News

• Home
• News

First of its kind, call with 25 countries selects 19 research projects in Social Sciences and Humanities that targets reconstruction in post-COVID-19 scenario.

The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) announces the result of a call for proposals with the Trans-Atlantic Platform for the Social Sciences and Humanities (T-AP) to support research to strengthen social practices and policies with the understanding and mitigation of the negative effects of the pandemic.

The call, with the theme "Recovery, Renewal and Resilience in a Post-Pandemic World (RRR)", leverages research in social sciences to fill gaps in the understanding of the dynamics and complex interaction between the medium and long-term social effects of the COVID-19. Fundamentally, the call considers the impacts it has in multiple dimensions: economic, social, political, health, educational, environmental, technological, legal, psychological, cultural and ethical. In this way, the call aims to contribute to a fairer, more resilient and sustainable future.

FAPESP coordinated the first stages of submission and evaluation, which involved hundreds of submissions and more than 700 advisors from 27 different countries.

The data associated with the call show its originality in all aspects. Involving 16 development agencies and 25 countries, it received a total of 313 research proposals. After several evaluation stages, 19 research projects were selected, involving multinational teams from 12 countries, in 4 continents. Of the 19 selected proposals, 11 have researchers from the State of São Paulo.

“There is consensus among the agencies participating in the call that the initiative was a success. The number of participating agencies, the number of proposals received, the degree of articulation between researchers from different countries and the quality of the proposals were all very good. The leading role of FAPESP and São Paulo researchers will have important repercussions in the internationalization of research in the area", said Luiz Eugenio Mello, Scientific Director of FAPESP.

The total amount granted to the 19 approved proposals is approximately US$16 million (or €14.4 million euros). The participating funding agencies and the nationalities contemplated were: AKA (Finland), ANR (France), DFG (Germany), DLR-PT/BMBF (Germany), FAPESP (Brazil), FRQSC (Canada), HRZZ (Croatia), IDRC (Colombia, Costa Rica, and Peru), MINCIENCIAS (Colombia), NCN (Poland), NRF (South Africa), NSF (USA), SNSF (Switzerland), SSHRC (Canada), UKRI-AHRC (UK), UKRI-ESRC (UK).

Topics covered by the selected projects include, but are not limited to:

• Resilient media creation, ensuring effective communication about the pandemic in divided societies.

• Studies on the effect of the pandemic on increasing inequalities in the Americas, Europe and Africa.

• Analysis of the trajectories, results and sustainability of innovations and collaborations in marginalized communities.

• Use of arts to support post-pandemic recovery needs in socially, politically and physically marginalized communities.

• Exploration of the effects of the pandemic on governance, political participation, and actions aimed at gender and communities.

• Ensure the resilience of university education.

• Study of the effects of care work during and after the pandemic.

Complete list of selected projects: https://www.transatlanticplatform.com/rrr-awards/

SELECTED PROJECTS WITH RESEARCHERS FROM SÃO PAULO:

Who Cares? Rebuilding Care in a Post-Pandemic World
FAPESP #: 2021/07888-3
Funders Involved: FAPESP; FRQSC; SSHRC; ESRC; ANR; NSF; MINCIENCIAS
The project seeks to uncover and understand the matrix of care provision that is fragmented and uncoordinated, and the resultant overlapping, inconsistent and at times competing polices and regulations shaping care work and its provision at different levels of governance. Rebuilding a robust and more resilient care organization requires a comprehensive understanding of the care economy and entails learning from innovative initiatives in different countries.
Lead Principal Investigator: Nadya Araujo Guimarães, Brazilian Center for Analysis and Planning and University of São Paulo, Brazil
Principal Investigators:
Angelo Soares, University of Quebec in Montreal, Canada
Aurélie Damamme, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Paris 8 University, Paris, France
Heidi Gottfried, Department of Sociology, Wayne State University, USA
Javier Armando Pineda Duque, University of the Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
Louisa Acciari, University College London (UCL), UK

Pandemic Communication in Times of Populism: Building Resilient Media and Ensuring Effective Pandemic Communication in Divided Societies
FAPESP #: 2021/07344-3
Funders Involved: ESRC; FAPESP; NSF; NCN
This project will develop the first comprehensive, comparative study of health crisis communication in the context of populist politics, bringing significant advances in knowledge at the intersection of political communication and public health. This research will inform recommendations aimed at building more resilient media organisations that are better equipped to withstand the challenges of future pandemics in divided societies.
Lead Principal Investigator: Sabina Mihelj, Centre for Research on Communication and Culture, Loughborough University, UK
Principal Investigators:
Václav Štětka, Centre for Research on Communication and Culture, Loughborough University, UK
Danilo Rothberg, Department of Human Sciences, São Paulo State University, Brazil
Marlene Laruelle, Russian and Eurasian Studies, George Washington University, USA
Daniel Hallin, Department of Communication, University of California San Diego, San Diego, USA
Beata Klimkiewicz, Institute of Journalism and Social Communication, Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland

Inequalities, Community Resilience and New Governance Modalities in a Post-Pandemic World
FAPESP #: 2021/07839-2
Funders Involved: FAPESP; AKA; MINCIENCIAS; NCN; NSF; HRZZ; DFG; SSHRC; ESRC; FRQSC
This project will examine the short- and long-term consequences of COVID-19 from a comparative perspective and studies the COVID-19 crisis holistically as a new source for mobilization of societies and political systems. The project will develop transatlantic platforms, co-produce practical tools and methodologies that will form a systematic basis for post-pandemic recovery and aid in fostering a culture embedded with everyday forms of resilience.
Lead Principal Investigator: Mihai Varga, Free University of Berlin, Germany
Principal Investigators:
Leda Maria Caira Gitahy, University of Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Philippe Bourbeau, University Laval, Québec, Canada
Emilia Elisabeth Palonen, University of Helsinki, Finland
Tania Pérez-Bustos, National University of Colombia, Bogota, Colombia
James Foley), Glasgow Caledonian University, UK
Mateusz Karolak, University of Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Poland
Eric C. Jones, University of Texas Houston, El Paso, Texas, USA
Senada Šelo Šabić, Institute for Development and International Relations (IRMO), Zagreb, Croatia

Adaptations of young people in monetary-poor households for surviving and recovering from COVID-19 and associated lockdowns
FAPESP #: 2021/07399-2
Funders Involved: ESRC; NRF; FAPESP
There is a crucial need to understand how young people have adapted during the pandemic and to assess the wider impact of such processes of adaptations. This project seeks to use an action research methodology to co-create this knowledge about such adaptations and generate wider recommendations, with young people, and the communities in which they live, and non-government bodies and non-profit organisations that focus on this age group.
Principal Investigator: Stuart Denoon-Stevens, University of the Free State, South Africa.
Principal Investigators:
Lauren Andres, Bartlett School of Planning, University College London (UCL), UK
Leandro Luiz Giatti, Department of Environmental Health, University of São Paulo, Brazil

Social mobilization as policymaking lever? A trans-Atlantic COVID-19 dialogue on community action and decentralized governance
FAPESP #: 2021/07881-9
Funders Involved: SSHRC; FAPESP; BMBF/DLR-PT; IDRC; FRQSC
This project examines the interaction between community mobilization and decentralized governance during the COVID-19 pandemic in diverse trans-Atlantic settings within Brazil, Canada, Germany, and Peru. The aim is to deepen understanding of these interactions and draw relevant learnings for inclusive, equitable, responsive governance during times of crisis and going forward.
Lead Principal Investigator: Anne-Emanuelle Birn, University of Toronto, Canada Principal Investigators:
Deisy de Freitas de Lima Ventura, University of São Paulo, Brazil
Michael Knipper, University of Giessen, Germany
Ruth Iguiñiz-Romero, Cayetano Heredia University, Peru

Building Back Better from Below: Harnessing Innovations in Community Response and Intersectoral Collaboration for Health and Food Justice Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic
FAPESP #: 2021/07841-7
Funders Involved: ESRC; SSHRC; FAPESP
This project will take an action research approach to analysing the trajectories, outcomes and sustainability of grassroots innovations and collaborations that have emerged since March 2020 among activists and front-line service providers working with marginalised and racialised communities in three socially diverse and economically dynamic but unequal cities: São Paulo (Brazil), Toronto (Canada) and Brighton (UK).
Lead Principal Investigator: Alex Shankland (a.shankland@ids.ac.uk), Institute of Development Studies (IDS), University of Sussex, UK
Principal Investigators:
Vera Schattan P. Coelho, São Paulo, Brazil
Suzanne Sicchia, Department of Health & Society, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada

Voices of Recovery: Recognising intersecting risks, capacities and pandemic recovery needs in marginalised communities of Latin America
FAPESP #: 2021/07660-2
Funders Involved: AHRC; FAPESP; MINCIENCIAS; IDRC
‘Voices of Recovery’ is a multi-country, interdisciplinary partnership that focuses on understanding and supporting the recovery needs of socially, politically and physically marginalised communities in Latin America. The project goes much further than posing research questions, and will be rooted in participation and action, using creative arts approaches to strengthen people’s articulation of rights and needs during and after the pandemic.
Lead Principal Investigator: Professor Roger Few, University of East Anglia, UK
Principal Investigators:
Liana O. Anderson, National Center for Monitoring and Early Warning of Natural Disasters (CEMADEN), São José dos Campos, Brazil
Nelvia Victoria Lugo Agudelo, Universidad de Caldas, Colombia
María Eugenia Ulfe, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Perú

Gender, mobilities and migration during and post COVID-19 pandemic- vulnerabilities, resilience and renewal
FAPESP #: 2021/07574-9
Funders Involved: FAPESP; ESRC; DFG; NCN
This project aims to explore how migrant women have faced mobility challenges in the context of varied national responses to the covid 19 and produced movements of resistance and renewal, strategizing, and repositioning themselves in the labour market and the implications of these decisions for family life. This project investigates this through an innovative analysis in countries with diverse social protection policies, namely Brazil, UK, Germany, and Poland.
Lead Principal Investigator: Adriana Piscitelli, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Brazil
Principal Investigators:
Daniela Sime, University of Strathclyde, UK
Karolina Barglowski ,University of Dortmund, Germany
Krystyna Slany, Jagiellonian University, Poland

FORest ciTizenship for disaster rEsilience: learning from COVID-19
FAPESP #: 2021/07558-3
Funders Involved: ESRC; NSF; FAPESP
This project uses Brazilian Amazonia as an arena to examine how marginalized people, disproportionately affected by COVID-19, are using citizenship to mitigate the pandemic’s negative societal effects. The project aims (1) quantify linkages between forest citizenship and COVID-19 resilience; (2) understand practices of forest citizenship in relation to COVID-19 experiences; and (3) understand and disseminate learning on conditions for promoting forest citizenship and enhancing disaster resilience across Amazonia.
Lead Principal Investigator: Luke Parry, Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, UK
Principal Investigators:
Peter Newton, Environmental Studies Program, University of Colorado Boulder, USA
Rodrigo Martins, Department of Sociology, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil

The Value of Openness, Inclusion, Communication, and Engagement for Science in a Post-Pandemic World
FAPESP #: 2021/07577-8
Funders Involved: SSHRC; FAPESP; DFG; AHRC
Covid-19 also served to bring about some positive changes in the way we carry out, communicate, and engage with science. This project examines: 1) how is the value of open science discussed and positioned? Who adopted or contributed to open science practices and how? And how has the relationship between research and the public been affected by the opening of research.
Lead Principal Investigator: Juan Pablo Alperin, Simon Fraser University, Canada
Principle Investigator:
Germana Barata, the State University of Campinas, Brazil
Isabella Peters, ZBW Leibniz Information Center for Economics & Kiel University, Germany
Stephen Pinfield, University of Sheffield, UK

Impact of COVID19 on livelihoods, mobility and accessibility of marginalised groups
Processo FAPESP: 2021/07554-8
Funders Involved: BMBF/DLR-PT; NRF; FAPESP
This interdisciplinary project will explore and compare the impact of the COVID19 pandemic on the mobility, accessibility and livelihoods of marginalised groups in Cape Town (South Africa), Ruhr Area (Germany) and São Paulo (Brazil). The aim is to understand the changing roles of physical access for urban marginalised groups in pandemic times on their livelihood and the role of virtual access therein. This project will recommend measures toward equitable accessibility that support and improve the resilience of marginalised groups across the globe.
Lead Principal Investigator: Prof. Sophie Schramm (sophie.schramm@tu-dortmund.de), TU Dortmund University, Germany
Principle Investigators:
Stefan Greiving, TU Dortmund University, Germany
Sandra Irene Momm Schult, Federal University of ABC, São Paulo, Brazil
Mark Zuidgeest, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Cape Town, South Africa

SELECTED PROPOSALS WITHOUT INVOLVEMENT OF RESEARCHER FROM SÃO PAULO:

Reconnecting with Experience and Sensitive for instructional Practices fostering Inclusivity, Resilience and Equity
Funders Involved: SSHRC; FRQSC; SNSF; ANR
This project investigates the question of the resilience of university instruction following the shock of physical and mental isolation into which trainers and learners were thrust during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this project is to empower teachers in higher education to face the new situations in various contexts.
Lead Principal Investigator: Fabienne Venant, University of Quebec in Montreal, Canada
Principal Investigators:
Sabine Chatelain, HEP Vaud, Lausanne, Suisse
Antoine Delcroix, University of the Antilles, Pointe a Pitre, France

Deaton Review Country Studies: A Trans-Atlantic Comparison of Inequalities in Incomes and Outcomes over Five Decades
Funders Involved: NSF; SSHRC; ESRC; AKA; ANR; BMBF/DLR-PT
The aim of this project is to examine a broad set of inequalities in employment, human capital, earnings and family income over the last five decades in a coherent framework across North America and Europe. It will provide a major source for comparative research on inequality trends and on how the pandemic has affected them. This project will highlight key differences and commonalities across 17 economies, deepen our understanding of the drivers of inequality and the impact of the pandemic and provide evidence needed to design appropriate policy responses to inequality in the post-pandemic world.
Lead Principal Investigator: James P. Ziliak, Centre for Poverty Research and Department of Economics, University of Kentucky, USA
Principal Investigators:
Sir Richard Blundell, Department of Economics, University College London (UCL), UK
Antoine Bozio, Paris School of Economics (PSE), Paris, France
David Green, Vancouver School of Economics at University of British Colombia, Canada
Tomi Kyyrä), VATT Institute for Economic Research, Helsinki, Finland
Andreas Peichl, Ludwig-Maximilian University and Ifo Institute for Economic Research, Munich, Germany

Exploring the role of adaptive capacity on democratic performance: Governmental and Non-profit Organizations in the Pandemic
Funders Involved: ESRC; NSF; SSHRC; FRQSC; NCN
This project integrates organizational, sociological, and democratic theories in a unique manner to analyse and report recommendations for practice that improves adaptive capacity, democratic legitimacy, and ultimately stronger public health participation and outcomes for diverse publics across unique societies.
Lead Principal Investigator: Thomas Bryer, University of Central Florida, USA
Principal Investigators:
Victoria Foster, Edge Hill University, UK
Mebs Kanji, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
Piotr Modzelewski, University of Warsaw, Poland

Towards a green and inclusive post-pandemic recovery of the Blue Economy and coastal communities
Funders involved: ESRC; NSF; IDRC; BMBF/DLR-PT
This project will provide science-based guidance for post COVID recovery of coastal communities through a trans-national comparative study across coastal areas in Costa Rica, Germany, Scotland (UK), and the USA. The project aims to determine key enabling factors across all regions that lead to response performance so as to inform the development of future strategies for a green and inclusive coastal recovery.
Lead Principal Investigator: Fabrice Renaud, School of Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Glasgow, UK
Principal Investigators:
Marta Vicarelli, Department of Economics and School of Public Policy, University of Massachusetts, USA
Zita Sebesvari), United Nations University – Institute for Environment and Human Security, Bonn, Germany
Catalina Esquivel Rodríguez, School of Public Administration, University of Costa Rica, Costa Rica

The Changing Role of Religion in Societies Emerging from Covid-19
Funders Involved: AHRC; NCN; DFG; SSHRC; FRQSC
This project compares the changing role of majority and minority religions in ‘global north’ contexts: Canada, Germany, Ireland/Northern Ireland (UK), and Poland. The project will draw conclusions about factors that affect how religious actors frame issues of health, illness and science, how relationships between religion and the state have been transformed in the context of the pandemic, and whether or how religious adaptations to the digital world have taken account of inclusion and other ethical issues.
Lead Principal Investigator: Gladys Ganiel, Queen’s University Belfast, UK
Principal Investigators:
Solange Lefebvre, University of Montreal, Canada
Kerstin Radde-Antweiler, University of Bremen, Germany
Sławomir Mandes, University of Warsaw, Poland

En Route to Recovery: Diversity and vulnerability in care work during and after the COVID-19 pandemic
Funders involved: AKA; SSHRC; ESRC; NRF
This project will examine how diverse people in Finland, Canada, UK and South Africa, specifically, care workers in precarious positions (women, LGBTI2S people, and migrant status or minority ethnic people) who work/have worked in formal and informal care address challenges by collaboratively examining their ideas to ease risks and develop opportunities to deliver and receive care.
Lead Principal Investigator: Marjut Jyrkinen, Department of Cultures, Gender Studies, University of Helsinki, Finland
Principal Investigators:
Kathy Sanderson, Faculty of Business Administration, Lakehead University, Canada
Linda McKie, Head of the School of Political and Social Science, University of Edinburgh, UK
Floretta Boonzaier, Department of Psychology, University of Cape Town, South Africa

Taxing ghosts: closing residency loopholes to fund post-pandemic recovery efforts
Funders involved: ESRC; SSHRC; NRF
This project focuses on the international tax reform agenda and aims to (1) research the national and international factors that facilitate tax ghosting by wealthy individuals and corporations, (2) demonstrate the disparate economic threats created by such tax ghosting, and (3) analyse why states have failed to recognize the threats to date and propose novel yet feasible policy solutions based on our findings.
Lead Principal Investigator: Kristin Surak, LSE, UK
Principal Investigators:
Allison Christians, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Afton Titus, University of Cape Town, South Africa
Precious Ndlovu, University of the Western Cape, South Africa

How does the COVID-19 pandemic affect climate policy? Case studies on climate targets, recovery spending, and carbon fiscal reform
Funders Involved: SNSF; NSF; BMBF/DLR-PT
This project aims to understand the climate ambition of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), COVID-19 recovery packages, and fiscal reform. It uncovers the political and economic drivers underlying differences in climate ambition in these three types of policy intervention across countries. The project will deliver policy recommendations for national policymakers and IFIs on how to increase climate ambition.
Lead Principal Investigator: Tobias Schmidt, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Principle Investigators:
Jonas Meckling, UC Berkeley, United States
Anna Pegels, German Development Institute, Bonn, Germany

---