Context as a starting point.
With local researchers and a network of associates committed to equality and justice, we co-create tools and methods that challenge epistemic injustice, and share the skills to use them.
Social science · Policy · Knowledge exchange
Research that startswith the peopleclosest to the issue.
UMRAN is a London-based social science and policy consultancy. We help institutions design, conduct and use interdisciplinary research across borders and cultures, and we train teams and share what we learn, so that knowledge stays with the people and organisations we work with.
Organisations our associates have worked with
01 / Position
Research for crucial public questions.
UMRAN takes its name from Ibn Khaldun’s ‘umran: how societies hold together, and come apart, through solidarity, institutions and knowledge. In practice, that means starting from deep understandings of how societies, groups and communities are formed and developed.
Our associates’ practice is built on years of fieldwork with communities. We use ethically grounded methods that centre local and Indigenous knowledge, and the people who hold it.
Ethics at every stage.
Our work follows the British Sociological Association’s Statement of Ethical Practice and is guided by dignity, respect and doing no harm to the participants and communities we work with.
02 / Services
Workstreams built on research.
Research, evaluation, training and knowledge exchange, each led by associates with experience in the field.
We help institutions understand the people they serve, their needs and expectations, through careful research. We also help teams build the skills to do their own research.
Typical outputsPrimary researchMixed-methods studiesPolicy analysisParticipatory researchResearch training for teams
We work with institutions to set out their theory of change, establish a baseline, agree goals and assess impact, using participatory and trauma-informed methods.
Typical outputsTheories of changeBaseline studiesMEL frameworksMid-term & final evaluationsRapid appraisalsLearning reviews
We design and deliver training for practitioners, researchers and community organisations, so that skills stay with teams after a project ends.
Typical outputsTraining design & deliveryParticipatory workshopsResearch & MEL skills for teamsPractical guides & toolkitsFollow-up support
We share our experience of child protection, education and welfare in development and humanitarian settings, and help partners design more inclusive programmes.
Typical outputsProgramme designSafeguarding policyAdvisory briefsAdapting standards to context
We help knowledge move between researchers, practitioners, policymakers and communities, in forms and languages people can use. Decolonising knowledge is one of our guiding principles.
Typical outputsEvidence reviewsPolicy briefsPractical guidesKnowledge exchange workshopsArabic–English translationAdapting materials for local use
03 / Standards
Four standards we hold ourselves to.
01
Objectivity.
We report what the evidence shows, even when it is not what the client, the funder or we expected.
02
Social justice.
We work towards fairer public systems, and pay attention to who holds power and who could be harmed.
03
Local knowledge.
We treat local and Indigenous knowledge as evidence, and the context as part of the method.
04
Professionalism.
A clear process, careful writing and work delivered on time. We are accountable to clients and communities for its quality.
04 / Contact