J-PAL and Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) are pleased to announce that applications are now open for a four-day randomized evaluation design workshop as part of the Displaced Livelihoods Initiative (DLI) and the Humanitarian Protection Initiative (HPI) to develop projects in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The research incubator is tailored to the interests of organizations whose activities aim to promote sustainable livelihoods for forcibly displaced persons and host communities, or promote solutions to ensure protection outcomes in conflict settings. It will help them explore how randomized evaluations can complement their evaluation, learning and innovation toolkit and lay the foundations for fruitful collaboration with researchers who can apply for impact evaluation funding.
Over the course of this incubator, J-PAL researchers and staff will guide groups of 3–4 staff members per organization through the process of designing a randomized impact evaluation. By the end of the incubator, participants can expect to have thought through the key elements of a rigorous evaluation design to better understand one of their own projects or interventions. As places are limited, early application is encouraged.
Fill in this application form by 2 October 2024. As places are limited and applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, early applications are encouraged.
Information Session: Sign up here for the Humanitarian Action Research Incubator Information Session on Tuesday, 24 September at 4:00 pm (GMT+3).
Participants will come out from the incubator with an increased understanding of the nuts and bolts of designing and implementing a randomized evaluation. Besides the design of an evaluation that is relevant to their work, they will be better equipped to make informed choices about evaluation options that are suited to their programmes and the specificities of livelihood aimed to improve livelihood outcomes targeting displaced persons.
Participant organizations with promising research questions will benefit from support before, during and after the workshop from J-PAL staff and researchers, along the path towards developing a randomized evaluation. Workshop participants will be well-positioned to partner with researchers who can apply to a recurring call for research proposals run as part of the Displaced Livelihoods Initiative and the Humanitarian Protection Initiative.
Participants will cover topics such as:
12 November | 13 November | 14 November | 15 November |
---|---|---|---|
Welcome and Introduction | Randomization and evaluation design | Ethics and Implementation challenges | Generalizability |
Why Evaluate? | Indicators and measurement | Guided work with teaching team | Project presentations and feedback |
Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch |
Research question and theory of change | Guided work with teaching team | Power and sample size |
Project presentations and feedback (continued) |
Group dinner | Closing and next steps |
Successful applications will demonstrate:
Information session: Join an information session on the Research Incubator on Tuesday, 24 September at 4:00 pm (GMT+3). Sign up here.
How to apply: Fill in this application form by 2 October, 2024. As places are limited and applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, early applications are encouraged.
Workshop fees: Participation in the course is free of charge, thanks to funding provided by the IKEA Foundation and UK International Development from the UK government.
Travel and logistics: The workshop will take place in person in Nairobi, Kenya. Please note that J-PAL is generally not in a position to cover travel or accommodation expenses, and we are therefore asking selected organizations to cover their own expenses. Funding is available on a case-by-case basis and will be prioritized for refugee-led organizations, or more broadly, organizations led by individuals with lived experience of displacement, who anticipate challenges in funding their travel expenses. J-PAL will provide letters to support participants' visa applications.
Contact : Please contact dli@povertyactionlab.org for any questions regarding the application process or other details about the workshop.
Application form access troubleshooting: In the exceptional cases where the applicant team does not have access to Google suite, please email dli@povertyactionlab.org to receive a submission document.
Displacement is at an all-time high and is projected to climb in the coming decades, pushing the donor, practitioner, and researcher communities to seek more cost-effective, long-term solutions to displacement. This has led to an increased effort to strengthen displaced livelihoods, self-reliance, and economic inclusion. More evidence is needed, however, about what interventions best support sustainable livelihoods for displaced populations and host communities.
The IKEA Foundation is supporting IPA and J-PAL to generate and share new evidence on the impacts of policies and programs that can foster sustainable livelihoods for displaced populations and host communities. Under this Initiative, IPA and J-PAL manage calls for proposals, form partnerships with displacement actors and researchers, and support the translation of funded research into policy and practice. Ultimately, research supported by the Initiative will support the design of better policies and programs to enable refugees and others forced to flee to rebuild their lives.
For more information, visit our website.
Conflict and crisis situations threaten the lives and basic rights of individuals, and present obstacles to both the fulfillment of basic needs and inclusive economic development. UN OCHA estimated that 274 million people will require humanitarian assistance in 2022 and the scale of these needs continue to grow, in particular as global warming leads to further disasters, displacement and potential conflict. Yet, rigorous evidence on how humanitarian assistance can be delivered effectively, and in a manner that can durably meet the needs and protect the rights of affected populations, is scarce. To help fill this evidence gap, J-PAL has developed a research initiative funded by UK International Development from the UK government with the intention to identify effective models of humanitarian programming to improve protection outcomes.
For more information, visit our website and the recent RFP document.