Around the world, people are talking about how to make democracy

							DRC Newsletter 10 – May 2006

What’s new in the Citizenship DRC?

The Development Research Centre on Citizenship, Participation and Accountability works
through international partnerships with research institutes and civil society groups in 12
countries exploring new forms of citizenship that will help make rights real. Over 60
researchers are now directly involved in DRC projects and many more academics, activists and
policy makers participate in working groups or capacity building and exchange programmes.
There are partner institutions in Angola, Bangladesh, Brazil, India, Nigeria, South Africa and
the UK.

In this   issue:
    1.     New DRC research directions
    2.     New DRC website
    3.     Online discussion
    4.     Recent DRC activities
    5.     Forthcoming events
    6.     New and upcoming publications
    7.     To subscribe or unsubscribe to this newsletter


1. New DRC research directions

In September 2006 DFID awarded the Citizenship DRC funding for 5 further years work. Since
October 2005 key planning and conceptualisation activities have identified new research
themes. Cross-cutting themes will be explored through three research programmes:

         Deepening democracy in states and localities
          How do new democratic institutions and new patterns of activism open political
          opportunities for people to express their interests and negotiate in political arenas?

         Local-global citizen engagements
          How do citizens perceive and engage with new global processes and what impact do
          these processes have on the meanings and practices of citizenship in local settings?

         Violence, participation and citizenship
          How do people living in violent contexts make the transition from violence to
          citizenship through participatory social action and how do their personal and social
          identities affect their action?

2. New DRC website
The Citizenship DRC website has been redesigned and launched. Following a review of the
previous website, it has all of the DRC publications and reports from the first round of work
and also has a space for anyone to comment and respond to DRC research. Visit www.drc-
citizenship.org and view the research highlight section on the home page, which has a question
to stimulate discussion.

3. Current question for discussion:
The research focus on citizenship, participation and accountability has the potential to affect
policy debates and practice at local, national and global levels. But how do these research
areas challenge current development trends, such as donor harmonisation, direct budget
support, and an increasing focus on ‘fragile’ states?

Tell us your views or follow the discussion by visiting www.drc-citizenship.org
4. Recent DRC activities

      Steering Committee meetings
       Two steering committee meetings of all partners took place (December 2005 at IDS and
       February 2006 in South Africa) to make final decisions on projects, roles, governance,
       timetables, communications and capacity building strategies.

      DRC planning workshop
       In November 2005, a two-day planning event was held in conjunction with a synthesis
       conference, to discuss the research themes and projects and further research
       communication and policy influencing activities.

      Synthesis and communicating 5 years of research
       The planning of the future work of the DRC has also coincided with further synthesis
       and dissemination work of the findings from the first 5 years. The synthesis conference
       in November 2005 at IDS brought together researchers supported by the Citizenship DRC
       to identify the common messages from seven countries; Brazil, Mexico, Bangladesh,
       India, South Africa, Nigeria and the UK. A report on the conference will be out soon.

       Although researchers both in-country and at IDS have been engaging actively with
       national and international policy actors and agencies as part of the research process,
       there is still a need to communicate research findings further. Additional funding was
       applied for and granted by DFID to continue promoting policy dialogue.

       In-country policy events have been held in Angola (February 2006) and Nigeria (April
       2006) for researchers to communicate with national level policy makers through sharing
       various synthesis products and discuss implications of research findings.

      Internship programme
       The following IDS students have been selected through a competitive process for DRC
       internships this year: Junko Komatsu, Esther Sommer, Suneel Janardan Padale, and
       Maria Cascant Sempere. They will be working with DRC partners in Bangladesh, South
       Africa, India and Angola.

      Planning workshop
       Researchers from the Violence, Participation and Citizenship thematic group met for one
       week in Bradford April 3-7 2006 to discuss research projects, methodologies and
       communication activities. The work was put into context with visits to local communities.

      Workshop with Swiss Development Corporation
       In March 2006 in Bern, Switzerland, John Gaventa, Jenny Pearce and Collette Harris in
       conjunction with the Power, Participation and Change Programme at IDS held a
       workshop on citizens’ participation in local governance in conflict situations with the
       Swiss Development Corporation. A report will be available soon.


5. Forthcoming events

      Researchers of the Deepening Democracy thematic group are meeting in Brazil, 31 May
       – 2 June 2006, to discuss the research projects, methodologies and communication
       strategies.

      A series of working papers on citizen mobilisation is complete and about to be launched
       so keep an eye on the DRC website for more information.
       Melissa Leach and Ian Scoones have co-authored a pamphlet for Demos called, 'The
        Slow Race: Making science and technology work for the poor' which picks up on many
        themes in the DRC programme. This will be launched at a major event hosted by Demos
        and IDS in London on 22 June 2006.

       Policy makers from all over Europe are coming together for an event organised by the
        Citizenship DRC in London July 5th to discuss the implications of the new focus on aid
        harmonisation and the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. The research findings of
        the Citizenship DRC from the past 5 years will feed into the meeting. The document
        ‘Taking a citizen’s perspective: Building effective states’ by Rosalind Eyben and Sarah
        Ladbury presents some key findings from the DRC research and discusses the
        implications for current policy contexts.


6. New and upcoming documents and publications

Citizens and science working paper series
The citizens and science working paper series is drawn from recent research exploring
emergent engagements between citizens and public issues involving science, and the processes
of rights-claiming and participation involved. All working papers and policy papers can be
downloaded free from our website: www.drc-citizenship.org

Working Paper: Contentious politics, contentious knowledge: Mobilising against genetically-
modified crops in India, South Africa and Brazil
Scoones, Ian, Working Paper 256- Part of Citizens and Science Working Paper series

Working Paper: The science of water scarcity management and social mobilisation on water
and the environment in South Africa’s Western Cape Province, by Thompson, Lisa, Working
Paper 254 - Part of Citizens and Science Working Paper series

Working Paper: From ‘medical miracles’ to normal(ised) medicine: AIDS treatment, activism
and citizenship in the UK and South Africa, by Robins, Steven, IDS Working Paper 252, October
2005 - Part of Citizens and Science Working Paper series.

Working Paper: Rights passages from ‘near death’ to new life’: AIDS activism and treatment
testimonies in South Africa, by Robins, Steven, IDS Working Paper 251, October 2005 - Part of
Citizens and Science Working Paper series.

Working Paper: MMR Mobilisation: Citizens and science in a British vaccine controversy, by
Leach, Melissa, IDS Working Paper 247, September 2005 - Part of Citizens and Science Working
Paper series.

Working Paper: The formation of the Brazilian Environmental Movement, by Alonso, Angela and
Maciel, Debora, Working Paper 259, forthcoming - Part of Citizens and Science Working Paper
series

Working Paper: ‘When Social Movements Bypass the Poor: Asbestos Pollution, International
Litigation and Griqua Cultural Identity’, by Linda Waldman, Working Paper No. 246, June 2005.

New policy papers from the DRC

Policy briefing paper : ‘Science and Citizens: Global and Local Voices’ by Ian Scoones, Melissa
Leach and Kirsty Cockburn, Issue 30 May 2006 – Part of Citizens and Science Working Paper
Series
Policy briefing paper: ‘Making Space for Citizens: Broadening the ‘new democratic spaces’ for
citizen participation’ by Alex Shankland, Issue 27, March 2006

Other recent papers from the DRC
Working Paper: Meanings of citizenship in Latin America, by Dagnino, Evelina, Working Paper
258

Working Paper: Unpacking rights and wrongs: do human rights make a difference? The case of
water rights in India and South Africa, by Mehta, Lyla, Working Paper 260

For a list of all our publications go to: www.drc-citizenship.org

7. To subscribe or unsubscribe
You can subscribe or unsubscribe to this newsletter directly from our website: www.drc-
citizenship.org. Do feel free to pass this newsletter on to others who may be interested in the
work of the DRC.