UNDP Moldova collects experiences of how people cope with during COVID-19 pandemics

June 9, 2020

Photo: Ion Buga/UNDP Moldova

UNDP Moldova is launching an ethnographic research of individual experiences during the COVID-19 crisis, to contribute to the socio-economic impact assessment on the most vulnerable people and communities.

The initiative belongs to the Moldova Innovation Lab (MiLab) of UNDP and is conducted in partnership with Cognitive Edge – an analytic think-tank based in Singapore.

The ethnographic research encourages persons to share their experience during the pandemics times and answer specific questions. Data will be collected online during June-July 2020. The questionnaire is available in Romanian and Russian. Also, NGOs that work with vulnerable groups shall support the answers’ collection.

Then, MiLab team shall cluster these stories with the same particularities to determine common trends. These results shall be included in the socio-economic impact assessment of COVID-19, initiated recently by UNDP Moldova.

“The collection of micronarratives complements and brings a new people-centered dimension to the analysis of statistical data and other types of data, including big data on mobility, electricity use. We believe that combined analysis of several high-quality datasets would help us unpack the complexity of the socio-economic impact of the crisis and design better response measures in order to build back better,” stated Dima-Al Khatib, UNDP Resident Representative for the Republic of Moldova.

The assessment is prepared with national and international expertise, involving members of the working group on the socio-economic impact of COVID-19, led by UNDP on behalf of the UN Country Team and in partnership with business associations and private companies. The working group consists of UN entities and development partners, thus also ensuring a coordinated and synergistic approach.

Similar ethnographic researched were previously conducted by UNDP Moldova, but also in the region of Europe and Central Asia, contributing to generation of innovative solutions to the problems reported by people.