Using Data to Advance Dignity

There is a robust debate in academic and other circles about the merits of quantitative measures of human rights at the country-level and how they are best used. Unfortunately, existing measures are piecemeal and of varying quality. Please join Dr K. Chad Clay and Anne-Marie Brook in a thought-provoking discussion about how we can reinvent the way country-level Human Rights data are produced and used, in order to inspire more ethical behaviour by states and other actors. This seminar will involve an introduction to the Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI), seek feedback on its emerging methodology, and actively engage participants in a discussion about how these new measures of human rights can be beneficial for their own work.

This presentation gives an introduction to the Human Rights Measurement Initiative, goes through the pilot phase metrics methodology, and discusses the impact and broader agenda of the initiative.

About the speakers:

K. Chad Clay is Assistant Professor in the School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) at the University of Georgia. Chad’s work focuses primarily on the determinants of human rights practices, collective dissent, political violence, and economic development. He is actively involved in the measurement of human rights practices, and was a co-director of the (now archived) CIRI Human Rights Data Project.

Anne-Marie Brook is a former OECD economist turned social entrepreneur. She is currently leading the Human Rights Measurement Initiative at Motu Economic and Public Policy Research, an independent not-for-profit research institute based in Wellington, New Zealand.