Kelly Zhang
Former Research Scientist
Kelly was a Research Scientist at the Busara Center for Behavioral Economics at MIT GOV/LAB. She worked with Busara and MIT GOV/LAB to build out an online experiments research agenda for the Global South. Her research focuses on the impact of information on voter attitudes and behavior. This includes working with partners to design and implement projects that examined how information and technology can shape political discourse and civic engagement. At MIT GOV/LAB, she worked with Busara to co-launch the Behavioral Science in the Field Course in Nairobi, Kenya. Previously, Kelly was a computational social scientist for ACRONYM and data scientist at Social Capital and Crowdpac. During her graduate studies, she worked with various civil society and international organizations including Twaweza, the National Taxpayers Association, USAID, and the World Bank on initiatives aimed at improving governance. She earned her BA/BS in Political Science/Biology from University of California, San Diego and her PhD/MA in Political Science/Economics from Stanford University.
Projects
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Projects May 2020
Public Health Policy and Behavior
Research projects with practitioner partners focused on public health issues and crises, including the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ebola epidemic.
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Resources April 2023
Increasing Knowledge Exchange & Equity between Global North & South Scholars
Scholars from the University of Nairobi, Busara Center for Behavioral Economics, and MIT GOV/LAB explore increased exchange between Global North and South scholars to produce stronger, more innovative research in the fields of development, governance, political behavior, and behavioral science.
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Resources October 2022
Crowdsourcing Content to Improve Vaccine Confidence and Uptake in the Global South
Busara-MIT GOV/LAB case study assessing what types of messaging and messengers are the most effective in increasing Covid-19 vaccine confidence and uptake.
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Resources September 2022
Busara-MIT GOV/LAB Blog Book
A compilation of twelve original lab in the field research designs summaries and bios from the inaugural Busara - MIT Behavioral Science in the Field course.
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Projects May 2020
Data to Inform the Pandemic Response (Covid-19)
How can social science research provide rapid inputs to public health crises? Our team is working with partners to produce data and evidence to inform pandemic responses.
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Resources January 2020
Behavioral Science in the Field Course
A novel graduate course in Kenya providing an interdisciplinary approach to Behavioral Science, with three tracks in economics, political science, and social psychology, and training in the full cycle of lab-in-the-field research.
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Research February 2020
A Novel Approach to Civic Pedagogy: Training Grassroots Organizers on WhatsApp
Research results from a collaborative project with Grassroot, a civic technology organization based in South Africa.
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News September 2022
A Partnership to Teach: Training the Next Generation of Behavioral Scientists with Busara and MIT GOV/LAB
MIT GOV/LAB and Busara's work training the next generation of behavioral scientists.
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News September 2020
[WZB Magazine] Taking Behavioral Science to the Field in Kenya
Training the next generation of scholars in behavioral science from a Global South perspective.
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News April 2019
Designing Social Impact Metrics for Civic Technology
Bringing together partners from the US (POPVOX) and South Africa (Grassroot), we tested a new format to co-develop metrics and civic technology in an iterative design process.