Enhancing the efficacy of development interventions through theuse of rigorous impact evaluations

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.