Will Sullivan
Projects
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News August 2024
Building Trust in Government in a Digital World
A new study from Busara and MIT GOV/LAB in Kenya finds that a messaging strategy emphasizing private sector involvement could boost interest in public services in the short term, but could erode trust in government in the long term.
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News July 2024
[MIT News] Researchers Study Differences in Attitudes Towards Covid-19 Vaccines between Women and Men in Africa
While women and men self-reported similar vaccination rates, unvaccinated women had less intention to get vaccinated than men.
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News October 2023
Contextualization is Key: The Importance of Tailoring Development Projects to Local Needs
A working paper co-authored by MIT GOV/LAB partner affiliate Luke Jordan uses a machine learning model to show that development projects that are tailored to a country’s context are tied to successful development outcomes
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News May 2023
[MIT News] Governing for Our Descendants
In a recent essay, Professor Lily L. Tsai shares ideas on how to include future generations, who will face the climate crisis we’ve created, in our definition of our collective society.
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News May 2023
A Conversation with Gideon Too, an MIT GOV/LAB Practitioner-in-Residence
Gideon Too from Busara spoke about his experience studying governance and accountability and the synthesis report he’s developing at MIT.
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News April 2023
[MIT News] Championing Health Workers to Lead Vaccination Efforts in Uganda
A survey to measure who was getting vaccinated against Covid-19 in Uganda finds health workers had an important role to play.
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News February 2023
Paying Taxes without Receiving Services: Informal Settlements in Lagos
In research published in the journal Studies in Comparative International Development, MIT GOV/LAB researchers look at factors influencing people’s willingness to pay taxes in informal settlements in Lagos, Nigeria.
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News December 2022
Measuring How Trust Shapes People’s Attitudes Towards Covid-19 Vaccines
MIT GOV/LAB collaborated with researchers in Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Senegal, and Nigeria on phone surveys to measure factors influencing vaccine uptake and interest.
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News November 2022
Political Science Graduate Students Use MIT GOV/LAB Funding to Conduct Dissertation Research
With funding from MIT GOV/LAB, PhD candidate Stuart Russell and Blair Read PhD ‘22 conducted research for their dissertations in Burkina Faso and India, respectively.
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News October 2022
How Community Media in India Holds Local Officials to Account
Gabrielle Kruks-Wisner PhD ‘13 is working with a network of citizen journalists in India to learn more about how information sharing can contribute to better citizen-state relationships.
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News August 2022
Introducing Anisha Singh, Our New Practitioner-in-Residence
Anisha Singh from Busara gives thoughts on how to conduct behavioral science research in the global south and how she’ll be sharing those learnings at MIT.
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News July 2022
[MIT News] MIT Governance Lab Hosts Speaker Series on Governance Innovation
MIT News covers the ‘Meet the Governance Innovation’ speaker series hosted by the MIT GOV/LAB
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News September 2021
Studying Community-Driven Development Projects in Indonesia
Ying Gao, an MIT PhD student and MIT GOV/LAB researcher, is looking at how collaborations on service delivery between governments and communities impact leaders in informal communities.
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News August 2021
Introducing Lula Chen, Our New Postdoctoral Associate
Lula and MIT GOV/LAB science writer Will Sullivan discuss her past research, as well her graduate studies and upcoming work at MIT.
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News August 2021
[MIT News] Making Voting Easier for Previously Incarcerated People
People rarely vote after being incarcerated. Associate Professor Ariel White wonders what can be done about it.
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News July 2021
Trust as a Prerequisite for Compliance: Assessing Trust in Sierra Leone During Covid-19
Our second survey in Sierra Leone during Covid-19 showed that citizens are trusting of different authorities, suggesting people might be willing to comply with public health policies.
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News July 2021
[MIT News] Study Finds Lockdowns Effective at Reducing Travel in Sierra Leone
MIT researchers use cell tower data to show that movement during Covid-19-related lockdowns declined the most in wealthier areas with more people.
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News July 2021
Relationships Between the Formal and Informal Sector: An Exploratory Survey
We asked members of organizations working on issues related to the informal sector about how they worked with informality and how Covid-19 impacted this work.
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News July 2021
Pandemics, Policy, and Privacy: A New Guide on Using Data During Crises
MIT’s Governance and Civic Data Design Labs published a technical guide on how to use people’s movements to answer policy questions during crises while keeping people’s data anonymous and private.
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News July 2021
[MIT News] Governance Innovation Bootcamp Culminates in Pitch Night
Civil servants from Sierra Leone present ideas developed at a boot camp organized by MIT Governance Lab and Sierra Leone’s Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation.
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News April 2021
[MIT News] A Guide to When and How to Build Technology for Social Good
The first lesson? Most of the time, you probably shouldn’t build new civic tech.
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News April 2021
[GPSA] The Challenges with Reaching Vulnerable Communities During Crises
In planning its Covid-19 response, Sierra Leone needed to consider the needs of its most vulnerable citizens. Surveys conducted by the MIT Governance Lab and the Institute for Governance Reform tried to capture their voices.
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News March 2021
[MIT News] A New Goal for Soccer: Improving Attitudes Toward Refugees
While a national soccer win can stoke anti-refugee sentiment, messaging promoting diversity can reverse this effect.
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News February 2021
[MIT News] Visiting Undergraduates Collaborate with MIT PhD Students on Research through MIT GOV/LAB Mentorship Pilot
Program aims to increase research opportunities and give PhD students mentorship experience.
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News February 2021
A Conversation with Luke Jordan, MIT GOV/LAB’s Practitioner-in-Residence
Jordan talks about his guide for designing civic technology and his research into ways artificial intelligence and machine learning can be used to advance democracy in the developing world.
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News January 2021
[MIT News] In Brazil, a Look at Why Health Care Declines Around Elections
Guillermo Toral PhD '20 finds health care quality drops in months leading up to mayoral elections, and if the incumbent loses, the quality continues to fall.