From 16 to 18 September 2025, the Institute of Development Studies (IDS) will be hosting an international conference organised by the Better Assistance in Crises (BASIC) Research programme called ‘Social and Humanitarian Assistance in Crises: agendas, ambitions and aspirations for more effective intervention’. This conference will gather researchers, policy makers and practitioners to discuss enhancing global knowledge and action on social protection for crisis-affected populations.

For this conference we are now inviting paper proposals on the following themes and questions of interest:

• Coordination and financing across the humanitarian, development and peace nexus
• Politics, accountability and access
• Sustaining and maintaining systems in contexts of crises
• Strengthening livelihoods in protracted crises
• Methods and methodologies of researching social assistance in crises

We welcome academic and policy-focused proposals for (i) full papers or (ii) briefs or posters, to be prepared before the conference. Indicate your output type in your proposal.

Proposals should be no longer than 400 words. Afterward, participants should be open to refining their contributions for publication and broader dissemination.

A limited number of bursaries are available for participants from the global south to cover travel, accommodation and visa costs. When submitting your proposal, please indicate whether your attendance is conditional on receiving a bursary. The conference will be conducted in English.

The Conference will be primarily an in-person event, but with some sessions and plenary as hybrid, with a lunchtime finish on the 18 September.

Submissions should be sent to: BASICconference@ids.ac.uk

The full Call can be downloaded here.

Deadline: 15 January 2025.