Marta Pachocka, Co-coordinator of the Humanitarian Observatory for Central and Eastern Europe and the KNOWCEE project, Centre of Migration Research, University of Warsaw
This Special Issue of the Newsletter of the Humanitarian Observatory for Central and Eastern Europe (HOCEE) is an outcome of the project “Advancing Academia–NGO Knowledge Co-Production in Humanitarian Studies: Insights from the CEE Region (KNOWCEE)”, implemented in Poland between January and June 2026. The project was led by the Centre of Migration Research of the University of Warsaw (CMR UW), the academic co-coordinator of HOCEE, and carried out in close collaboration with two co-applicants: the Migration Consortium (MC), the NGO co-coordinator of HOCEE, and the Ukrainian House Foundation (UHF), a HOCEE partner organisation.
The KNOWCEE project aimed to develop a model of academia–NGO knowledge co-production in humanitarian studies grounded in the experiences of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), strengthen collaborative research efforts, and lay the foundations for more institutionalised forms of knowledge production within HOCEE, with potential for wider replication. Drawing on the expertise of HOCEE partners and taking into account recent developments and current dynamics across the CEE region, the project sought to foster meaningful dialogue and exchange between academic and non-governmental actors, as well as other interested stakeholders.
The project’s main activities consisted of preparing and delivering two in-person workshops, conducted in Polish, on academia–NGO knowledge co-production in humanitarian studies from a CEE perspective. Each workshop actively engaged both researchers and NGO practitioners, who shared their expertise and participated in discussions with attendees. The seminar-workshops were held in April and May 2026. They were attended by between 25 and 35 participants. Both events contributed to increasing the visibility and recognition of HOCEE among local audiences and
strengthened connections between academic institutions and civil society organisations working in the humanitarian field.
