Ongoing Projects

Project Description: Nepal emerged from a ten-year civil war in 2006, and the country’s main political players then embarked upon the long process of transition political transition. The 2015 earthquakes had a major impact upon this process. The project investigates and documents the long term cultural and political impacts of Nepal’s 2015 earthquakes. It will explore the ways in which they influenced the ongoing political, media and literary discourse on a number of key cultural, social and political issues. It also how the restoration of destroyed physical heritage is carried out. It also draws historical comparisons between the sociocultural and political impacts of the 2015 quakes and those of the major quakes that struck Nepal during earlier periods of political and cultural transition in 1833 and 1934. It also archives material to identify the permanent marks left by previous disasters.

Project Description: This research aims to experimentally test whether seasonal a migration subsidy programme has positive impacts in addressing seasonal food insecurity in rural Nepal. It will also explore how migration may transform rural, agricultural labour markets by studying the effects of seasonal migration on both rural labour supply and labour demand.

Project Description: The overall objective of the project is to promote and protect freedom of religions or belief (FoRB) in South Asia by improved and more collaborative monitoring, reporting, and advocacy on FoRB violations. It specifically aims to strengthen the capacity of a regional researchers’ and activists’ network to monitor incidents, trends, and patterns of FoRB violations; produce and publish authoritative reports; and carry out linked advocacy to combat discrimination, intolerance, and violence against religious minorities, and improve protection of FoRB in South Asia Minority and human rights researchers, activists, and organisations working to promote FoRB across South Asia are direct beneficiaries. And, it will also serve minorities and particularly religious minorities and stateless groups in South Asia.

Project Description: The Centre for the Study of Labour and Mobility (CESLAM) at Social Science Baha is a partner organisation of the international collaborative research project on migration and agricultural and rural change (AGRUMIG). The research project seeks to explore the two-way interface between agrarian and environmental change in migrant-sending communities, offering comparative insights between seven countries – Nepal, China, Ethiopia, Thailand, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova and Morocco. 

The AGRUMIG project engages in an innovative Qualitative Comparative Analysis to better understand the unique economic, institutional and agro-ecological contexts which mediate particular relationships between migration and agriculture, as well as the role played by diverse governance actors throughout this process. It will in turn work with stakeholders through an iterative process of engagement to develop migration governance action plans which strengthen positive development and migration outcomes. More information on the project is available at http://agrumig.iwmi.org/.

Project Description: The ‘International Conference on Resilient Social Protection for an Inclusive Future’ was organised on September 18 and 19, jointly with NPC, ILO, GIZ, UN ESCAP, The World Bank, UNICEF and UKAid. The conference aimed to support the Government of Nepal to deliver in its vision to deliver a core package of social protection for all and become a more prosperous nation, with a focus on the next generation and the most vulnerable. Recognising that there are many paths towards universal social protection, and programmes in different countries have followed different paths towards their expansion and consolidation, the conference aimed to bring regional experience and practice to offer a realistic path to support Nepal achieve this ambition moving forward. 

Project Description: Foreign labour migration is likely to play a key role as a source of employment for Nepalis for years to come in the future. In recognition of this fact, the government has taken some initiatives towards enhancing safe, regular and beneficial migration. The monitoring of and reporting on SDG indicators related to labour migration (SDGs 8 and 10) is one such step towards making labour migration safe for Nepalis. On behalf of the National Planning Commission (NPC) and with the support of ILO, the Centre for the Study of Labour and Mobility (CESLAM) at Social Science Baha is undertaking the task of developing a monitoring and reporting (M&R) framework to help the NPC establish a standard set of tools and mechanisms on labour migration-related SDG targets and indicators that would help it report the progress on SDGs to UN High Level Political Forum (HLPT) on Sustainable Development. The tools and mechanisms will also benefit other actors working in the area of labour and migration and the decent work agenda in Nepal. Simultaneously, the project will support the Ministry of Labour Employment and Social Security (MOLESS) to develop the National Global Compact on Migration Implementation Strategies.

Project Description: The Centre for the Study of Labour and Mobility (CESLAM) at Social Science Baha is conducting a mapping exercise involving Private Recruitment Agencies (PRAs) that are already engaged in or interested in being engaged in fair recruitment practices. The research project seeks to prepare comprehensive profiles of the selected PRAs that recruit workers for Jordan, Malaysia and Qatar. The study will examine the recruitment processes followed by selected PRAs, including hiring, pre-deployment and post-deployment procedures. The research output will help ILO-Nepal in its search for possible partners for its two projects – the Integrated Programme on Fair Recruitment (FAIR) and the Global Action to Improve the Recruitment Framework of Labour Migration (REFRAME).

Project Description: The Centre for the Study of Labour and Mobility (CESLAM) at Social Science Baha will provide technical support to the Government of Province 1 to develop approaches, methodological tools and indicators for a migration profile and throughout the execution of the profiling exercise. The migration profile will provide comprehensive provincial data on migration, including information on internal and international migration; in- and out-migration; migration for labour, education, and permanent settlement; skills and labour market integration of returnee migrants; and seasonal and long-term labour migration, to allow the provincial and local governments of Province 1 to optimise the benefits of migration. The profile will contribute to evidence-based policy through the use of data on migration in the policy-making and planning processes of different thematic sectors. The migration profile will serve as an important and useful tool to better understand and manage the diverse migration flows in the province.

Project Description: The study will examine how Nepal’s legal regime has changed over the past 13 years to make the country a much more inclusive state. The study will build on the paper ‘Gender, Caste and Ethnic Exclusion in the Law’ prepared by Bipin Adhikari and Bandita Sijapati in 2011. The said paper is thus far unpublished and the study will provide updates to the paper while also conducting original research. The study will conclude with the drafting and publication of the final report. It is envisaged that Part I of the report would trace the evolution of the legal changes up to the end of the first Constituent Assembly in 2012; Part II would continue with the thread of the narrative thereafter and bring it up to date till the adoption of the 2015 Constitution; and Part III will deal with the rollout of federalism and the adoption of the new Muluki Ain in 2017.

Project Description: The general objective of the study is to conduct an assessment of the impact on maternal and neonatal health (MNH) in rural communities in selected One Heart Worldwide (OHW)-supported districts. More specifically, the research will assess if and how OHW has made a difference in people’s access to MNH care across the field sites, observe the sustainability of the programme in districts where it is still engaged, and to use the findings to construct strategies and recommendations to further develop the OHW’s interventions. The critical and objective evaluation of OHW’s interventions impact on the communities and the health sector in general will describe maternal and new-birth practices and systems and provide an in-depth understanding of existing conditions and impact of the OHW model. The findings from this evaluation will provide recommendations to further develop OHW interventions to enhance health improvement in Nepali communities. The study will be conducted in seven communities in four districts, namely, two each in Baglung, Dhading and Sankhuwasabha, and one in Jajarkot.