Cooperation Projects

Ongoing

1. Pastoralist Climate Change Resilience in Somaliland (2022–2027)

Pastoralist Climate Change Resilience in Somaliland (PACCS) is a four and half years’ project funded by Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs through Danida Fellowship Centre (DFC). This research project (PACCS) explores how pastoralists in Somaliland, an East African climate ‘hot spot’, adapt to climate change effects on their livelihoods. Pastoralism is a complex system, driven by interlinked economic, socio-ecological and institutional factors. PACCS therefore takes an interdisciplinary approach to assess pastoralist climate resilience across the domains of markets, land-management and hybrid governance. By unpacking synergies and trade-offs among different pastoralist resilience strategies, the project advances academic debates on climate resilience and informs locally relevant climate change policies.

PACCS focuses on Somaliland, which is a privileged research context for the project. Somaliland endures regular, intensifying droughts. Its pastoral lands are volatile environments, acutely affected by climate change, limited governance outreach and land conflicts. Yet, it is also a unique location for exploring climate resilience as pastoralists respond to evolving economic and political opportunity structures in the context of Somaliland’s stability and democratization achievements over the past three decades.

A number of research and higher learning institutions are partnering this project include Roskilde University, University of Southern Denmark, Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS), all are in Denmark, University of Hargeisa and Social Research and Development Institute (SORADI), both are in Somaliland, and University of Nairobi.

2. Miisaan – Social Cohesion & Legitimate Governance Through Transitional Justice Project (2021–2025)

The Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies runs Miisaan Project. This four-year programme (2021–2025), which is funded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands aims at increasing the availability of inclusively developed and locally informed transitional justice processes in Somaliland that significantly contribute to existing efforts on social cohesion and governance. The Transitional Justice Programme (TJP) is implemented by a Consortium comprised of Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies, INTERPEACE, and MediaINK.

3. Research Grant on Post-Conflict Societies (2020–2023)

Under the ARUA–UKRI GCRF Partnership Programme for Capacity Building, seven partner universities are involving in this project. These include the Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies of the University of Hargeisa, Somaliland, the Institute for Peace and Security Studies of Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia; The Protestant University of Central Africa in Cameroon, Africa University in Zimbabwe, Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria, Haramaya University in Ethiopia, and the University of Manchester in the UK.

4. Port Infrastructures, International Politics, and Everyday Life in the Horn of Africa (2020–2023)

Port Infrastructures, International Politics, and Everyday Life in the Horn of Africa is a two-year research project backed by funding from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Researchers from different African, Arabian, and European institutions will explore the relationship between the Middle East and the Horn of Africa focusing on port infrastructures and transport corridors. The project partners are the Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies of the University of Hargeisa, Somaliland, the University of Birmingham, the University of Durham in the UK, Puntland State University in Somalia, Institut de Recherche Indépendant de la Corne d’Afrique (IRICA) in Djibouti, and the University of Djibouti.

5. Research Grant on Inclusive Urban Infrastructure (2020–2023)

Inclusive Urban Infrastructure is a three-year research grant funded by the GCRF. The most significant outcome expected from the end of the project is to develop positive interventions to address inequality of provision of basic infrastructure (water, sanitation, energy, transport, and communications) in at least two neighbourhoods in each of the four main cities in the project (Hargeisa, Harare, Dhaka, and Colombo). The partners of the project are the Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies of the University of Hargeisa, Somaliland, the University of Sussex and the University of Durham (both are in the UK), Development Governance Institute in Zimbabwe, the International Centre for Climate Change & Development in Bangladesh, and the Center for Migration Research and Development in Sri Lanka.

Closed

1. Support for Higher Education in Conflict Resolution and Peace Building (2015–2017)

Supporting Higher Education in Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding is a research and capacity development project funded by the UK Government and implemented by University College London (UCL) Institute of Education (IoE) in collaboration with the Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies of the University of Hargeisa, Somaliland. The overall goal of the project was to enhance peace in Somaliland through the development of a strong higher education sector that nurtures stability, development, and social transformation. The main objective was to develop partnerships among educational establishments in the UK and Somaliland, with a focus on research and academic development in education, conflict, and peacebuilding.

The project developed a module for postgraduate students from the University of Hargeisa and other stakeholders interested in understanding the interconnections between education, peace, and conflict in Somaliland and other Somali-speaking societies in the region, and the wider Horn of Africa.

2. Supporting the Delivery of High-Quality Research (2015–2018)

Supporting the Delivery of High-Quality Research was a 27-months research grant backed by funding from the UK Government in partnership with the Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies of the University of Hargeisa, Somaliland, Rift Valley Institute in Nairobi, Kenya, and Puntland State University in Somalia.

The project was aimed to develop individual capacities for research through training in research methodologies, the provision of scholarships, and work placements in research projects; develop competence in the University of Hargeisa, Somaliland and Puntland State University, Somalia for training and research through investments in human resources, research resources, and in equipment and facilities; and support the socio-economic development of communities by enhancing local capacities for evidence-based research to generate knowledge that will inform governance and development policies.