Event Details

A digital conference open to all researchers who work in lower-and-middle-income countries and/or with longitudinal data.

Are you a researcher or policy professional who works with low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) or with longitudinal data?

Then you are cordially invited to Learning from longitudinal studies in low- and middle-income countries: before, during and after Covid-19, an online conference presented by Young Lives, CLOSER & Lancaster University Management School.

This four-day event takes place from Tuesday 11th to Friday 14th of May 2021, with each day featuring a 90-minute seminar (2 pm-3.30 pm BST).

It will be an excellent opportunity to dive into the challenges and opportunities of longitudinal research in LMICs, learning from researchers’ diverse experiences across a variety of international longitudinal studies.

Each session will feature a panel of experts who will address a variety of questions, including:

What is the role of longitudinal research in addressing Covid-19 and its aftermath?

How can longitudinal data be linked to other data sources or combined with multiple methods to enhance their value?

What have we learned in terms of the practical and ethical lessons for sustaining research cohorts over many years, and how has Covid-19 required us to adapt?

Daily seminar details:

COVID-19 and longitudinal research: opportunities and challenges

Tuesday 11 May, 2 pm-3.30 pm BST

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way that all research is conducted and presents many logistical and ethical challenges. However, longitudinal research has been well placed to respond to the crisis, and build on existing relationships with participants to assess impacts. This session showcases research findings from longitudinal studies that have responded to COVID-19 in developing countries.

Speakers include:

Sarah Baird (Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence)

Marta Favara (Young Lives)

Talip Kilik (World Bank)

Sarah Ssewanyana (Economic Policy Research Centre)

Session moderator: Catherine Porter (University of Lancaster)

Innovation in longitudinal research

Wednesday 12 May, 2 pm-3.30 pm BST

Understanding individuals' behaviours and designing effective policies requires access and management of different data sources. What are these data sources and how can we better link them into our research? This session will present examples of how longitudinal data can be linked to other data sources and the main challenges and opportunities of doing so.

Speakers include:

Yyannu Cruz (Inter-American Development Bank, IDB)

Paul Glewwe (University of Minnesota)

Claire Zanuso (French Development Agency, AFD)

Juan León (GRADE)

Session Moderator: Rafael Novella (UCL, CLOSER)

Doing and Adapting Longitudinal Research: What have we learned?

Thursday 13 May, 2pm-3.30pm BST

This session aims to stimulate discussion on the methodological, ethical and practical challenges encountered in the conduct of longitudinal research in LMICs. It invites speakers from a variety of studies to reflect on their experiences of conducting longitudinal research, how they have adapted due to the pandemic, and what the future of longitudinal research in LMICs might look like.

Speakers include:

Jo Boyden (Young Lives)

Rebecca Hardy (UCL, CLOSER)

Caroline Moreau (Johns Hopkins University, Global Early Adolescent Study)

Virginia Morrow (Young Lives)

Sabina Faiz Rashid (Brac University, Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence)

Alan Sánchez (GRADE, Young Lives)

Session Moderator: Gina Crivello (Young Lives)

Special session: Longitudinal evidence on skills inequality in Peru

Friday 14 May, 2pm-4pm BST / 10am-12pm PST (note 2-hour session)

This session showcases work from the ESRC-funded project, Inequality in skills in Peru. The presentations will feature studies on the impact of recently implemented secondary and higher education policies in Peru. The session will focus particularly on policy implications and invite participation from researchers and policymakers.

Speakers include:

Jorge Agüero (University of Connecticut)

Alan Sànchez (GRADE)

Session Moderator: Santiago Cueto (GRADE).

NOTE: This panel will be conducted in Spanish. We will endeavour to provide a live translation.

Further information:

If you have any questions or require further information about this conference, please contact younglives@qeh.ox.ac.uk

This conference is a collaborative event organised by Young Lives, CLOSER and Lancaster University Management School.