The Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science has launched a video with Oxford Sparks on how demographers are understanding and improving our world.
Following on from their success as Winners of the O²RB Excellence in Impact Awards 2021 for their outstanding and diverse data-driven policy interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic, Professor Melinda Mills and her team, have produced a micro-documentary following three demographers as they use new types of data, methods and unconventional approaches to improve our understanding of human populations.
In the video, we hear from Dr José Manuel Aburto outlining the power of demography to tackle the most challenging issues of our time from the impact of violence to COVID-19. Professor Ridhi Kashyap shows how new data from internet and mobile technologies can help demographers understand the world and empower disadvantaged social groups. Then the Centre’s Deputy Director Professor Jennifer Dowd explores how demographers shed light on inequalities using diverse data sources, from biological to social. Professor Melinda Mills said,
This video reflects the breadth and depth of our demographers work to disrupt and realign demography, from studying the impact of increased violence in Mexico to implementing real-time, data driven policy interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to the Impact Acceleration Account and our partners for the opportunity to showcase our team’s efforts to unravel complex challenges and drive positive change.
The centre, directed by Professor Melinda Mills and funded by the Leverhulme Trust, is at the forefront of demographic research that impacts academia, society, and policy. The prize, supported by the University of Oxford’s Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Impact Acceleration Account, as part of the Social Sciences Research, Impact and Engagement team, funded the video.