Does your work require IRB approvals?
I don’t think that my work in the Philippines will require IRB approvals. We are not researching people, we are working with them to set up a business venture. We hope to be able to collaborate with them to create high value marketable goods out of recyclable plastic waste found in the Philippines. This type of work, while requiring research into markets and the preexisting ecosystem of the plastics industry in the Philippines will not actually involve human focused research. The only scenario I can think of that we may need IRB approval is if we investigate more deeply into the women of the co-op’s lives. It is possible, if unlikely, that we go down the route and really dig deep into the lives of the women we are working with in an attempt to formulate our workshops in a way that can really harness their creativity.
Develop a Logic Model for your venture
The three main aspects of a Logic Model are inputs, outputs, and outcomes.
- Inputs:
- time planning our business
- time researching plastic recycling
- collaboration with UPD
- time gathering information about the plastic ecosystem
- recyclable plastics
- machines (modeled after precious plastic designs)
- the space our workshop will run in
- Outputs:
- creatavate at Lehigh
- workshop in the Philippines
- development of product design
- high value marketable products
- self-sustaining business
- full-fledged diagram of the plastics industry ecosystem
- Outcomes:
- self-sustaining business
- creative outputs of women in the co-op
- reliable source of income
- increased awareness about tackling the plastic problem
- collaboration with new partners in the Philippines and the United States