Call for Applications

Development Impact West Africa (DIWA), an initiative aimed at bridging the policy-research gaps in the West African sub-region, in collaboration with the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab Africa (J-PAL Africa) is pleased to announce its 2023 Impact Evaluation Training and Matchmaking Workshop (Call for Application). The 5-day intensive programme will be held in Accra, Ghana from March 27 – 31, 2023. The purpose of this programme is to develop a cadre of West African researchers with the requisite skills to generate credible demand-driven evidence to support policy decisions using rigorous impact evaluation methods. It is targeted at highly motivated scholars seeking the opportunity to build the capacity to influence policy decisions with credible evidence through a collaborative research approach.

The programme will be held for researchers and policymakers in the sub-region. It will be hands-on with the aim to prepare participants to design impact evaluation studies of government priority interventions. There will be three days of intensive impact evaluation training and a two-day matchmaking workshop. The matchmaking workshop will constitute presentations from policymakers on various priority interventions and the need for evidence to shape decision-making. West African researchers and affiliates from the Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) and J-PAL, who are global experts in impact studies, will align their interests and collaborate with the policymakers to form research teams.

After the training and matchmaking event, the research teams will develop a proposal from the interventions presented by the policymakers (or other highly demanded interventions) under the guidance of the assigned affiliates. The proposals will be reviewed by independent assessors and successful ones will be considered for funding. The affiliates will also guide the design and actual implementation of the proposed studies. The team members will be given several opportunities to present the findings of their studies on various platforms that will be created by DIWA. The research team members will also receive all the necessary support to develop their studies into manuscript(s) for publication. DIWA will provide opportunities for select researchers to undertake short and semester-long fellowships at the University of California, Berkeley.

Course Content
The programme will take the form of lecture presentations, panel discussions, case studies and hands-on exercises. It will cover impact evaluation concepts and methods and how they are applied in the real world. Key topics include randomized control trials, quasi-experimental designs, survey design, cost-effectiveness analysis, research transparency and reproducibility, among others.

Eligibility
To be eligible for the training and matchmaking event, researchers must:

1. Be currently based in a West African academic institution
2. Have advanced training in statistics, economics or other related courses
3. Holds a Master’s degree (or higher) in the social sciences
4. Have command over the English Language (applications from both Francophone and Anglophone countries are welcome)
5. Have some training in the social sciences in at least a portion of their second or terminal degrees

Policymakers will be nominated by their institutions.

Funding
DIWA will cover the full costs of the training and matchmaking event with support from J-PAL Africa. This will include tuition, transportation, accommodation, and meals for participants. All successful applicants must arrive in Accra on March 26th and be present for the full duration of the programme. Further details will be issued on logistics later.