Our Research
We pursue global research in areas of child well-being, holistic development, and social policy, that facilitate understanding for systematic change.
Explore our ongoing and completed research projects.
Delivering on a more effective Child Policy Portfolio in the United Kingdom
This project seeks to examine the effectiveness and efficiency of the child policy portfolio in the United Kingdom, through assessing the child poverty portfolio and providing evidence to support advocacy and reform benefiting children, families, and society, with a focus on child poverty and inequality. This research serves as a foundation for evidence-informed advocacy for UNICEF United Kingdom.
Age-Spending and Child Poverty in Luxembourg
This project provides an up-to-date mapping of child poverty in Luxembourg and identifies ways in which spending on children in Luxembourg, and related cash and childcare policies, may be reformed to improve their antipoverty effects. It serves as a foundation for evidence-informed advocacy for UNICEF Luxembourg.
Accelerating Progress for Children Now, and Preparing for the Future: Policy Options
This project identifies and unpacks challenges and constraints to accelerating progress for children in achieving the child-focused sustainable development goals, through interviews with UNICEF offices, consultations with government partners, a data analysis of policy choices and global literature reviews. The report aims to provide UNICEF and Member States with evidence for advocacy, practical policy responses, and recommendations, to inform and shape critical positioning on the policies needed for catalysing progressive action towards the child-focused SDGs ahead of the United Nations Summit of the Future, in 2024, and the second World Summit for Social Development, in 2025.
Delivering on a Child Policy Portfolio in Uruguay
This project consolidates recent learning and provides evidence on the priority actions for reducing child poverty in Uruguay, to inform political parties’ decision-making in the run up to the general election in 2024. It serves as a foundation for evidence-informed advocacy, and provides estimated effects of proposed policy reforms, costs and implementation considerations, for UNICEF Uruguay.
The G20, Early child development, and the Cost of Inaction
This project investigates the promises that G20 countries previously made concerning early childhood development, and the opportunities lost through the cost of their inaction on those promises. The project is being undertaken in collaboration with Their World and the University of York, and focuses on the G20 and Africa.
The Impact of Social Protection and Child Benefits in Reducing Drivers of Poverty and Inequality
This project examines the impact of social protection and investigates the effects of child benefits in reducing drivers of poverty and inequality, and better equipping adolescents to make transitions from education to work, higher education, or training. This research was undertaken to inform the International Labour Organisation’s World Social Protection Report, 2024-2026.
How Demographic Change, Digitalization, and Climate Change Influence Child Well-being: Global Projections to 2050
This project provides a comprehensive understanding of the current state of child well-being globally, and analyses the anticipated situation of children into the year 2050, projecting trends in demographics, urbanisation, internet access, and the climate crisis impact on child outcomes. It informs the State of the World’s Children Report 2024, published by UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight.
Sensitive Child Rights Issues in Latin America and the Caribbean
This project examines sensitive child rights issues in Latin America and the Caribbean and highlights the sensitivities, challenges, and opportunities, that UNICEF offices in the region face. The project draws on in-depth interviews with all 24 UNICEF country offices and proposes strategies for the UNICEF Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Office to consider.
Family and Child Policies that Promote Early Learning and Well-being
Through a systematic review of the global literature from the last 10 years, this paper adds to the evidence base on child development and supportive environments for early learning and well-being, through the lens of family and child policies. The background paper was written to inform UNESCO’s Global Report on Early Childhood Care and Education, 2024.
