Research & Policy Studies – Keough School

Research & Policy

Research, Policy & Practice

The Keough School strives for a high level of integration among the work of academic researchers, policy experts, and practitioners for the purpose of generating new knowledge and eliciting practical insights and solutions. This dialogic method of inquiry focuses on issues such as systemic poverty, war and other forms of deadly violence, disease, political oppression, corruption, environmental degradation, and other threats to dignity and human flourishing.

Goal 16: Promoting Peaceful, Inclusive Societies through Effective, Accountable Institutions

This working group examines the conditions under which social and political action — from social movements and transnational advocacy networks to community empowerment efforts and citizen consultations — contribute to effective change processes, particularly those related to inclusive and accountable governance.

UN Sustainable Development Goal 16 aims to “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.”

Faculty and student researchers examine issues such as democratic governance and state responsiveness; the mobilization of political protest and nonviolent civil resistance movements; the role of transnational norms, institutions, and advocacy in promoting human rights, environmental justice, and political inclusion; and the participation of women, ethnic and religious minorities, migrants, refugees, and other marginalized groups in social change efforts and governance institutions.

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Integration Lab: Developing innovative solutions through interdisciplinary research and training

The Keough School’s Integration Lab (i-Lab) engages students, faculty, and global partners in collaborative, field-based research on global issues. Just as an organization might work with an outside professional firm to address an organizational challenge or policy issue, the i-Lab team of students and Notre Dame faculty work collaboratively with global partners to solve the toughest, most complex global challenges. Drawing on insights from academic research, case studies, and formal instruction in design thinking, systematic analysis, and implementation science, our students tackle critical issues such as quality access to education, effective healthcare, and safe shelter for displaced populations. The i-Lab experience prepares students for careers in global affairs while providing global partners with innovative new approaches to critical issues they face.

The i-Lab is led by Tracy Kijewski-Correa and Steve Reifenberg, directors with extensive on-the-ground experience in global development and partner experiences for student teams.

Other potential collaborative research areas of interest at the Keough School include:

Advancing democratization through peace processes and peace accords by bringing together two established research projects within the Keough School — the Varieties of Democracy project of the Kellogg Institute for International Studies and the Peace Accords Matrix project of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies.
Addressing climate change by connecting Keough School policy professionals, engineers, and scientists with specialists in the Notre Dame Initiative for Global Development, Global Adaptation Initiative (ND-GAIN), and Environmental Change Initiative to explore technically sound, scientifically rigorous, and ethically responsible responses to the social and environmental challenges posed by global climate change while supporting sustainable approaches to environmental management.
Increasing understanding of migration and the rising tide of people displaced by war and environmental degradation, drawing on multidisciplinary expertise within the Nanovic Institute for European Studies, the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies, and the Center for Civil and Human Rights to explore what combination of government, civil society, and corporate practices best eases the plight of migrants and refugees around the world.