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COVID-19 has severely impacted the society not only in terms of health but also in terms of economic survival of individuals. Unless adequate support is provided, the pandemic will have long-lasting effects, especially on the lives of the most vulnerable, often working in the informal sector. In this article, we present a case study drawing on systems thinking and complexity theory, outlining how the city of Mumbai has responded to COVID-19. We find a multifaceted scenario where non-profit organizations, businesses and citizen volunteers operate alongside government bodies to support Mumbai's population to overcome this pandemic. We provide broader policy lessons, as well as more specific lessons in relation to particular actors, from the first wave of the pandemic stressing the importance of becoming 'systems thinkers' and highlighting the importance of forming new partnerships and exploring new modes of knowledge sharing to effectively respond to crises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the future of Progress in Development Studies (PIDS) and the challenges faced by the field of Development Studies. The outgoing Editor-in-chief, Dr. Catherine Locke, is praised for her dedication to the journal and her commitment to building an inclusive platform. The editorial team, taking over from Dr. Locke, acknowledges the distressing state of the world, with only 12% of progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on track. The article highlights the interconnectedness of global crises and the need for more equal political relations. It also emphasizes the importance of reflexive and critical scholarship in Development Studies, which should reassess contemporary socio-economic and politico-ecological trends. The article calls for decolonizing the academy and addressing power imbalances in research partnerships. It argues for the inclusion of historically non-dominant narratives and voices in academic journals and challenges the Eurocentric practices of peer-reviewing. The article concludes by stating that Development Studies must be critical and question the institutions, policies, and practices that have led to the current state of the world. [Extracted from the article]

There is a growing demand for replications of authoritative works in development studies, which reflects recent trends in other social sciences as well as challenges to important quantitative works in development studies where replications have made contested contributions to understanding. At the same time, there is a strong trend within development towards adoption of medical models of evidence-based policy to find out what policies and interventions work. Replication is a key practice of medical (and natural science) research and was advocated frequently over several decades without success. This article addresses the incentives for replication going beyond a narrow focus on extrinsic rewards, reviews some significant examples, discusses behaviour during replication and draws lessons for replicators and replicatees. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]