Includovate is a feminist research incubator helping researchers from the global south to grow their research careers and shape knowledge creation and policies in their country. Researchers from the Global South (e.g. Ethiopia) are often confined to minor research roles such as transcription and/or translation. They rarely get the chance to publish or be involved in data analysis.
Includovate aims to decolonise research by co-designing and co-analysing research with budding researchers from the Global South. We aim to improve the quality of data available on topics such as gender norms, disability inclusion, and social behaviour change.
Includovate’s vision is to create inclusivity by providing men and women with the power, aspiration, and ability to innovate for their development and advancement. We are a feminist research incubator that ‘walks the talk’ and aims to decolonise research by having more research from the Global South publish and shape knowledge creation. Following the meaning of our name, innovate for inclusion, Includovate improves the quality of data collected on topics of concern for the most excluded and marginalised groups. We are a social enterprise that reinvests the majority of our profit into furthering our mission.
We are self funded from the projects we have completed for UNICEF, ILO, WorldFish, CARE, IDRC, UNIDO, World Vision, DFAT, and many more.
Includovate started in 2019 and despite the COVID-19 pandemic that hit most people in early 2020, we have continued to grow. We, Includovators, are proud of our own persistence and tenacity for growth. If 2020 has taught us anything, it is that we have to help one another and do better at inclusion. The Covid-19 pandemic is pushing the world into a financial and humanitarian crisis. The research sector is one of the casualties of this event, with the Global South facing the most challenges to recovery (Sills 2020). The pandemic has substantially disrupted funding streams as rich countries turn their attention to domestic matters.
This campaign #IncludovateRaisesTheBar aims to support researchers to take their data to a wider audience. This first phase of our campaign will fund 3 research papers on child marriage, gender, equality, Covid-19, economic empowerment, social and cultural behavioural changes, education, health, gender-based violence, women empowerment, and inclusive research methods to be turned into publications.
We just started our journey in 2019 and there is still a long way to go to achieve our mission. Thus, we would like to invite you to support us, stand with us, and leave no one behind.
Research Papers
1. Early Marriage Trap by Hiwot Workneh Abegaz and Abiyot Negera
See their pitch! Local Perceptions/practices of Early Marriage and Intervention Works: A Case Study of Simada Woreda, Amhara National Regional State
Know a little about them? Hiwot has 13 years of experience as a gender specialist. She has the passion to use research and design interventions to reshape systems that perpetuate injustice. She aspires to design solutions for the inequality and exclusion of women and other marginalised groups by conducting gender studies research. Abiyot is a PhD candidate in Social Anthropology at Addis Ababa University. He has 10 years of experience in research. His work revolves around qualitative research and women empowerment with a focus around Africa continent.
2. COVID-19 and impact on women by Gelila Tafesework Geletu
See her pitch! The impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Well-being of Ethiopian Women.
Know a little about her? Inspired by her mother, Gelila found her passion in gender studies. She would like to combine her interest in the applicability and holistic research methodologies with her interest—women’s issues in Ethiopia. She is our researcher and a Master (LLM) candidate.
3. Qualitative data and findings with other tools by Kaleab Kebede Haile
See his pitch! Together and Alone: The Consistency of Responses from Focus Groups and Individual Interviews.
Know a little about him? Kaleab has PhD in Economics and Governance from Maastricht University in the Netherlands. He is Includovate Principal Researcher and has always been passionate about public policy. He believes that effective policies incorporate recommendations of reliable research findings. This abstract focuses on methodological aspect in qualitative research to improve policies.
Facts About the Research Sector:
- Lack of Publication from the Global South. Researchers in the African continent are responsible only for 0.9% of international journal articles and 0.6% of these coming from South African researchers alone (Bryant 2014).
- Hogged Resources. Of the $4 billion given for international humanitarian assistance in 2014, more than a third went to the 10 largest NGOs and only 0.2% went directly to local and national NGOs.
- Publication Disparity. The U.K. and the U.S. publish more indexed journals than the rest of the world combined. Western Europe is also well represented, but the rest of the world is barely present. Switzerland alone is represented at three times the level of the entire African continent. (Jeater 2018)
If 1500 people can give US$10 each, we would be able to meet our target! All amount counts - we need your help! Let’s decolonise research together :)
#IncludovateRaisesTheBar
Based on a few requests, we have started accepting offline donations for our fundraiser to the bank details below:
Account name: Includovate Pty Ltd
Bank Address: Citi, GPO Box 40, Sydney NSW 2001
Acct Number: 491285698
Swift: CITIAU2X
Please email us [email protected] once done so that we can track donations!
