Start here: how to find what you need in SPARC’s work

From 2020 through 2025, Supporting Pastoralism and Agriculture in Recurrent and Protracted Crises (SPARC) generated new knowledge about the resilience of farmers, pastoralists and agro-pastoralists living in the drylands of Africa and the Middle East. The evidence we have produced has helped inform how donors, governments and businesses support people in these regions. Our researchers have worked in 18 dryland countries, including several of the world’s most fragile states.  

In addition to published research, our team has provided technical assistance to governments, funds, NGOs and regional economic communities about how to support people living in some of the world’s most fragile and crisis-affected regions. 

How to browse SPARC’s work 

For a full list of publications… 

SPARC has published more than 200 publications, including policy briefs, evidence reviews, technical reports, journal articles and more. You can browse: 

• Our resource catalogue, containing all of SPARC’s published work by thematic category;
• Our country list, to see what we have published in each of SPARC’s focal countries;
• A full list on our publications page. 

For a synthesis of SPARC’s key findings… 

SPARC has collated its key messages into a number of key resources: 

• Synthesis paper ‘The drylands of tomorrow’ -  Our first synthesis report puts forward a new way of understanding the drylands of Africa and the Middle East. It challenges negative narratives of the drylands as places of poverty, violence and vulnerability, presenting them instead as landscapes of opportunity and resilience.
• Synthesis paper ‘Aid at a crossroads’ - Our second synthesis report that provides practical recommendations for development practitioners, donors and NGOs about how to approach development in drylands, based on SPARC analysis of what works – and doesn’t work – when building resilience.
• Short documentary - ‘Charting new paths in Africa’s drylands’ follows five pastoralist communities who are driving positive change across Kenya, Nigeria and South Sudan.  Each story is rooted in SPARC research, and together they bring out the dynamism, adaptability, self-reliance and innovativeness of people living in the drylands: one of the key learnings from SPARC.  Also in French here.
• Special Issue of the journal Disasters – in this special issue, SPARC researchers explores key themes from their work across Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Sudan and Uganda.  

• Book ‘Pastoral prosperities: Re-thinking African drylands’ - This book brings together contributions from diverse disciplinary perspectives to explore the intersecting themes shaping the future of mobile pastoralism in Africa’s drylands. 

• ‘Africa’s drylands need the right kind of support – listening to the pastoralists who live there’ - Read our editorial about the challenges facing today’s pastoralists in The Conversation. 

• Podcast series - In our two-series podcast, Dynamic Drylands, researchers grapple with some of the most intractable problems in drylands development: from how pastoralists fit in a fast-changing Africa, to the long-term impact of resilience-building projects, and how to work in fragile and conflict-affected areas. 

For SPARC's lessons on how to work in protracted crises... 

SPARC has learned a lot about working in challenging contexts. People who are designing research programmes or interventions in fragile places can browse our blogs, including: how to conduct meaningful research in fragile contexts; our three lessons for effective procurement in fragile settings; and the importance of building strong relationships and trust.

For audio and visual explainers… 

SPARC’s YouTube channel contains 50+ videos, including short explainers, webinars, our podcast series, documentary and more. Our podcast series is available on Spotify, Acast, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and YouTube.  

For blogs and media...

All of SPARC’s blogs and news—including explainers of key reports, updates, links to external media and more—can be found here. 

For key experts... 

If you are looking to get in touch with researchers on any of the main topics SPARC has focused on, you can find our core team here. 

Finally: a note on this website 

SPARC’s website will remain online until March 2027. All publications will be hosted on SPARC partner ODI Global’s eLibrary.  For blogs, audio and media after March 2027, please search on partner websites for any content.