World Bank Group, Fragility, Conflict and Violence Forum:

February 9-11, 2015 Washington D.C.

Evidence 4 Peace (E4P) Program Session

Evidence 4 Peace: Leveraging Impact Evaluation Tools for Better Results in FCV Contexts

MC4-800

1:00PM - 2:30PM

Description of the session:

Fragile and conflict affected situations face daunting developmental challenges for which solutions remain elusive. While there is consensus that policy decisions informed by evidence can help to achieve better results on the ground, the evidence base for development interventions designed to address FCV has been quite thin. To begin to address this gap, the World Bank’s Fragility, Conflict and Violence Group (FCV) and DIME, together with external partners International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) and Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) recently launched the Evidence 4 Peace (E4P) program with the overall goal of assessing evidence gaps in FCV response, generating improved knowledge about development effectiveness and understanding of how to best support FCV clients in delivering the results so critically needed for citizens to gain confidence in the path out of conflict. The initiative  includes: (i) development of a scoping paper, based on an evidence ‘gap map’ that identifies the status of the evidence base, in order to highlight priority questions for future research; (ii) design, implementation, and dissemination of  impact evaluations (IEs) funded within the Bank and through a new external funding window; (iii) development of a framework to improve the quality of analytical work on FCV and of tailored methodologies for evaluation/data collection in FCV settings; and (iv) hands on training in impact evaluation and the creation of communities of practice for knowledge sharing.

The session will (i) provide an overview of DIME’s approach to implementing IEs, based on collaboration and capacity building, and current FCV focus in the area of jobs as a tool for resilience, public sector governance, urban crime and violence, and gender-based violence; (ii) present E4P’s initial scoping paper, including the evidence ‘gap map’ on FCV-related interventions; (iii) present the opportunity of IE in FCV from policy, operational, and academic perspectives; and (iv) discuss important challenges in advancing impact evaluations in FCV settings. The session will unite together academic experts and leading FCV practitioners and academics discuss how best to push the frontiers of FCV knowledge using IE. The objective is to showcase the promise of E4P in improving policy and programming, and, for World Bank personnel, to demonstrate how operational teams can access the services provided by DIME and the broader program to improve the effectiveness of their projects.

1.      Brief introduction on the rational and goals of E4P by Betty Bigombe, Senior Director, FCV CCSA

2.      State of the evidence and priority questions for future research - Overview of evidence gap map and scoping paper by 3ie and IPA.  Presentation of portfolio review, evidence gap map, and stakeholder survey results – showing areas of programming with established evidence in FCV response and areas with more limited IEs to date.  Speaker: Annette Brown (3IE).

3.      DIME’s efforts to advance IEs in FCV: The presentation will give an overview of DIME evaluation workshop and support to WBG teams in FCV settings on IE design, the key knowledge areas, and a vision for the future. It will also highlight progress to date in the implementation of the IEs since the Lisbon launch. Speaker: Eric Mvukiyehe.

4.      PANEL DISCUSSION: The State of the Evidence and opportunities and challenges of IEs in FCV

How can IEs help achieve strategic and operational goals in FCV-settings? Highlight the role of IE research in the shared goal of gaining evidence-based policy and operational knowledge and meeting the CCSA’s key strategic priorities. It will also discuss some of the challenges of IE design and implement in FCV contexts and how they can be overcome.

Moderator: Arianna Legovini, Manager, DECIE/DIME

Panelists: Marie Gaarder (Manager, IEG); Macartan Humphreys (Professor, Columbia University); Chris Blattman (Associate Professor, Columbia University); Mary Hallward-Driemeier (Senior Principal Specialist, GCJDR and Jobs Group.)

Partners: DECIE/DIME, FCV CCSA; Jobs Group CCSA; DECRG, external academic experts, 3ie and IPA.

Last Updated: Feb 06, 2015