i-Lab Students Showcase Global Solutions in Action
Students from the Masters of Global Affairs program at the Keough School of Global Affairs recently showcased their initial research findings during the 2024 i-Lab Global Partnership Experience.
A unique, year-long consultancy opportunity, i-Lab offers students the chance to work in collaboration with nonprofit organizations on global projects addressing pressing challenges from food security to peacebuilding. Student teams of four engaged in experiential learning at sites around the world over the summer, gathering research focused on a specific question.
While projects remain ongoing, students shared valuable early insights on their respective issues, demonstrating their contributions. The September showcase provided a platform for the second-year students to present work, engage with peers and faculty and gauge public response to enhance their projects as they evolve.
Student research projects included:
Food Security
In partnership with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), students addressed food insecurity through interventions like the Agriculture, Nutrition, and Gender Linkages (ANGeL) and the challenges in scaling projects to sustainably reduce food poverty and increase human development among the most vulnerable populations. The team conducted research in Washington D.C., New York City, Dhaka and South Bend. Preliminary findings highlight a lack of resources and poor communication between the government and those on the ground. They also identified diverse funding, strong local leadership and government support as key factors for success.
Students also collaborated with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) on a study on food insecurity induced by climate change and conflict. The research focused on the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus approach to inform global policy and improve Catholic Relief Services programs. Their work emphasized the importance of empowering communities to meet daily dietary needs and highlighted the positive spillover effects of the nexus approach in fostering social cohesion.
Peace and Cohesion
An MGA team joined Mercy Corps, to address violence through evidence-based messaging in peacebuilding initiatives. The group analyzed ecosystems in the U.S., the U.K., Belgium, and Kenya, aiming to convince politicians, bureaucrats and donors of the benefits of specific peacebuilding messages. Student presenters highlighted the varying demands for evidence and the importance of strong relationships between individuals and larger entities.
A team partnered with Fund for Peace (FFP) examined the factors affecting the State Resilience Index on a global scale. Created in 2022, the State Resilience Index is a tool that measures the extent to which a country mitigates and recovers from a crisis in relation to its severity. Students aimed to enhance the index's reliability and influence in shaping resilience-focused programs. By gathering data from countries like Sri Lanka and Nigeria, they found that trust, inclusion and national institutions play a critical role in state resilience and that resilience exists at the national level and within communities.
Business and Development
In partnership with the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA), a student team explored the Thai sugarcane value chain, a crucial driver of local economies, and how food and agriculture businesses could better support small-scale producers. Through data collection in Bangkok and Surin, Thailand, the team identified a lack of advocacy, insufficient government support and a cycle of debt among producers, concluding that collaborative efforts from multiple stakeholders are needed to resolve these issues.
Finally, a team worked with Oxfam on the Urban Food Hive initiative which addresses food insecurity exacerbated by inflation, climate change and urbanization. Students researched ways to promote local food production and shift consumer behavior, particularly among women and youth. Their fieldwork in Colombia and Nigeria and virtual studies in Kenya, Uganda and the Philippines showed that the initiative improved access to nutritious food through backyard and vertical farming and encouraged innovation in the sector. The team will continue working with Oxfam to advocate for a food policy prioritizing gender and youth inclusion, driving positive change.
Through partnerships with leading organizations facilitated by the Keough School’s i-Lab, each team conducted critical research and gathered initial insights to help drive positive change, said Dory Mitros Durham, assistant dean of academic affairs at the Keough School. The showcase, she said, highlighted student dedication and their ability to address systemic complex issues such as hunger and economic inequality.
The projects will continue to evolve as teams work on creating final deliverables for their organizational partners—scaling projects, presenting in-depth case studies, and writing policy memos—over the next five months. Ultimately, Durham said the students’ work will contribute to shaping more resilient, equitable and sustainable communities worldwide.
Originally published by pulte.nd.edu on November 05, 2024.
atLatest Research
- Notre Dame School of Architecture hosts annual summit for 100-Mile CoalitionOn Saturday (Dec. 7), the University of Notre Dame’s School of Architecture will host its second annual summit for the 100-Mile Coalition. Created by the school’s Housing and Community Regeneration Initiative, the coalition comprises community leaders from cities within a 100-mile radius of the University. The coalition seeks to bring together city and nonprofit organization leaders who are working toward solutions related to housing shortages, disinvested communities, failed infrastructure and stagnant economic growth, as well as talent and workforce retention.
- Tracing Intellectual Legacy: from Henri de Lubac to Gustavo GutiérrezWhen Gustavo Gutiérrez, O.P. passed away last month (October 22, 2024), Pope Francis sent a video message to be played at his funeral Mass which was livestreamed from Gutiérrez’s home country of Peru. Gutiérrez, a mestizo priest who spent most of his life pastoring a poor parish in the slums of Lima,…
- Pulte Institute joins global consortium using research to end povertyThe United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded $75 million to a consortium of leading global institutions, including the Pulte Institute for Global Development at the University of Notre Dame’s Keough School of Global Affairs, to enhance the effectiveness of poverty alleviation programs through research.
- Notre Dame surpasses 87 percent for undergraduate study abroad participationThe University of Notre Dame has once again received national recognition for its commitment to internationalization and global education in newly released rankings from the Institute of International Education. For the 2022-23 academic year, study abroad participation among Notre Dame undergraduates increased by more than 10 percentage points from the previous year — from 77 to 87.5 percent, according to new data published in the Open Doors report.
- Collaboration with Facilities Design and Operations helps Notre Dame grow its global presenceIf you work on Notre Dame’s campus, you can often hear the hum and rumble of a construction site nearby—maybe it’s a new dorm going up, an old building being renovated, or a parking lot getting a geothermal upgrade. This important and innovative work is hard to miss if you’re coming to campus every…
- From the Research Blog: "Ivo of Chartes, De adventu Domini (On the Advent of the Lord)"Cambridge, Corpus Christi, Parker Library 289. Ivo of Chartres, Sermo de sacramentis neophitorum, here ascribed to Hugh of…