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Lecture Slides

Slide decks from the Value Chain Analysis guest lecture at Columbia SIPA, taught annually since 2017.

Slides by Year

Year Pages Case Studies Notes PDF
2025 71 Vietnam, Rwanda Single-session format. AI-assisted analysis demo (Deep Research). Satellite imagery for farm mapping. View
2024 58 Rwanda, Vietnam First year as a single combined deck. Co-taught with Joel Arusha and Dave Betts. Rwanda field photography from washing stations. View
2023 89 Vietnam, Colombia Two-day format. Day 2 adds sustainability (CO2, gender, certification), the Fairchain model, and an interactive panel discussion. Arabica climate suitability mapping. View
2022 64 Vietnam, Colombia Condensed to a single session. Streamlined benchmarking. View
2021 71 Colombia, Vietnam Remote delivery (COVID). Day 2 features a live panel with field practitioners (Indonesia, Cote d'Ivoire). View
2020 110 Ethiopia, Vietnam Remote delivery. Expanded waterfall methodology and production cost benchmarking. Ethiopia as primary deep dive. View
2019 99 Ethiopia, Colombia, Vietnam Two-day format. Full processing chain photography. Includes the Oxfam "Mugged" case reference. Colombia headlines on price crisis. View
2018 77 Ethiopia, Colombia, Vietnam Two-day format. Ethiopia ECX and traceability discussion. Colombia institutional model. View
2017 72 Ethiopia, Colombia, Vietnam First year. Establishes the Map / Breakdown / Benchmark framework. Ethiopia data exercise. Interactive clicker questions. View

Evolution of the Course

Case study rotation: Ethiopia and Colombia were the primary cases from 2017-2020. Vietnam was always present as a benchmarking comparison. Rwanda was introduced as a primary case in 2024, replacing Ethiopia. Vietnam shifted from benchmark to primary case in 2025.

Format changes: The course ran as a two-day format (Day 1 + Day 2) from 2017-2023, condensed to a single session in 2022, then moved to a single combined deck starting in 2024.

Guest speakers and panels: Live panels with field practitioners were introduced in 2021 (Indonesia, Cote d'Ivoire) and repeated in 2023. Joel Arusha and Dave Betts co-taught in 2024.

Sustainability content: Climate, CO2 emissions, gender equity, and certification standards were added as a dedicated section starting in 2023.

Core framework: The Map / Breakdown / Benchmark methodology has been stable since 2017. The waterfall chart, export price curve, and yield comparison chart have been recurring visuals throughout.