An investigation into poverty in Brazil from the population's perspective will be carried out by researchers from Unicamp in collaboration with the School of Social Sciences at Cardiff University, capital of Wales, United Kingdom. The group managed to approve financing from the UK Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) to examine the issue of poverty using a method called the Consensus Approach already used in several countries. “The methodology brings the population itself to the center of identifying poverty and therefore democratizes the debate around the issue, seeking to identify socially perceived needs”, highlights professor Luis Renato Vedovato, from the Unicamp Human Rights Observatory.
The professor is one of those responsible at Unicamp for research, together with the professor Ana Elisa Spaolonzi from the Faculty of Education (FE). Shailen Nandy, professor of Social Policy and William Baker are responsible for Cardiff University. The Brazilian population will be represented in focus groups whose members will have to answer a series of questions. The published results can support public policies.
The Consensual Approach is a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate whether there is consensus among different groups in Brazilian society regarding the standard of living that everyone should have. Identifying “socially perceived needs” means checking items and activities that the majority considers that everyone should have access to and that no one should be deprived of due to lack of material resources. “For example, children have access to at least three meals a day, people have enough clothes and can access health services when necessary”, says the professor.
According to the professor, the methodology is also one of the few research tools capable of generating data to meet the expectations of International Sustainable Development Goals, an agenda proposed by the United Nations (UN), with the aim of helping the planet prosper.
The research in collaboration with Cardiff is the result of a strategic partnership that began in December last year with the signing of an agreement between the institutions. Poverty-related research focuses on an important social and economic challenge facing Brazil, in Professor Nandy's opinion. “Our objective is to generate information that helps public policymakers and the general public understand how and why poverty and social inequality are generated and persist in Brazil. All governments seek the best for their people and this international collaboration aims to provide evidence to help address these important social and economic challenges.”
Read more about the collaboration between Unicamp and Cardiff University:
Unicamp and Cardiff University seeking integration
Unicamp receives a visit from the rector of Cardiff University
IG will host international workshop in partnership with Cardiff University
