Seminar

Vera Vernooij: The practices and challenges of conducting integrative research about how to ‘green’ the dairy sector in Kenya

In the framework of Low Emission Development, there is political momentum and a presumed win-win-win potential to reduce emissions from dairy, while increasing the productivity of cows and thereby people’s incomes in Kenya. This scenario requires integrative research to emissions from dairy, farming practices, the economics of dairy production, and the institutional and political feasibility. Focusing on the latter, I will share practices and challenges of studying the political economy of dairy development in Kenya.

Organised by	Knowledge Technology and Innovation
Date	Tue 9 January 2018 12:00 to 13:00
Venue	Leeuwenborch, building number 201 Hollandseweg 1 201 6706 KN Wageningen +31 (0)317 48 36 39
Room	C68

Specifically, working on a project with scientists of different disciplines has shown the methodological challenge of sampling. I want to start from this challenge and reflect on the cause of the issue, how it was addressed, and what the consequences are for the research results as well as what it can tell us about the challenges of conducting integrative research with regards to methodology and theory. Additionally, I will reflect on more practical challenges regarding integrative research, in particular on my experiences with engaging with research participants as being part of an interdisciplinary team, and on ethical dilemmas. I will shortly reflect on the political economy of integrative research, and end with points of discussion regarding the integration of theories, where I could use most feedback.

Contact person dr.ir. SR (Sietze) Vellema

Contact

Vera Vernooij

Vera Vernooij works at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Nairobi. She collaborates with our former colleague Todd Crane and is a PhD candidate at the KTI-group. She is part of the team working on the recently approved NWO WOTRO-project Inclusive Low-Emission Development (i-LED): East African dairy.

The craft of doing integrative research

The KTI seminar series aims to share hands-on experiences in doing integrative research, to discuss the methodological and theoretical challenges, and to examine how we can engage with society and still address the bigger questions of today and tomorrow. We will organise a bi-weekly seminar series. We plan to discuss on-going research, which offers PhD candidates to share their insights and discussion. In addition, we look for staff members who want to initiate a seminar based on their reading of an interesting paper relevant for the discussion on doing integrative research. Feel free to contact the organisers if you want to contribute to the seminar series.