Kristin Ferguson, assistant professor at the USC School of Social Work, is part of an international interdisciplinary research collaborative that was recently awarded a $125,000 grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Higher Education for Development. This three-year project focuses on strengthening the research capacity of professionals in Nairobi and Eldoret, Kenya, who work with vulnerable children. The grant builds on Ferguson's ongoing research that explores how social development interventions can ameliorate the factors that place homeless and street-dwelling youth at risk for mental illnesses, health problems and social exclusion.

This project aims to establish the University-NGO Coalition-Building Initiative (UNCBI), which is an international U.S.-Kenyan collaborative partnership among the University of Southern California, Daystar University, Moi University and more than 40 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that serve street-living and vulnerable children in Nairobi and Eldoret. Ferguson, a co-principal investigator, is assisting the creation of two Kenyan research-training institutes and developing joint university-NGO coalitions of social science researchers and practitioners to respond to the health, mental health and social needs of these children.

The UNCBI will focus on improving the capacity of those who complete the training to recognize the populations of vulnerable children, especially young females; intervene appropriately and effectively within those populations; and conduct research relevant to them and the agencies that service them. The desired outcome is to utilize data to improve agency and community services relevant to vulnerable children.

The training institutes will enable university faculty and NGO professionals to develop the necessary skills to offer peer trainings in their own cities, form a university-NGO coalition and implement a community response plan to effectively intervene with vulnerable children at the local level.

Nancy Lutkehaus, a professor in anthropology and gender studies at the USC College, will serve as principal investigator. Along with Ferguson, Grace Dyrness, USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture, and Eliz Sanasarian, a political science professor from the USC College, will serve as co-principal investigators. USC School of Social Work Ph.D. candidate Gretchen Heidemann is also a research assistant on the project. The Kenyan partners on the project include Bernard Boyo, Daystar University in Nairobi, and Emily Choge, Moi University in Eldoret.