What Are Case Studies?
Case studies showcase ethnographic impact: what we did, how we did it, why it mattered, and how organizations and clients calibrate the value of the work. They take us “under the hood” of challenging work across private, public, and nonprofit sectors.
Our independent Program Committees invited proposals through an open Call for Participation in January–April, and carried out a competitive, anonymous review process to select these presentations.
Sessions
These sessions are part of the Main Program in Amsterdam, and will be livestreamed for virtual attendees. Find the schedule for your region here.
Ethnography Leading Social Change across Public and Private Sectors
Monday 10 October, 2:00pm – 3:30pm CEST
Curators: Oskar Korkman, Alice Labs and Anni Ojajarvi, Swanlake
Corporations increasingly take responsibility for societal change and the mark they leave within the world, demonstrated by how they focus on diversity in advertising or inclusive design practices. Public organizations, by definition, are rooted in a society-based purpose and now look to accelerate digital transformation and innovation. In this session, we learn from four case studies across the public and private sectors that demonstrate ethnography leading the way: creating resilient organizations and resilient futures for the public good. Participate in this session if you are curious about designing better social systems, large-scale implementation of ethnographic methods in public organizations, diversity representation in advertising and technology inclusion for people with hearing impairment.
How a Government Organization Evolved to Embrace Ethnographic Methods for Service (and Team) Resilience
Colin MacArthur, Bocconi University
Mithula Naik, Canadian Digital Service
Designing and Envisioning a More Resilient Social System
Sofia Carvalho, With Company
Dismantling Stereotypes: Taking an Inside-Out Perspective to Building Better Representation in Advertising for Unilever
Stephanie Barrett, Quantum Consumer Solutions
Designing and Conducting Inclusive Research: How a Big Tech Company and an Online Research Platform Partnered to Explore the Technology Experiences of Users who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Dana Gierdowski, Lenovo
Karen Eisenhauer, dscout
Peggy He, Lenovo
Practical Resilience: Ethnographic Impact that Endures in a Changing World
Tuesday 11 October, 2:00pm – 3:30pm CEST
Curator: Lisa Kleinman, GoTo
There is a general belief that moving fast (and in some cases, breaking things) is a competitive advantage for business—but this ethos can be at odds with deeper knowledge building and strategic foresight, which are the hallmarks of strong ethnographic insights. These cases re-frame ethnography as a resilient method within shifting organizational structures and needs. They offer specific frameworks and practices for utilizing contextually rich human stories to not only keep ethnography resilient, but also in service of a resilient organization.
Navigating the Next with Resilience: Global Portfolio Strategy in a World of Uncertainty
Giulia Gasperi, TRIPTK
Creating Resiliency of Research Findings: Using Ethnographic Methods to Combat Research Amnesia
Kristen Guth, Reddit
Cybersecurity in the Icelandic Multiverse
Meghan McGrath
