Scientific Collaborations with Human Rights Organizations

This series of webinars is being developed by a AAAS Science and Human Rights Coalition project team and is intended to provide useful information to human rights organizations in designing and executing systematic evaluations of their programs and projects (Team Leader: Oliver Moles).

Webinars in this Series

Below, recordings of all our webinars are archived. Also find two curated lists for further resources and expert assistance available for human rights program evaluations. As the series progresses, more resources will be added.

Past Webinar Series

Webinar Archive

Data in Service to Humanitarian Peace, Action and Human Rights
March 7, 2019: Phuong Pham and Patrick Vinck from the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative discuss the scope of the Initiative and how they develop research and technology that is locally grounded and relevant to local, national and international actors who work to enhance humanitarian assistance. Learn more »

Skills to Succeed: Approaches to Blending Science and Human Rights
May 7, 2019: Christopher Ying, Senior Specialist, Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL) and Research at the non-profit Save the Children, will present on Save the Children’s flagship youth employment program, Skills to Succeed, which has collaborated with economists, psychometricians, software engineers and statisticians on a number of research and digital innovation projects, such as the development of a mobile app to encourage young girls in Indonesia to save money and to support youth in Vietnam to practice their public speaking skills. Learn more »

The "Science Factor" in Human Rights Litigation: Engineering a Legal Solution for a Threatened Historic Mexican Town
July 21, 2019: Claudia Gómez Godoy, an attorney specializing in public interest litigation, Teunis Op ten Noort, a hydrologist and member of AAAS On-call Scientists, and Fernanda Venzon, staff attorney at Environmental Defender Law Center (EDLC), discuss the case of the Mexican community of Temacapulin, threatened with flooding by the Zapotillo dam and explain how the scientific advice provided by AAAS On-call Scientist Teunis op ten Noort was decisive for community members, their lawyers and, most critically, the judge, to have a clearer understanding of the dam´s impacts under different proposed project design scenarios. The expert´s scientific advice, provided at a pivotal moment, was crucial for halting the dam construction before it was too late to save the town. Learn more »

Measuring Change in Social Norms within Gender-Transformative Programming
October 17, 2019: Anne Sprinkel, Project Director for Tipping Point at CARE, will explore CARE’s Tipping Point Initiative’s experience with social norms change measurement and translating evaluation findings into impactful program approaches. The Tipping Point initiative focuses on addressing the root causes of child, early and forced marriage by promoting the rights of adolescent girls through community level programming and evidence generation in Nepal and Bangladesh, and multi-level advocacy and cross-learning efforts across the globe. Learn more »

Further Resources

• Applying Theory to Practice: CARE's Journey Piloting Social Norms Measures for Gender Programming - A detailed description of theory and practice behind SNAP and its piloting.
• Tipping Point resources - links to Phase 1 and Phase 2 evaluations, including full reports, executive summaries, and program and policy recommendations 

November 19, 2020: This webinar focused on the American Psychological Association’s (APA) initiative, Equity Flattens the Curve (EFtC). EFtC aims to mitigate COVID-19’s disproportionate impacts on marginalized populations around the world. APA’s Gabriel Twose explained why inequity is a human rights issue, APA’s Keyona King-Tsikata provided an overview of the project, and EFtC Network Member Maysa Akbar explained how it has informed her work as a practitioner and advocate battling the dual pandemics of COVID-19 and racism. Learn more »

EXPERT ASSISTANCE

AAAS On-call Scientists
This program connects scientists, engineers, and health professionals interested in volunteering their skills and knowledge with human rights organizations that are in need of technical expertise. Over 1,300 volunteers are located around the world. 

Statistics Without Borders
Statistics Without Borders is an outreach group of the American Statistical Association. Over 2,000 members are available to provide pro bono assistance in planning and conducting evaluations.