46
B. Moser-Mercer et al.
principles, humanitarian accountability, and guidelines for education in emergencies
have recently been developed by the Connected Learning in Crisis Consortium (
http://connectedlearning4refugees.com) to ensure that all voices are heard and all
cultures, including intellectual cultures, are respected.
Learning from and designing with higher education learners thus emerges as the
optimal approach to HEiE, as it puts the refugee learner in the center of the design
process, builds on bottom-up processes of evidence-generation, leverages humanitarian partnerships in an effort to meet humanitarian principles and guidelines, and
thus promotes participatory innovation. Innovation is already part of the humanitarian system. It is driven by a demand for new models and rapid technological change
(Bloom and Betts 2014). User-linked and user-led or “indigenous innovation” is by
definition inclusive and thus has the potential to foster ingenuity among youth living
in fragility contexts.
Since OERs deliver knowledge, encourage experimentation with information,
and invite adaptation to local contexts and languages, they are both “adoptable” and
“ownable.” Such innovation is often termed frugal, grassroots, or BoP (bottom-ofpyramid); HEiE actors consistently point out the challenges of designing for, with
and by users, yet unanimously agree that such an approach opens up many innovative
possibilities for not only finding solutions to problems but also ensuring that these
solutions are compatible with the local context and thus have a higher chance of
successful diffusion (Smith et al. 2013). As Bloom and Betts (2014, p. 28) aptly
state, “…researchers and entrepreneurs from outside the traditional humanitarian
agencies benefit from collaborating with end-users and agencies to define problem
statements and designs.” Although bottom-up innovation in fragile contexts is subject
to humanitarian, legal, economic, and social constraints, there is considerable space
for engagement and “innovation spaces,” which can be physical or virtual spaces for
learning, interaction, and sharing ideas and resources. These spaces are enabled by a
digital ecosystem that supports HE models offering quality education opportunities
and livelihoods and encourages safe, non-physical ways of resolving conflict, thereby
addressing a major humanitarian challenge.
Learning and designing from and with our learners is indeed the bottom-up
approach that has continually informed InZone’s research: When learners reflect
on their challenges on a regular basis, they not only improve their meta-cognitive
skills but are ultimately empowered to be the agents of the change they wish to bring
about. Research and pedagogy are thus intimately intertwined; every study carried
out in fragile contexts should also incorporate a pedagogical agenda. This will discourage traditional research approaches—where refugees are merely the subjects of
research and subsequent solutions and models are imposed on them—and encourage
a participatory approach that engages refugees as active research contributors and
designers of their own spaces.
B. Moser-Mercer et al.
principles, humanitarian accountability, and guidelines for education in emergencies
have recently been developed by the Connected Learning in Crisis Consortium (
http://connectedlearning4refugees.com) to ensure that all voices are heard and all
cultures, including intellectual cultures, are respected.
Learning from and designing with higher education learners thus emerges as the
optimal approach to HEiE, as it puts the refugee learner in the center of the design
process, builds on bottom-up processes of evidence-generation, leverages humanitarian partnerships in an effort to meet humanitarian principles and guidelines, and
thus promotes participatory innovation. Innovation is already part of the humanitarian system. It is driven by a demand for new models and rapid technological change
(Bloom and Betts 2014). User-linked and user-led or “indigenous innovation” is by
definition inclusive and thus has the potential to foster ingenuity among youth living
in fragility contexts.
Since OERs deliver knowledge, encourage experimentation with information,
and invite adaptation to local contexts and languages, they are both “adoptable” and
“ownable.” Such innovation is often termed frugal, grassroots, or BoP (bottom-ofpyramid); HEiE actors consistently point out the challenges of designing for, with
and by users, yet unanimously agree that such an approach opens up many innovative
possibilities for not only finding solutions to problems but also ensuring that these
solutions are compatible with the local context and thus have a higher chance of
successful diffusion (Smith et al. 2013). As Bloom and Betts (2014, p. 28) aptly
state, “…researchers and entrepreneurs from outside the traditional humanitarian
agencies benefit from collaborating with end-users and agencies to define problem
statements and designs.” Although bottom-up innovation in fragile contexts is subject
to humanitarian, legal, economic, and social constraints, there is considerable space
for engagement and “innovation spaces,” which can be physical or virtual spaces for
learning, interaction, and sharing ideas and resources. These spaces are enabled by a
digital ecosystem that supports HE models offering quality education opportunities
and livelihoods and encourages safe, non-physical ways of resolving conflict, thereby
addressing a major humanitarian challenge.
Learning and designing from and with our learners is indeed the bottom-up
approach that has continually informed InZone’s research: When learners reflect
on their challenges on a regular basis, they not only improve their meta-cognitive
skills but are ultimately empowered to be the agents of the change they wish to bring
about. Research and pedagogy are thus intimately intertwined; every study carried
out in fragile contexts should also incorporate a pedagogical agenda. This will discourage traditional research approaches—where refugees are merely the subjects of
research and subsequent solutions and models are imposed on them—and encourage
a participatory approach that engages refugees as active research contributors and
designers of their own spaces.