Project

Social Science in Humanitarian Action Platform

SSHAP (the Social Science in Humanitarian Action Platform) focuses on the social dimensions of emergency responses related to health, conflict, or the environment by exploring the political economy, community engagement and cultural logics, social difference, and vulnerabilities of those emergencies.

Visit the Social Science in Humanitarian Action Platform website

SSHAP is a partnership between the Institute of Development Studies, Anthrologica, Gulu University, Institut Supérieur Pédagogique de Bukavu, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and University of Juba. It is funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the Wellcome Trust.

The SSHAP vision is to encourage emergency responses which are effective, adaptive, contextually informed, sensitive to vulnerabilities and power relations, planned in consultation with affected communities and local institutions, and based on social and interdisciplinary science and evidence.

SSHAP’s global network of social scientists with regional and subject expertise is the driving force behind SSHAP’s work, rapidly providing insight, analysis and advice, tailored to demand and in accessible forms, to better design and implement the social and communication dimensions of emergency responses.

To achieve SSHAP’s aims, IDS and partners work to:

  • Further grow SSHAP’s network of experts and encourage interdisciplinary collaboration.
  • Provide knowledge and evidence on demand.
  • Build operational capacity.
  • Contribute to knowledge sharing through our networks and beyond.

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People

Recent work

Upcoming Event

Decolonising Humanitarian Action: A multiplicity of meanings, modes and methods

The movement to decolonise humanitarian action is gaining critical momentum. Join us for a webinar led by fellows from the Social Science in Humanitarian Action Platform to get beyond the buzzwords and explore the multiple and emerging meanings, modes and methods for decolonising aid and...

14 December 2023

Brief

Information preparedness and community engagement for El Niño in the Eastern and Southern Africa Region

SSHAP Briefing

El Niño can be viewed as a multi-hazard event, and considerations for information needs cut across different populations and risks, including direct weather-related hazards, reduced agricultural production, greater food insecurity and malnutrition, increased transmission of infectious diseases...

23 November 2023

Past Event

Covid-19, pandemic preparedness and response in Uganda and beyond

This seminar shares fieldwork conducted in the Pandemic Preparedness Project, presenting findings related to different meanings and practices of preparedness, and contemporary dynamics related to ‘rethinking’ preparedness. We will give a spotlight to fieldwork in Uganda, where the idea...

20 September 2023

Brief

Crisis in Sudan: Briefing Note on Displacement from Sudan to South Sudan

SSHAP Briefing

The experiences of those fleeing from Sudan to South Sudan due to the current conflict are shaped by the complex socio-political dynamics within and between the two countries. This briefing focuses on the historical and socio-political dynamics that need to be taken into consideration by...

Naomi Pendle & 5 others

28 July 2023

Brief

Key Considerations: Disability-Inclusive Humanitarian Action and Emergency Response in South and Southeast Asia and Beyond

In many settings, people with disabilities face multiple and complex layers of environmental, societal and structural barriers. These barriers can lead to them being disproportionately harmed, neglected and excluded during humanitarian and other emergency responses. This is especially evident in...

Obindra Chand & 2 others

4 July 2023