194 - Elevating New Voices in Crisis: Lesson's from Ukraine's Conflict Observatory

Abstract Information: After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Department of State (DoS) responded in various ways. One of the most notable was the founding of the Conflict Observatory (CO), an independent research consortium announced by President Biden in March 2022 . The CO is designed to collect, analyze, validate, and securely store data on wartime atrocities for ongoing and future legal proceedings by international and national justice systems. Resonance Global recently completed an evaluation of the program and uncovered numerous fascinating findings to share. First, we will discuss how the CO integrated digital open-source data, including social media platforms and very high-resolution satellite imagery, to compile a comprehensive database for use by accountability mechanisms. This database aims to strengthen cases of ongoing and future criminal and civilian proceedings and facilitates evidence-based reporting and communications to strengthen international opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Second, our team will reflect on the implications of utilizing open-source data in evaluations. This could open the doors for information technology and social media-savvy young evaluators to become increasingly involved as evaluation research partners. Finally, we will share strategies for involving researchers based in Ukraine at all stages of the evaluation and incorporating their perspectives in our work through guidance and inclusion principles.