Building a research program to measure and model heads of state travel: the COLT project, A Pardee Lunch and Learn seminar

Since the founding of the Frederick S. Pardee Institute, we have developed an extensive research program over the past dozen years. This program has employed hundreds of students and led to publications in top academic journals. It has also had a significant policy impact within the U.S. government, particularly through its work on Country and Organization Leader Travel (COLT), which has captured data on heads of state and government foreign travel since the end of the Cold War. This research requires substantial infrastructure and staff leadership.

Attendees will hear from Director of Analysis Collin Meisel, who oversees geopolitical analysis among other leadership responsibilities at Pardee, and Senior Project Manager Kylie McKee, who manages the COLT coding project. They will describe the process of building, vetting, and validating this unique dataset. The presentation will also highlight recent publications in International Studies Quarterly and International Studies Perspectives that introduce the key drivers of COLT travel and provide insights into the program's policy impact, specifically within the U.S. government. The event will conclude with a description of how this travel data is being used to forecast geopolitical trends within the International Futures (IFs) integrated model. There will also be time for Q&A and discussion.

About this Lunch and Learn | Pardee is excited to launch a new initiative, in partnership with Korbel leadership, featuring a series of "Lunch and Learn" seminars as part of the recurring KRS series. These Pardee-hosted lunchtime presentations are designed to inform the broader Korbel community (faculty, staff, and students are all invited to attend) about the research approach and applications of Pardee's work. We will feature completed projects, many of which have policy and academic implications, to enhance understanding and awareness of our work and its connection to the broader objectives of the Korbel community. Unlike traditional KRS meetings, we will not present research that is mid-stream; instead, we will focus on work that has already been published. We encourage staff and students unfamiliar with Pardee's research who want to learn more to attend.

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