Announcing ICP 2021 selected projects

The GSPI is pleased to announce the selection of the three Impact Collaboration Program 2021 (ICP 2021) recipients!This year, the ICP was focused on the theme 'bridging science and policy to foster systemic resilience'.

We received over 24 submissions with many outstanding science-policy collaboration proposals, which made our choice very difficult.We were fortunate to be supported in our evaluation by a set of highly qualified experts that carefully rated each project:

• Dr. Gabriella Wülser, Head of the Sustainability Research Initiative, Swiss Academy of Sciences
• Dr. Katharina Hoene, Director of Research, Diplo Foundation
• Amb. Petru Dumitriu, Senior Fellow, Diplo Foundation, and formerly Inspector, United Nations' Joint Inspection Unit

As a result of this process, we are excited to announce the following projects, which will receive a grant of max. CHF 40’000 each along with customised advice and support by the GSPI Executive Team. The three projects will complete their deliverables over the next 12 months.If you have any questions on the process or the selected projects, don’t hesitate to contact us at contact@gspi.ch.‍

Disruptive technologies and rights-based resilience‍

Project partners:

• The Geneva Academy
• The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)

The project aims to advance an evidence-based approach to promoting international human rights law within regulatory and policy frameworks applicable to the fast-evolving disruptive technologies. Thanks to a collaboration between the Geneva Academy and OHCHR flagship B-Tech Project, research will be conducted to identify ways of placing IHRL at the center of technology policy and regulation. Multistakeholder engagement with States, the technology industry, international organizations, academia and civil society will enable to evaluate scenarios and break silos in addressing needs and gaps in this area. The process will contribute to advance the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) in the technology space.‍

Building resilient migration management systems: Developing a World Migration Report digital toolkit for policy officials‍

Project partners:

• International Organisation for Migration (IOM)
• Global Governance Centre, Graduate Institute for International and Development Studies

The aim of this project is to build the capacity of policy officials in navigating the migration research landscape and support the scientific community in strengthening its impact on policymaking through a change of culture. This project will develop a digital toolkit for policy officers to leverage the content of the World Migration Report. The tools will improve the accessibility of migration research and analysis, including migration trends and complex and emerging migration issues, and provide practical guidance to scientists to maximise their policy impacts beyond the traditional publication of policy papers. This knowledge transformation tool will contribute to more efficient evidence-based policy-making so as to mitigate negative implications of acute migration events, adapt to new developments and leverage positive impacts of migration.‍

Mitigating the unintended humanitarian impacts of UN targeted sanctions

‍Partners:

• Global Governance Centre, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies
• Norwegian Refugee Council

The aim of this project is to increase awareness about the direct and indirect impacts of sanctions on humanitarian activities among sanction scholars and policy practitioners and find ways to mitigate some of the unintended consequences of UN and other sanctions. The project will identify needs and generate relevant information to help humanitarian actors navigate the increasingly complex regulatory landscape.

This information will be incorporated into a digital app targeting policymakers and practitioners across the sanction and humanitarian communities. Through engagement activities, the project will contribute to strengthening the capacity of humanitarian actors to deal with sanctions-related challenge and encourage sanctions scholars and policymakers to pay greater attention to the impacts of sanctions on humanitarian action.