A community’s judgement of fairness and equity influences their collective decision-making and action. One key task for SIAGI is to develop a justice framework to help explain current, real and perceived issues of social inclusion and equity in communities.

Local analysis of site communities to understand resource endowments, access to resources, livelihood patterns, institutional arrangements along with constraints and opportunities will be undertaken to underpin the justice framework.

The sustainable rural livelihoods (SRL) framework will be used to develop a deeper understanding of the household strategies and livelihood options. The SRL approach uses five capitals (natural, human, physical, financial and social) to understand the livelihood trajectories and future options.

Visions and aspirations play an important role in the life choices and subsequent livelihood outcomes of individuals in rural communities. SIAGI is partnering with local NGOs to facilitate engagement with marginalised groups in the community who have not traditionally been able to voice their views. Engagement with local villagers will be participatory and solutions-focussed through a process of ethical community engagement. This information will help build general trajectories to characterize current social, political, economic and environmental conditions and emerging trends in the region. A set of plausible livelihood trajectories will emerge to describe possible futures of individuals and their communities.

SIAGI takes a neutral approach to agricultural intensification (AI) noting that while there are circumstances where AI enables inclusion, there may also be circumstances where such a transition may disadvantage certain groups.

This information will inform our understanding of the key factors affecting livelihood risks, social exclusion and AI practice in West Bengal and Bangladesh.