James Ron

Dynamic, creative, and adaptable Senior Research Professional with broad experience defining research approaches and methods, managing diverse global and domestic projects, developing useable recommendations, and reporting results to diverse audiences. .

Published widely in scholarly journals and the media. Areas of expertise include :

  • Population-based Survey Design & Analysis
  • Relationship Building
  • Quantitative & Qualitative Data 
  • Global Experience
  • Project Proposal Design
  • Remote Research Team Management
  • Elite & Key Informant Interviews
  • Monitoring & Evaluation 
  • Reporting Results
  • Policies, Books & Articles
  • Cross-Cultural Competency 
  • Resource Development 
  • Project Leadership

  Minneapolis, MN, USA  http://www.jamesron.com            

Work Experience

Owner  •  AZIMUTH SOCIAL RESEARCH

Azimuth Social Research, LLC is a private consulting firm offering customized research solutions for organizations in the private, public, and non-profit sectors. It draws on the expertise and training of social scientists, project managers and evaluation experts with expertise in qualitative and quantitative methods.

January 2020 - Present

Volunteer Evaluator  •  LIFE FOR A CHILD

Life for a Child is a medical non-profit based in Sydney, Australia. It acts on the conviction that no child should die of diabetes. The organization supplies insulin, blood glucose testing equipment, and other critical medical supplies to over 22, 000 children with Type 1 diabetes in under-resourced countries.

- Traveled to India, Mexico, Morocco, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan to assess the medical needs of children with Type 1 Diabetes, verify the integrity of existing programs, evaluate impacts on health outcomes, and recommend programmatic changes. Interviewed and collaborated with dozens of physicians, government officials, civil society activists, and patients.
- In Mexico, assessed the needs of low-income children with Type 1 diabetes in response to requests for international assistance from the Mexican Diabetes Association Developed a new insulin and blood glucose test delivery program for 500 children in partnership with the Eli Lilly Foundation Mexico and the Mexican Diabetes Association. Patient health outcomes improved as a result of this new program.

- In India, as project co-leader, helped design, oversee and evaluate a low-cost medical intervention for 200 children. Based on this data, the team recommended a more cost-effective system for adjusting insulin doses in resource-poor contexts. This new system was disseminated to other health providers in resource-poor contexts.

- In Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, verified the integrity and appropriateness of Life for Child programs; improved local data collection systems; and made recommendations for future program development. Recommendations included developing relationships with Russian blood glucose test manufactures and devising an evidence-based needs assessment tool to better prioritize deliveries of insulin and blood glucose testing supplies.

January 2010 - Present

Professor of Political Science and Public Affairs, Stassen Chair of International Affairs  •  UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA, Twin Cities

- Designed and executed representative surveys (n=6, 100) in India, Nigeria Mexico, and Morocco to
learn about public attitudes towards human rights principles, policies, and organizations. Published a book and numerous scholarly and popular articles and presented findings to major human rights organizations and philanthropies, helping shape policies and tactics.

- Designed and executed two representative surveys (n=2, 000) of the adult population in Mexico City and Bogota to learn whether citizens would contribute funds to civil society organizations. Results prompted at least one major philanthropic group to initiate a new program aimed at helping the organizations' grantees fundraise locally.
- Created, raised funds for, and edited OpenGlobalRights.org, a website for short, evidence-driven articles on international human rights topics in 22 languages. OGR has become one of the field's key international thought leadership platforms.

January 2011 - July 2020

Advisory and Research Consultant  •  HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH

Human Rights Watch is the second-largest global non-profit documenting violations of international human rights and the laws of war.

- Documented human rights abuses in Chechnya, Kosovo, Israel/Palestine, Nigeria, Turkey, Uzbekistan. 

--Wrote three book-length reports on violations of the laws of war in Israel/Palestine and Turkey.  

- Conducted a nationally representative poll of US adults and early Trump supporters to determine human rights attitudes. 

- Led groups of graduate students that conducted evaluations, reviewed research methodologies, and worked closely with Human Rights Watch senior staff. 

January 1992 - December 2020

Post-doctoral Research Fellow  •  BROWN UNIVERSITY

Led qualitative consulting project for CARE, a US-based humanitarian aid organization, to analyze human rights implications of aid programs in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This report contributed to revamping of CARE's do no harm policies and fed into their emerging rights-based approach.

January 1998 - December 1999

Doctoral Research Fellow  •  THE BROOKINGS INSTITUTION

Completed PhD dissertation on political violence in Serbia and Israel

January 1997 - December 1999

Advisory and Research Consultant  •  INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS (ICRC)

The International Committee of the Red Cross is an international body charged with promoting and implementing the Fourth Geneva Convention and delivering humanitarian aid to war-affected populations.

- Led qualitative consulting project, with field work, to determine extent of Red Cross cooperation with the United Nations and others in the former Yugoslavia. Conducted dozens of interviews in Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia Presented findings to Red Cross leadership. Report convinced the Red Cross to revamp their policy towards inter-agency collaboration in wartime.

January 1996 - December 1997

Education

Sep 2018 - Jun 2020

Stanford University

Bachelor of Arts Political Science

Sep 2018 - Jun 2020

University of California

Doctor of Philosophy PhD Sociology

Recommendations


Rachel Denber, MA  

Deputy Director, Europe and Central Asia, Human Rights Watch.

"Jim stepped in to research the situation for civilians during the second war in Chechnya, in the Russian Federation. This was during the very early phases of the armed conflict, in 1999, before it received widespread attention, before most human rights groups and foreign journalist were traveling there, at a time when certain aspects of the armed conflict itself were still inchoate. He very quickly and capably mapped out how to get himself and another HRW colleague close to the conflict as safely possible and interview civilians.

Jim established a strong relationship of trust both interviewees and HRW’s Russia-based colleagues. With the civilians he interviewed, he worked with tremendous empathy. He quickly and with great integrity conveyed information, accurately outlining the problems fleeing civilians were facing and constructing from disparate information a cohesive picture of the situation inside Chechnya.

Jim puts the interests and well-being of survivors of human right abuses first and foremost, together with substantive accuracy and integrity. He is a top-rate, deeply skilled investigator with a big heart.”

Recommendations


Osai Ojigho

LLM Country Director, Amnesty International, Nigeria

“Jim is a visionary and aspirational leader. In the years we worked closely together on Open Global Rights (a platform he created), I learned a lot from him about how to be patient, review after review, and to always keep an eye on the goal of making knowledge accessible to as many people as possible. He treated everyone with respect, was very professional, and dedicated to the editorial team and the contributors. Working with Jim was easy and enjoyable.”


Roland Paris, 

PhD Professor of International Affairs at the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs. Former Senior Advisor on Global Affairs and Defense to the Prime Minister of Canada

“Jim is one of the brightest people I know. I had the pleasure of working with him on a joint project for the Canadian foreign ministry. He delivered an excellent report – concise, clear, well-researched, and relevant. Jim has a remarkable ability to think through research problems, dig up and analyze the evidence, and present the results in a clear and compelling way. I really enjoyed our collaboration.”