Associated organisationsInstitute of Development Studies · London School of Hygiene & Tropical MedicineEurope PMC affiliations are not treated as award recipients or mapped locations.
Funding£2.6M
PeriodMay 2022 — Apr 2024
In plain English
AI plain-English summary
A social science team is embedding itself directly into the machinery of global health emergencies, ready to deploy tailored analyses within days of an outbreak. The problem is that epidemic response has historically been dominated by epidemiologists and clinicians, leaving critical human factors—how communities perceive a vaccine, why people flee a containment zone, or how local power structures shape aid distribution—either ignored or addressed too late. SSHAP closes that gap by producing rapid, actionable briefings for organisations like the WHO and national governments, ensuring social science evidence is integrated into policy from the start. If successful, this extension will shift the infrastructure of emergency response itself: regional hubs in Africa and Asia will train local researchers, new taught courses will build a permanent cadre of social scientists ready for the next crisis, and technical assistance workshops will make community engagement a standard pillar of outbreak control rather than an afterthought. The result is a quieter, more resilient system where humanitarian action accounts for how people actually live.
View original technical description
The Social Science in Humanitarian Action Platform (SSHAP) is a partnership between the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), Anthrologica, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). SSHAP provides social science insights and tailored analyses that can be quickly and fully integrated into epidemic and outbreak responses and related health emergency action, strategy and policy, whilst supporting sustainable local capacity. Having strengthened its achievements, profile and reputation over the last two years, SSHAP's overarching goal is now to accelerate further the impact of social science evidence in health and humanitarian emergency preparedness and response. Our interrelated, mutually-reinforcing workstreams will expand the successful approaches we have developed and tested, further localising our approaches and preparing and responding to emerging priorities amidst wider global challenges. We will generate and disseminate evidence in briefings and reviews; strengthen social science integration and research capacity by establishing regional hubs, developing new taught courses, and scaling up technical assistance workshops and fellowships. These activities will be backed up by our underpinning communications and MEL strategy. It provides an approach to demonstrate impact, advocates for social science action that engages with communities, and is actionable throughout the pillars of emergency preparedness and response.
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