‘Interdisciplinary science and subjectivities in research for development: What are the implications of methods and measures?’

STEPS Seminar – all welcome

Socio-ecological research continues to grapple with how to represent social and biophysical phenomena in integrated and balanced ways. Methodological choices, especially regarding representation of the social, have important implications for the robustness of the science, subjectivities that emerge from different modes of representation and for the politically situated nature of the scientific endeavour.

Todd Crane has recently published several papers addressing these issues, but he will not give any definitive answers because he doesn’t have them. Instead, seminar participants are invited to think through these issues with him, especially in terms of how to integrate these considerations in research practice, both reflexively and analytically.

Todd Crane is a Senior Scientist at the Sustainable Livestock Systems group at the International Livestock Research Institute in Nairobi, Kenya. Trained as an anthropologist, he specializes in climate change adaptation and mitigation issues in sub-Saharan Africa, including cross-scale governance, adaptation as socio-technical process, and low-emissions dairy development. His work in research for development often involves collaboration with biophysical scientists. It also involves working with institutional actors looking for simple solutions and easily measured indicators for complex problems.