Content and Technical Expertise in Refugee and Migrant Initiatives
AIR offers a broad range of services in areas that support our human rights and refugee initiatives.
We are committed to applying and producing the best evidence and the highest quality work. Our quality assurance process encompasses all stages of a project, from research design to evidence-based conclusions and recommendations, to implementation and scale-up. Further, we provide rigorous monitoring and evaluation, including mixed-methods approaches, as well as process, outcome, and impact evaluations.
Trauma-Informed Care
Trauma-informed organizations ensure that mission, culture, and practice are aligned to recognize and support trauma-survivors. We are committed to addressing the effects of trauma on children and adults by helping to build trauma-informed service organizations, systems, and communities. We have developed training materials, assessment tools, and programs designed to promote healing and resilience, ensuring the following:
- International and local organizations and service providers are aware of the prevalence and impact of trauma among the people they serve and know how to respond in a trauma-sensitive manner.
- Organizations address and mitigate the negative effects of trauma on children, youth, and adults who are receiving care and are able to develop improved outcomes across systems and coordinate efforts to build healthy communities.
- Organizations that provide services for trauma survivors in humanitarian and development contexts can create environments that promote healing and resilience for their own staff.
- Trauma survivors receive the highest quality care.
Learn more about AIR's services in trauma-informed care >>
Youth Development and Supportive Learning Environments
Fostering social and emotional well-being is a key component in improving conditions for learning. We conduct research and evaluation activities and provides technical assistance, consultation, and communication activities regarding the mental health of children and youth, increased policy and programmatic supports for positive youth development, and the social and emotional conditions for learning.
AIR provides services in the following areas:
- Developing a vision and mission that includes social and emotional learning—the ability to successfully communicate, resolve conflict, interact with others, and manage emotional responses—so youth can do better in school and life
- Providing tools, resources, and expertise to guide integration of SEL and school climate with other initiatives like academic instruction, discipline policies, and educator effectiveness
- Fostering social and emotional well-being as a key component in improving conditions for learning and living and contributes to increased social cohesion
Learn more about AIR's services in social and emotional learning >>
Livelihoods Protection
Our work encompasses the entire employment life cycle—labor market preparedness, recruitment, selection, performance management, training, retention, and more—and provides our public and private sector clients with unique insights and solutions.
AIR’s Workforce Solutions develops and evaluates tools, systems, and programs designed to ensure the following:
- Employers are prepared to recruit, develop and retain the human capital needed and relevant for the job market.
- Individuals have the relevant skills needed to engage in an existing labor market or adapt to changing environments so that they can meet their households needs and contribute to their communities.
- Organizations providing vocational and technical training in humanitarian and development contexts are able to work with host ministries of labor or manpower and map existing skill and competency needs with training opportunities.
Learn more about AIR's services in workforce development >>
Literacy and Language Acquisition
Our work in reading and literacy focuses on research-based and language-specific methodologies. Our literacy and Center for English Learners experts specialize in language transition, relevant in contexts of forced migration where the language spoken may not be the same as the language in a host community or resettlement country.
AIR provides services in the following areas:
- Investigating teachers’ knowledge of beginning reading instruction and second language acquisition
- Mapping languages to determine which are spoken in which contexts and the extent of language preference or dominance for students being raised multilingual
- Studying the effectiveness of computer-based reading interventions and teaching instruction for low-literate adult learners
- Guiding instruction for adult struggling readers
- Evaluating literacy and language programs
- Providing research-based professional development to help educators and administrators meet the needs of a diverse population
- Implementing evidence-based language specific reading programs for in-and out-of-school children/youth
- Strengthening instruction materials and methods to improve literacy and language acquisition in new settings for adult learners
- Evaluating education programs or initiatives by using data to inform programmatic decisions
Learn more about AIR's services in reading and literacy >>
Disability and Rehabilitation
Supporting individuals with disabilities to complete a high quality education and enter the workforce prepared for careers and independent living is critical. AIR’s work promotes the independence and resilience of adults with disabilities and youth who are transitioning between school and workforce. This work can be leveraged to help individuals adapting to new environments as part of migration, or experiencing re-entry into communities post-conflict as part of peacebuilding efforts. Our goals are to do the following:
- Transform public perceptions of transition-aged youth and adults with disabilities
- Inform policy and practice that promotes the dignity and rights of persons with disabilities or those engaged in rehabilitation
- Apply knowledge translation approaches to make disability research relevant to all stakeholders
- Enhance employment and other outcomes for people with disabilities by partnering and collaborating with individuals and organizations in the disability community
Learn more about AIR's services in disability and rehabilitation issues >>
Child and Youth Gender-Based Violence Prevention
Our work across Latin America and the Caribbean looks at risk factors for and drivers of interpersonal and communal violence, identifies examples of positive deviance related to mitigating violence through behavior and attitude change, and provides evidence-based approaches to child protection and response and referral systems for vulnerable youth.
Current projects:
Alliance pour la Protection des Enfants - Haiti
Latin America and the Caribbean - Youth Violence Prevention
AIR can provide services in the following areas:
- Analyses of crime and violence data
- Assessments and evaluations of programs and interventions with evidence-based recommendations for improvement and scale-up
- Design and development of local communication and coordination models among first responders to sexual gender-based violence
- Design and implantation of child protection interventions using local assets and resources
- Strengthening deterrence, conflict mediation, and negotiation strategies
