Taylor Spicer (MDP ‘15) presented “The Fruits of Co-Production: Gender & Inclusion Toolbox: Participatory Research in Climate Change & Agriculture” at the Second Annual International Conference on Sustainable Development Practice, held in New York City, September 17-19. The conference was sponsored by the Global Association of Master’s in Development Practice Programs (MDP) in collaboration with the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

Spicer’s presentation focused on the development of an innovative Toolbox that will enable development practitioners to design and conduct gender inclusive participatory action research on climate change. The Toolbox compiles research tools and protocols, interactive learning exercises, and ideas for group activities. It is meant to be used in rural contexts around the world to facilitate community-based research that will inform development programming. The Toolbox is the outcome of a collaboration of Emory MDP with the Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security (CCAFS) program, CARE International, and the World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF).

Spicer worked on the Toolbox during her 2014 summer field practicum, fieldtesting it in the CCAFS research sites in Kenya and Ghana. She did so in collaboration with MDP alumna Nafisa Ferdous (MDP ‘13), who had initiated the process during her own 2013 summer field practicum and was then hired by CCAFS to serve as Gender and Social Learning Specialist for East and Southern Africa, based in Nairobi. 

Spicer’s presentation was part of a panel entitled “The Challenges of Inclusion: Gender, Inequalities & Human Rights," which included other papers on inclusive education models, the importance of self-help groups in local development, and the creation of equity benchmarks for implementing the Sustainable Development Goals. She discussed the social learning process that was used to create the Toolbox and how such a process can be replicated by researchers and practitioners who use it.

The official launch for the Gender & Social Inclusion Toolbox was held on October 15 in Nairobi, Kenya, and streamed live on the internet. A video and presentations from the event can be found here.