Funding & Partnership Context for PREAM

The Participatory Research on Education and Agency in Mali (PREAM) project was a three-year study conducted in Mali through a partnership between McGill University, the Université des Lettres et Sciences Humaines de Bamako (ULSHB), and Plan International.

Through a Research Agreement between Dubai Cares and Plan International Canada, the PREAM project investigated the relationship between the agency of adolescent children, especially girls, and their experience of education in conflict-affected areas of Mali. Through a series of participatory methods, the research found that education and agency are mutually reinforcing. Going to school was identified as central to adolescents’ capacity to take action to achieve their objectives in life. Equally, both boys and girls believe that agency can help them to stay at school and to achieve better grades.

PREAM was made possible through generous funding by Plan International Canada’s long-term partner Dubai Cares, a civil society organization formally associated with the United Nation’s Department of Global Communication (UN DGC), as part of its “E-cubed” research envelope to increase the evidence base on education in emergency settings.

Dubai Cares is a UAE-based global philanthropic organization that works towards providing children and youth in developing countries with access to quality education as well as advocating for global education transformation as a core enabler for sustainable development. Dubai Cares was a member of the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) Steering Committee for two consecutive terms, the maximum allowable term.

Regrettably, the long-term impacts of COVID19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the increase in oil prices and the rise of inflation rates globally, had pushed many of Dubai Cares’ donors to put some of their funding decisions on hold. Consequently, this has led to the withdrawal of funding for PREAM just prior to its conclusion.

In relation to the articles that were published in reference to the Research Agreement between Dubai Cares and Plan Canada, Plan Canda is is not in agreement with these articles as they contain non-factual information and also suggest other reasons for withdrawal of funding by Dubai Cares. Plan and the Principal Investigator from McGill University for the Research Agreement maintain a positive relationship with Dubai Cares.

Dubai Cares has confirmed that following the termination of PREAM, it will compensate to cover all costs incurred up to the termination date in relation to the project. Since then, additional funding has been mobilised to enable this research to be completed, bringing forward the important voices and stories of young people from conflict affected regions of Mali.

Read Final Research Report