The mandate of the IDRC Research Chair on Forced Displacement in Anglophone West Africa is to advance rigorous, interdisciplinary, and locally grounded research that deepens understanding of forced displacement and informs inclusive, rights-based, and gender-transformative policies and practices in the region. The Chair is committed to strengthening evidence use in governance and development responses, enhancing the protection, dignity, and livelihoods of displaced populations, and addressing displacement through context-sensitive and participatory approaches.

In fulfilling this mandate, the Chair focuses on building the capacity of early-career scholars and local actors to lead research, policy engagement, and advocacy; fostering cross-regional collaboration and knowledge exchange within Africa and across the Global South; and amplifying the voices, perspectives, and lived experiences of displaced populations, with particular attention to gender, intersectionality, and other forms of vulnerability.