Dr Sammia Poveda

Sammia’s research aims to highlight the importance of a psychosocial decolonial perspective to development theory and practice, exploring the interplay of the body and the mind in development interventions, to understand the role of ideology and empowerment within gender, class and race oppression and their intersections. 

This calls for a theoretical framework that prioritises history and centres power and subordination, considering social and psychological factors, and their interplay within individuals, collectives and societies. The objective is to understand oppression and the possibility of autonomy and emancipatory self-transformation. 

Sammia’s research aims to bring mental health into the thinking and practice of development work, as a way to support not just the material well-being of individuals, collectives and societies, but their autonomy and agency. This work informs and is informed by critical theory, critical pedagogy and liberation psychology. Empirically, Sammia’s research has worked closely with local actors to, through action-research projects, contribute to academic knowledge and situated learning and change. 

Previously, Sammia has collaborated with a social enterprise research, NGOs, multilateral organisations (UNDP Myanmar, ITU), as well as local governments (Campinas Municipality in Brazil), working closely on digital literacy projects, women’s empowerment initiatives, the recovery and reintegration of survivors of modern slavery, and the strengthening of waste pickers’ cooperatives. Sammia’s research has taken place in South America and South East Asia (Brazil, Peru, Myanmar and the Philippines).

Current research

Psychosocial and technical barriers and opportunities to membership and engagement in waste pickers cooperatives

This project, in collaboration with a Civil Society Organisation, investigates the role of cooperatives as a mechanism for social inclusion for vulnerable and marginalised communities in Brazil. Using online methods, this study aims to bring the voices of the cooperative members to the forefront of the discussions, to identify internal and structural opportunities and barriers members face when trying to consolidate their cooperatives.

Previous research (selected)

Recovery and reintegration of survivors of modern slavery (Philippines)

This project,  co-led with Dr Hannah Thinyane from UNU-CS, took place in the Philippines, in partnership with a social enterprise. The project examined the role that ICT training and employment, combined with holistic support (mental and physical health training, financial training, counselling), had in supporting trafficking survivors’ autonomy, emancipatory self-transformation and their reintegration to society. It was informed by a theoretical framework drawing from critical theory, critical pedagogy and the capabilities approach. Fieldwork for this project used Participatory Video and Storytelling, combined with qualitative methods such as interviews and observations. 

Psychosocial wellbeing, ICTs and post-conflict societies (Myanmar)

This project took place in 2XXX, during the brief democratic interim period in Myanmar. As a country opening up to the internet, this project examined the impact of ICTs on people’s psychological and physical wellbeing and its relation to their ability to identify and challenge the root causes of their disadvantage. This project had two sub-projects:

Mobile Information Literacy (MIL) training for librarians: Using action-research and participatory methods, and in partnership with a local NGO, this project explored the impact of Mobile Information Literacy (MIL) training on the participants’ psychosocial wellbeing.

Mobile application for women’s empowerment: Working in partnership with UNDP Myanmar, this project evaluated the impact of a mobile application co-designed by UNDP and a rural network of women. This project explored the impacts that the co-design process and the use of the mobile application had on the rural women’s development. Results of this work were discussed closely with UNDP Myanmar, resulting in a report to be shared with other UN organisations and beyond.