The Feinstein International Center (FIC) is a research and teaching center based at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

. The Center promotes the use of evidence and learning in operational and policy responses to protect and strengthen the lives, livelihoods, and dignity of people affected by humanitarian crises.

History and profile

The center was founded in 1997 as the Feinstein International Famine Center with an endowment from Alan Shawn Feinstein. The Center was originally set up as a tribute to the victims of the

Irish famine The Great Famine ( ga, an Gorta Mór ), also known within Ireland as the Great Hunger or simply the Famine and outside Ireland as the Irish Potato Famine, was a period of starvation and disease in Ireland from 1845 to 1852 that constituted a h ...

(1840–1846) on its 150th anniversary. It was established as one of two centers of learning on famine, one at the Friedman School in Boston, US, a city that has a large Irish immigrant population, and one at Cork University in Ireland. In 2006, the Center was renamed the Feinstein International Center (FIC). Today, FIC has a research and teaching agenda that includes

nutrition Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient n ...

food security Food security speaks to the availability of food in a country (or geography) and the ability of individuals within that country (geography) to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuffs. According to the United Nations' Committee on World F ...

livelihood A person's livelihood (derived from ''life-lode'', "way of life"; cf. OG ''lib-leit'') refers to their "means of securing the basic necessities (food, water, shelter and clothing) of life". Livelihood is defined as a set of activities essential t ...

refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...

pastoralism Pastoralism is a form of animal husbandry where domesticated animals (known as "livestock") are released onto large vegetated outdoor lands (pastures) for grazing, historically by nomadic people who moved around with their herds. The animal ...

, humanitarian systems and response,

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

gender analysis Gender analysis is a type of socio-economic analysis that uncovers how gender relations affect a development problem. The aim may just be to show that gender relations will probably affect the solution, or to show how they will affect the solution a ...

women's A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female humans regardl ...

and

children's A child ( : children) is a human being between the stages of birth and puberty, or between the developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger ...

right, protection, war crimes, remedy and reparation. Faculty and staff conduct field-based research with conflict and crises affected populations, local and national leaders, humanitarian and development agencies, government agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), International NGOs, and international organizations. FIC faculty and staff are based around the world, including in Boston, Massachusetts, New York, New York, London, UK, Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, and Uganda.

Research focus and publications

FIC faculty and researchers work with local and international partners to conduct and share research on a variety of factors in humanitarian contexts. Its current research focuses within the following themes: * The changing dimensions of

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

and

vulnerability Vulnerability refers to "the quality or state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed, either physically or emotionally." A window of vulnerability (WOV) is a time frame within which defensive measures are diminished, com ...

*Conflict and its impact on civilians *

Food security Food security speaks to the availability of food in a country (or geography) and the ability of individuals within that country (geography) to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuffs. According to the United Nations' Committee on World F ...

and

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including war, natural disasters, crop failure, Demographic trap, population imbalance, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. Th ...

Nutrition Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient n ...

*People on the move:

Migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and Physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

refugee A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.

s, and

*Promoting

evidence based practice Evidence-based practice (EBP) is the idea that occupational practices ought to be based on scientific evidence. While seemingly obviously desirable, the proposal has been controversial, with some arguing that results may not specialize to indiv ...

in crisis and crisis response * Resilient

Livelihood A person's livelihood (derived from ''life-lode'', "way of life"; cf. OG ''lib-leit'') refers to their "means of securing the basic necessities (food, water, shelter and clothing) of life". Livelihood is defined as a set of activities essential t ...

s FIC’s publications are regularly made available to humanitarian actors through its own website and distribution network and a variety of partners, including

ReliefWeb ReliefWeb is a humanitarian information portal founded in 1996. The portal now hosts more than 720,000 humanitarian situation reports, press releases, evaluations, guidelines, assessments, maps and infographics. The portal is an independent vehi ...

,Tufts University Feinstein International Center Publications , ReliefWeb. (2014). Retrieved January 31, 2014, from http://reliefweb.int/search/results?search=Tufts University a UN website for humanitarian actors.

Teaching at Tufts

Feinstein faculty teach graduate level courses and advise Masters and Doctoral students primarily at two Tufts University schools: the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy and at the

Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy is the graduate school of international affairs of Tufts University, in Medford, Massachusetts. The School is one of America's oldest graduate schools of international relations and is well-ranked in it ...

. Courses are offered on the following areas: * Field Research Methods * Forced Migration * Gender and Culture in Complex Humanitarian Emergencies * Gender and Human Security in Transitional States and Societies * Humanitarian Action in Complex Emergencies * International Humanitarian Response FIC administers a Master of Arts in Humanitarian Assistance (MAHA) degree that is offered jointly by the

Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy The Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy (also called the ''Friedman School'') at Tufts University brings together biomedical, nutritional, clinical, social, and behavioral scientists to conduct research, ed ...

and the

. The MAHA program is designed for mid-career professionals from government, international, national and private organizations and agencies who expect to continue working in related fields. The recruitment and admissions process seeks to attract a mix of people from different countries, backgrounds, and experiences to create an environment where participants learn from both the classroom experience and from each other. Additionally, FIC provides technical assistance and training globally.

References

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External links

Feinstein International Center Official Website
Agricultural research Humanitarian aid International responses to disasters Tufts University