The goal of the March meeting was to discuss the topic of  policies and technology investments related to COVID-19. Speakers from Angola and the US presented on their efforts in this area and how it relates to the Vida project. There was also a discussion period after the presentations to facilitate sharing of insights and lessons learned.

Summary information for the meeting can be found here.

Please view the agenda below. Slides from each presenter are linked in the agenda.

The Space Enabled research group at the MIT Media Lab is leading a team to design decision support tools to inform public policy in response to challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This project creates a platform for collaboration between technologists to build the Vida Decision Support System, a customized online tool targeted for use by public sector officials at the city and regional level who are making policies regarding public health, the economy, or environmental management. The Vida Decision Support System helps city and regional leaders understand the relationships between important societal factors that are changing by creating models in the following areas: Public Health, Environment, Socioeconomic Impacts, Public Policy, and Disease Surveillance Technology. Vida is based on an integrated Data Visualization and Modeling Framework created by the Space Enabled research group at MIT that combines multiple data sources and creates simulations of the current or potential future states of a city or region. More background information about the Vida Decision Support System can be found here.