The Facility's Research Programme
Research on this topic thus far concludes that microinsurance is a work in progress, and much more progress is required to really provide value to poor households. Therefore, the Facility's research programme has an important role to play to consolidate existing knowledge and stimulate new learning to move the microinsurance agenda forward. Its main goal is to learn and document how to improve risk-management options by providing better insurance coverage to large numbers of low-income persons.
Research strategy
The Facility developed a research strategy for 2008-2012 with help from various stakeholders and based on a literature review. The strategy paper outlines goals and objectives, key research questions, mechanisms to generate new knowledge as well as an operational plan. The strategy is built on the following premises:
Demand driven: The research strategy responds to key knowledge gaps of practitioners, donors and policy makers. It is not set in stone and evolves according to their needs.
Proving and improving: The term ‘research' is considered broadly including rigorous, academic research to influence policy as well as practitioner-based research to help understand and improve practice.
Adding value: To avoid reinventing the wheel, the Facility draws on past and current research projects in the field and complements them to generate new knowledge.
Partnerships: We welcome the opportunity to work with other organizations to stimulate industry learning and improve knowledge on microinsurance.
Integrated with other Facility functions: The research programme maximizes the learning opportunities of the Facility's other activities. For example, the research agenda influences the selection of grantees to make sure that the proposed innovations respond to the key knowledge gaps. Results from the research serve as primary material for the Facility's communication activities.
To fulfil our ambitious research agenda, the Facility collaborates with an academic consortium – European Development Research Network (EUDN). The EUDN links members of different development research institutions, particularly in the field of development economics, from Europe with the rest of the World. EUDN research fellows have an extensive background in investigating risks, poverty and vulnerability issues in developing countries.
Learning agenda
The Facility's learning agenda is divided into three main areas: 1) client value and impact, 2) demand, 3) supply. The research programme focuses on assessing the potential benefits and the impact that insurance has on reducing the vulnerability of low-income men and women to understand the extent to which the working poor can benefit from insurance as a risk management tool. In addition, the research programme aims to identify good practices in stimulating demand and building an insurance culture, as well as in providing valuable products through efficient and high-outreach institutional models. Last but not least, the research programme seeks to understand why certain solutions work - and why some do not - for both clients and providers.
Research mechanisms
To assist in creating and documenting progress, the Facility uses five main research mechanisms: 1) action research with the Facility's innovation grantees, 2) longitudinal household impact studies, 3) research grants, 4) thematic studies, and 5) research partnerships.
Outputs from different research activities will be consolidated, documented in a series of publications and widely disseminated to the microinsurance industry and to other important stakeholders.
We welcome your feedback on the Facility's research agenda. Please contact us at microinsuranceresearch@ilo.org
|
