Social networks in forcefully displaced communities: Can reference groups help us understand social norms during resettlement?

This research will contribute to the literature on how social networks and gender norms
are formed or maintained among refugees during forced displacement and resettlement.
The data will be collected through a randomized controlled trial (RCT) research design covering beneficiaries of the World Food Programme's cash-for-livelihoods programme and
respondents randomly assigned to a comparison group. The location of the programme is still undecided, but will likely be in peri-urban Damascus with previously displaced Syrians who are returning to resettle. The baseline questionnaire will include a social network module in which respondents are asked to identify individuals whom they would consult on a range of decisions frequently governed by social norms, such as women's time use, control of income, or
leadership in the community. Follow up surveys will then be conducted approximately one year after implementation and will measure the results of these decisions (the woman respondent's time use in the past week, for example) to capture any shifts in gendered norms.