Enhancing the Efficacy of Development Interventions through the Use of Rigorous Impact Evaluations

About

This course takes place in University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana
Some parts of the Summer School may be hosted online.

This five-day course at the University of Ghana, Legon follows CoRE IPDs 5-day Summer School on the Roots of Poverty, Inequality, and Deprivation. It will enhance the effectiveness of development interventions in Africa; and will demonstrate that rigorous impact evaluations are crucial.

This summer course will cover the key components of conducting such evaluations, offering an in-depth exploration of various methodologies. Participants will learn about experimental methods like randomized controlled trials, quasi-experiental techniques such as regression discontinuity, and non-experimental approaches, including cross-sectional OLS models, difference-in-differences, propensity score matching, and inverse probability of treatment weighting.

The training course will also address the practical steps involved in conducting impact evaluations, including designing a theory of change, creating a data management plan, securing ethical approvals, and drafting a pre-analysis plan. The practical examples provided will focus on Africa. We will distinguish between methodological sessions, and hands-on practice sessions, allowing participants to apply the different evaluation techniques through exercises.

The course targets professionals and postgraduate students who are conducting or want to conduct rigorous impact evaluations. For the practice session we will use STATA. Some proficiency in STATA is therefore needed

Course leader

Professor Robert Lensink, University of Groningen; Dr Kritika Saxena, University of Groningen; Dr Leonard Krapf, University of Göttingen; Professor Robert Darko Osei, University of Ghana, Legon

Target group

The course targets professionals and postgraduate students who are conducting or want to conduct rigorous impact evaluations. For the practice session we will use STATA. Some proficiency in STATA is therefore needed.

It is expected that the participants have a sufficient command of the English language to actively participate in the discussions and to present their own work in English

Course aim

Participants will learn about experimental methods like randomized controlled trials, quasi-experiental techniques such as regression discontinuity, and non-experimental approaches, including cross-sectional OLS models, difference-in-differences, propensity score matching, and inverse probability of treatment weighting.

The training course will also address the practical steps involved in conducting impact evaluations, including designing a theory of change, creating a data management plan, securing ethical approvals, and drafting a pre-analysis plan. The practical examples provided will focus on Africa. We will distinguish between methodological sessions, and hands-on practice sessions, allowing participants to apply the different evaluation techniques through exercises

Fee info