Child Marriage Research to Action Network
The CRANK is a joint initiative and platform for a coordinated global research agenda on child marriage, and to encourage the uptake of research by policy makers and practitioners. On this page, you can explore what we do, share your research and sign up for virtual meetings and research digests.
The Child Marriage Research to Action Network (the CRANK) is a joint initiative of Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) - United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Global Programme to End Child Marriage.
The CRANK:
- Provides a platform for a better coordinated and harmonised global research agenda on child marriage.
- Encourages the uptake of research by policymakers and practitioners.
The CRANK brings child marriage researchers, practitioners and policymakers together every three months to share and discuss the latest evidence on priority learning topics. It is also a knowledge management mechanism through which we track ongoing and upcoming research by CRANK members, monitor patterns and identify gaps.
Find out more about the background of the CRANK.
*The Global Programme is generously funded by the Governments of Belgium, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom, the European Union and Zonta International.
Get involved
Share your research
You can share details of your research, briefs and tools to be included in the CRANK's Research Tracker. By doing this, you are contributing to a coordinated, harmonised global research agenda.
See what others are working on
The CRANK's Research Tracker is a curated resource of child marriage research by CRANK members. Use it to avoid duplicating research, and to identify priority research areas.
Sign up to the CRANK
CRANK is open to all. By signing up you can participate in research sessions, receive the biannual research digest and share your work through the online research tracker.
Join our Research Meetings
Join our online meetings to learn about and discuss the latest child marriage evidence and practice. Explore resources from previous meetings on a wide range of topics in English, French, Spanish.
Access Research Spotlights
Gain insights for evidence-based action with our research synthesis and summaries - highlighting key considerations and tools to guide your programming, research and advocacy.
Related content
CRANK Research Spotlight: Cash and asset incentive schemes to address child marriage and support married girls
Research Spotlight looking at the evidence behind the WHO recommendation to offer cash and/or incentives conditional on schooling, and the implications for policy and programmatic work and research. Includes additional evidence, insights and practical tools to support implementation of such incentives.
CRANK Research Spotlight: Girls' empowerment interventions to address child marriage and support married girls
Spotlight and poster exploring the evidence behind the WHO's conditional recommendation to implement interventions to empower girls by building their knowledge, skills, assets and social networks. The appropriateness of this recommendation is conditional on context (conditions) and the individual involved (circumstances). Includes implications for policy and programmatic work and research, and practical tools to support implementation.
What's known & what's next: Charting future action on the mental health consequences of child marriage
A thematic brief and summary report from the CRANK's symposium on child marriage and mental health, including evidence on what works, priorities and practical tools to support girls who are, or have been, married.
Evidence review: Child marriage interventions and research from 2020 to 2022
Review looking at emerging evidence on interventions to prevent and respond to child marriage and support married girls. Includes key takeaways organised by theme and recommendations for child marriage research, programming, policy and funding.
Find out more and collaborate to end child marriage
Learning and Resources
Here we provide thematic overviews of the latest evidence on child marriage and what works to end it, as well as practical guidance on how to use this in your work. We share a selection of briefs, fact sheets, toolkits and other leaning products on child marriage, as well as guidance on advocacy, youth activism and fundraising.
Child marriage atlas
The only online source for comprehensive data on child marriage worldwide. Explore the latest UNICEF data alongside country-specific insights and actions to address the issue.