrition, sanitation and education), while also highlighting issues that have more recently gained prominence within the global policy agenda, such as social transfers, violence against children and school bullying, and various forms of inequality or exclusion. This publication provides summaries of these research projects, including methodology and results.

Each year the Office of Research-Innocenti reviews submissions for the best research being published across all UNICEF offices: country programmes, National Committees, Regional Offices and headquarters divisions. The purpose of this activity is to showcase and recognize high-quality, high-impact research being done in the organization. At the end of the process each year the Office of Research-Innocenti issues a publication containing summaries of the papers considered to be of particular merit. In 2014, the summaries cover issues concerning child protection, cash transfers, ECD, maternal health, inclusive education, and WASH.

There is universal agreement that the best interests of the child should be a primary consideration in any decisions made about a child’s future. In the case of adoption, which represents one of the most far-reaching and definitive decisions that could be made about the future of any child – the selection of their parents – international law qualifies the best interests of the child as the paramount consideration. The implications of this obligation are all the greater in the context of the intercountry form of adoption, since this involves in addition the removal of a child to a new country and, usually, a new culture.

However, there is no universal agreement on who is ultimately responsible for determining what is in a child’s ‘best interests’, nor on what basis the decision should be made This study responds, in particular, to one key question: what is it that enables a policy, process, decision or practice to be qualified as either respectful or in violation of the best interests of the child in intercountry adoption?