Rights Lab Visiting Fellow in Human and Labour Rights Measurement and Evaluation
Email: Lauren.Damme@nottingham.ac.uk
Lauren K. Damme, Ph.D., collaborates across the Rights Lab on research relating to forced labour data, measurement and evaluation. She is an internationally-recognized leader in measurement and evaluation of human rights, with over two decades of experience designing and managing large-scale research initiatives. She is one of the foremost global experts in the measurement of labour exploitation, including child labour, forced labour and human trafficking. She has worked across 30+ countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe, providing strategic and technical leadership to governments, international organizations, and multilateral agencies. Her work spans the public, philanthropic, academic and private sectors and focuses on building accessible, actionable evidence to improve outcomes for vulnerable populations.
Dr. Damme led the U.S. Department of Labor’s global evaluation portfolio on child labour, forced labour, and human trafficking, negotiating bilateral agreements with ministries and overseeing field-based prevalence surveys and rigorous impact evaluations in low-resource, high-risk settings. She later served as Director of Research for DOL’s Chief Evaluation Office, where she oversaw more than 150 evaluations across labor, education, and social protection programs for partner agencies overseeing $14 billion in taxpayer funds. Under her leadership, the office doubled its project portfolio with clients, launched three national research programs, and received the White House’s recognition for innovation in evaluation.
She currently serves as a Senior Fellow at the Data Foundation, where she advises on the intersection of artificial intelligence and evidence-building, and as an adjunct professor in program evaluation at George Washington University's Trachtenberg School of Public Policy. Her previous roles include quantitative and qualitative research, evaluation and measurement support for the International Labour Organization, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, Demos and the Freedom Fund. She brings a thoughtful, pragmatic approach to developing actionable data for clients. Her advisory work has produced national-level policy and programmatic changes, including national-level scale-up or revision of evidence-based interventions that improved education and income outcomes for millions of children and families.
Dr. Damme holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Program Evaluation from George Washington University, an M.Sc. in International Development from the London School of Economics, a B.Sc. in Business and Survey Research from Iowa State University, and numerous certifications in generative artificial intelligence. A sought-after speaker and trusted adviser to UN agencies, foundations, and governments, she continues to push the frontier of ethical, rigorous, and impact-focused research and evaluation to advance human and labour rights. Her forthcoming book, Human Trafficking Among Domestic Workers in the Middle East: Empirical Insights on the Roles of Recruiters and Labor Supply Chains, will be published next year.