Education & Leadership - Information and Research Center

Launched in 1996 as part of the National Task Force for Children, the Information and Research Center (IRC) became a separate entity in 2001. The IRC is a policy research center that provides access to research materials, models, and methodologies. It also produces practical tools that can assist practitioners and policymakers in promoting awareness and more effective targeted socio-economic planning. The Center’s areas of focus include early childhood development, child labor and protection, poverty, women’s and children's rights, and culture. Since its inception, the IRC has received technical and financial support through the Chapin Hall Research Center at the University of Chicago.

Ongoing National Projects

Family Education in Poverty Pockets
In coordination with NHF’s Poverty Pockets Program, the IRC is employing its early childhood development tools in poor, rural areas throughout Jordan. The project targets children (0-8 years old), and trains families to develop auto-sensory skills, mathematics, and linguistic skills through home-made toy-kits.

Capacity Development of the Family and Child Protection Society
IRC is coordinating a pilot project in Irbid municipality to provide economic opportunities to 30 families in return for withdrawing their children from the labor market. The role of IRC is to provide training and technical assistance to start and document this project, including designing and administrating a database to manage eligible cases.

Experience of Migrants
Jointly with the Chapin Hall Center for Children and the Dartington Social Research Unit in the UK, IRC has contributed to a study that explores the social and psychological experiences of migrants in many parts of the world.

Mapping of cultural donors in eight Arab Countries
The IRC is conducting qualitative mapping of cultural donors in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, funded by the European Cultural Foundation (ECF), the Ford Foundation, and the Swedish SIDA. The project is designed to provide critical analysis of current funding priorities, deficiencies, and key independent players in the region. The results of this ongoing research will provide indicators to asist the development of donors’ future priorities.

Restructuring the Cultural Program of the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM)
IRC conducted an assessment of GAM’s cultural programs for children and youth in the city. The goal is to restructure these cultural programs after a process of long-term strategic planning.

Situation analysis of civil society in Jordan and Syria
Save the Children Denmark has commissioned IRC to conduct an overview of civil society’s role in upholding the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) in Syria and Jordan.

KHF Main Page