Student Intern on Spatial Analytics for Humanitarian Health

Date: 

Monday, November 30, 2020, 12:00pm

Location: 

Cambridge, MA

This is a paid, undergraduate or graduate student position to assist with a Radcliffe Seminar on the utilization of spatial analytics for humanitarian health that is upcoming in February, 2021. This position would include a literature review to identify prudent readings, gleaning appropriate gaps in the research, appropriate seminar questions, case studies, and to stand as a basis for post-seminar publications. The student would be paid on an hourly basis according to the standard Harvard rates for undergrad or graduate students. All final hiring will be handled by Radcliffe HR, but if interested, please email Erica Nelson (elnelson@partners.org) with a CV and a cover letter of explaining your interest in this interdisciplinary research. All student work needs to be completed by the end of this fiscal year – June 30, 2021.

Further information regarding the seminar is below.

The Unexplored Potential of Spatial Analytics for Humanitarian Health

Harvard Radcliffe Exploratory Seminar

February 18th&19th, 2021

To be held virtually

Co-Chairs: Drs. Erica L Nelson and P. Gregg Greenough

Globally, millions are without health care due to protracted crises that leave communities vulnerable and health systems incapacitated. The public health and humanitarian sectors are increasingly adopting geospatial data to target research and design resource-efficient programs. However, in the humanitarian health arena, these data are used predominantly in thematic map format, limiting the insight and utility of geospatial information. There is little evidence and no consensus regarding the application of spatial analytics in the humanitarian health sphere as a means to potentiate evidence-based, targeted programming. This exploratory seminar intends to identify how spatial analytics can better integrate into humanitarian health systems to improve epidemiological research, health care delivery programming, and collaboration in protracted crises and fragile states. Too often ‘best practices’, methodological frameworks, and technologies are born of scientific and expert-driven ideals that have little to do with contextual realities and are exclusive of marginalized voices, thereby undermining feasibility, usability, equity and/or sustainability. By convening experts that utilize and understand geospatial methods with experts in the fields of humanitarian health research and programming, intentionally centering underrepresented voices, and applying user-centered design principles, we intend to 1) investigate the current use and perspectives of spatial data in humanitarian health systems, 2) generate preliminary consensus regarding a best practice strategic framework to apply spatial analytics to humanitarian health programming and research, and 3) identify questions and challenges that must be addressed to generate relevant, implementable, sustainable and equitable conclusions in complex humanitarian environments with diverse needs, capacities and perspectives.
See also: Jobs