Adapting Research in Times of COVID II (VIRTUAL)

With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020, academics worldwide were forced to rethink their research methods and approaches and to adapt to a new and dynamic environment. Adaptation has been particularly challenging for researchers with projects that promote integral human development (IHD) and its holistic model of flourishing rooted in a person's dignity and full potential. Social distancing and travel restrictions have disrupted access and traditional human interactions with participants and key local partners, economic dislocation has led to geographical relocation and a changing makeup in many local communities; and COVID-19 has added new layers of vulnerability in at-risk communities partnering with researchers. This panel discussion will explore research adaptation strategies undertaken in several projects sponsored by the Ford Program in Human Development Studies and Solidarity and how these researchers have been able to navigate and adapt human-focused challenges in their research as well as the challenges to methods and data collection imposed by COVID-19.

Panelists:
Jackline Oluoch Aridi, Ford Program Regional Research Programs Manager for East Africa
Wyatt Brooks, Associate Professor of Economics, Arizona State University
John Onyango, Associate Professor of Architecture and Kellogg Institute Faculty Fellow
Paul Perrin, Evidence and Learning Director, Pulte Institute for Global Development

Moderator:
Donald Stelluto, Executive Director, Kellogg Institute