Human Rights in Business: Practical Challenges of Conducting Research with Impact
In the emerging academic field of Business and Human Rights (BHR), conducting research with real-world impact is the declared objective of many researchers. It is a field in which individual research interests and advocacy for human rights are often closely aligned.
Companies under pressure to manage human rights challenges also welcome research on applied research questions. They hope for scholarly guidance on implementation challenges and results that are readily applicable in corporate practice.
However, setting up research projects that meet the sometimes paradoxical requirements from academia and practice poses many challenges for researchers in this field. This includes:
- How can researchers meet theoretical publication requirements while working on applied research questions?
- How can researchers ensure research objectivity and independence if their projects require travel funds and support in the field by companies?
- How can researchers work closely with companies to understand their business challenges while maintaining a critical distance to also challenge them with their findings?
Through concrete examples, Dorothée Baumann-Pauly and Serra Cremer Iyi present GCBHR’s distinct research process and methodology to discuss with participants how to make further improvements. The final part of the webinar is devoted to highlighting the potential unintended consequences of conducting research with the declared objective of affecting change in company conduct.
Date: Thursday, March 25, 2021
Time: 1:00 - 2:00 pm (CET)
Location: Online
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