MIT D-Lab is collaborating with the Center for Development Research at the USAID Global Development Lab to explore research on access to affordable bicycles in Sub-Saharan Africa. The team will work to understand challenges and barriers to using bicycles, and explore opportunities to leverage bicycle-use to increase access to education, shift gender norms, generate income, and more.
Phase 1: Literature Review and Key Informant Interviews
The team is in the first phase of the research, which initially included a broad literature review and interviews with key informants affiliated with the bicycle industry. The team has narrowed down the list of countries to nine (Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Zambia) and is conducting a thorough analysis of existing relevant research in each country and additional key informant interviews. The team will then prioritize the list further to approximately three countries and carry out comparative case studies in each location.
This first phase of the research will be complete in early 2021. By the end of the first phase, the team will develop a presentation on the high-level findings from the research, as well as a prioritized list of research questions and locations for the next phase of the research.
Phase 2: More In-depth Research Study
The research in phase two will be determined by the findings uncovered in phase one.
Team
Dan Frey - Principal Investigator; Faculty Director for Research, MIT D-Lab
Megha Hegde - Research Associate, MIT D-Lab
Gwyn Jones - Research Affiliate, MIT D-Lab
Kendra Leith - Project Manager; Associate Director for Research, MIT D-Lab
Jonars Spielberg - Research Affiliate, MIT D-Lab
Dan Sweeney - Research Scientist, MIT D-Lab
