Tuesday, June 10, 2014

CfPs: Conference on Making impact evaluation matter: Better evidence for effective policies and programmes, ADB Manila, 1-5 September

Conference on Making impact evaluation matter: Better evidence for effective policies and programmes
Asian Development Bank, Manila, 1-5 September 2014

Call for Papers
Introduction and background: Impact evaluation has become established on the international development agenda. However, challenges remain. There are certain areas of development work, for which, construction of quantitative counter factuals is not the best approach to establishing impact. For key sectors, such as infrastructure, establishing rigorous counterfactuals proves to be difficult. In addition, approaches to bridging the research to policy gap continue to be discussed, as do means of conducting and presenting evidence syntheses. Finally, as a greater number of impact evaluations are produced, it is challenging to incorporate their findings into institutions' results and monitoring and evaluation frameworks. An increasing number of governments in the region are recognising the importance of evidence from impact evaluations. The Independent Evaluation Office of the Indian government has started its operations. The Government of the Philippines has allocated budget resources to the impact evaluation of government programmes. Against this background, the Asian Development Bank and 3ie have agreed to partner to organise a large international conference on impact evaluation. This is the first large-scale, global impact evaluation conference in the region. The conference aims to attract 400-450 participants from around the world, with an equal mix of policymakers, programme managers and researchers.

Pre-conference workshops and conference: The event comprises pre-conference workshops for 2.5 days from 1-3 September 2014, and 2.5 days of conference from 3-5 September. There will be six streams of pre-conference workshops. The conference will have up to eight streams of parallel sessions, allowing for around 150 presentations. This call invites proposals for both the pre-conference workshops and presentations for parallel sessions.

Conference themes: Presentations are invited on all aspects of impact evaluation, including findings, methods and translation of evidence into policy. Researchers are welcome to submit proposals on the design (particularly innovative designs for difficult to evaluate interventions), implementation, findings and use of impact evaluations and systematic reviews. Policymakers and development programme managers are welcome to submit proposals on the use of impact evaluation and systematic review findings. Parallel sessions at the conference will be organised around the following themes/sectors: (a) infrastructure (transport, energy, information and communication technology, urban development, and water), (b) climate change/ environment/ natural resources, (c) social development (health, education, gender equity, poverty and any other aspect of social development), (d) rural development (agriculture, food security and any other aspect of rural development), (e) financial inclusion, (f) institutionalisation of impact evaluation, and incorporating impact evaluation or systematic reviews into institutional appraisal and results frameworks, (g) impact evaluation of institutional and policy reform (including public management and governance), (h) impact evaluation methods, and (g) promotion of the use of evidence.

Workshop proposals: Proposed workshops may cover any aspect of the production and use of impact evaluation. The duration of a workshop can be anywhere between 2 hours and 2 days. Workshop proposals should provide: (1) workshop title, (2) duration, (3) name of presenters, (4) brief bio of presenters, (5) outline of the workshop (not exceeding 350 words), and (6) indication of the level of the workshop (introductory, intermediate or advanced).

Conference proposals: Proposed conference papers may relate to any aspect of the production and use of impact evaluation. Conference proposals should provide: (1) title of presentation, (2) theme (infrastructure, climate change, incorporating impact evaluation into results/monitoring and evaluation frameworks, impact evaluation of institutional and policy reform, impact evaluation and systematic review methods, policy influence, other), (3) name of presenters, and (4) outline of the presentation (not exceeding 250 words). Proposals for panel sessions of 3-4 presentations are encouraged. The submission should include the above details for each paper in the panel. Presenters are reminded that most presentations are expected to be largely accessible to a relatively non-technical audience. More technical presentations will also be accepted, and should be clearly indicated as such in the proposal.

Submissions: Submissions should be made in word format via email to conference2014@3ieimpact.org by 3 July 2014, with the email subject line 'Workshop submission' or 'Conference submission'. Multiple submissions are welcome. However, only one submission should be made per email. The file name should be the surname of the corresponding author/presenter and the word 'workshop' or 'paper', e.g. 'White workshop'. Late submissions will not be considered.

Review process: Each proposal will be reviewed by two reviewers, and the final decision will be made by a panel of four reviewers. Decisions will be announced by 14 July 2014. Successful applicants will have to register at www.impactevaluation2014.org

Funding and bursaries: A conference fee of US$450 is payable for attending both the workshops and the conference, and US$250 for attending the conference alone. Nationals of low- and middle-income countries working or studying in a low- and middle-income country are exempt from the fee (not those working in international agencies). The fee is also waived for those accepted to present workshops. Bursaries are available for participants from low- and middle- income countries. A bursary will cover return economy airfare and hotel accommodation. All other expenses (ground transport, visa, meals outside the event) must be paid by the participant or their employer. Preference will be given to bursary applicants who have a paper or workshop accepted for the conference.

Bursary applications must be made through the conference website: www.impactevaluation2014.org. The deadline for bursary applications is 15 July 2014.
Queries may be sent to conference2014@3ieimpact.org.
Further Details: http://impactevaluation2014.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Call-for-Papers1.pdf

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