World Bank and European Commission Impact Evaluation Workshop

Tuesday, May 31, 2022

8:30-9:00

Registration and Coffee

9:00-9:30

Welcome Icebreaker

Workshop Coordinator, World Bank.

9:30-10:15

Impact Evaluation for Achieving Impact

Arianna Legovini – Director, Development Impact Evaluation, Development Economics Vice Presidency, World Bank.

10:15-11:00

Open Discussion on Global Priorities for Impact Evaluation in the Areas of Managerial and Organizational Capabilities, Innovation and Technology Adoption, and Entrepreneurship and Start-ups

Catherine Wendt – Head of Unit, Smart & Sustainable Growth and Programme Implementation, DG REGIO, European Commission.

Mona Haddad – Global Director, Trade, Investment, and Competitiveness, Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation Global Practice, World Bank.

Denis Medvedev – Director, Economic Policy Research, Economics and Private Sector Development, International Finance Corporation.

Moderated by:

Asya Akhlaque – Practice Manager, Investment Climate, Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation Global Practice, World Bank.

11:00-11:30

COFFEE BREAK

11:30-12:30

Methods: Experimental Studies

Stephen J. Anderson – Assistant Professor, University of Texas at Austin.

This session establishes an understanding of randomized control trials (RCTs).

12:30-13:30

Methods: Experimental Case Study

Elwyn Davies – Economist, Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation Global Practice, World Bank.

Mariana Pereira-Lopez – Economist, Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation Global Practice, World Bank.

Participants work on a practical case study to calculate the effects of an intervention using an RCT.

13:30-14:30

LUNCH

14:30-14:45

Intro to Clinics: Integrating Impact Evaluation into the Design of Projects

Natasha Kapil – Senior Private Sector Specialist, Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation Global Practice, World Bank.

Provides general information about the clinics’ sessions and transition into breakout rooms.

14:45-17:00

Breakout Rooms

Clinic 1: Objective and Theory of Change

Teams will define and finalize their project objectives and theory of change. They will identify which constraints their programs aim to address, and which other potential binding constraints might remain.

The discussion will be summarized in a PowerPoint template.

No scheduled break. Coffee and snacks available near the room.

Wednesday, June 1, 2022

9:00-9:45

Main Room

Policy Session 1: Managerial and Organizational Capabilities

David McKenzie – Lead Economist, Development Economics Research Group, World Bank.

Provides a framework and summarizes the evidence on how managerial and organizational capabilities can enhance firm performance.

9:45-10:45

Ignite Session 1: Experiments on Managerial and Organizational Capabilities

15 min per case, 15 min Q&A

·   Lars Ivar Berge – Associate Professor, Norwegian School of Economics.

·  Leonardo Iacovone – Lead Economist, Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation Global Practice, World Bank.

10:45-11:00

COFFEE BREAK

11:00-12:00 

Methods: Non-Experimental Studies

Caio Piza – Senior Economist, Development Impact Evaluation, World Bank.

This session establishes an understanding of methodologies that do not require a random assignment of the intervention (non-experimental).

12:00-12:45

Methods: Non-Experimental Case Study

Elwyn Davies – Economist, Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation Global Practice, World Bank.

Mariana Pereira-Lopez – Economist, Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation Global Practice, World Bank.

Participants work on a practical case study to calculate the effects of an intervention using non-experimental methodologies.  

12:45-13:45

LUNCH

13:45-14:30 Main Room

Policy Session 2: Innovation/Technology Adoption

Eric Verhoogen – Professor, Columbia University.

Provides a framework and summarizes the evidence on how innovation and the adoption of technologies can enhance firm performance.

14:30-15:30

Ignite Session 2: Experiments on Innovation/Technology Adoption

15 min per case, 15 min Q&A

·   Rembrand Koning – Assistant Professor, Harvard Business School.

·   Paolo Falco – Assistant Professor, University of Copenhagen.

15:30-15:45

COFFEE BREAK

15:45-17:00

Breakout Rooms

Clinic 2: Research Questions, Outcome Measures, and Data

Teams determine the research questions to be answered by the impact evaluation, the corresponding outcomes of interest, and the sources of data. Results will be recorded in the PowerPoint template.

17:00-18:30

Clinic 3: IE Methods and Implications in Rollout Plans

Teams will work on designing an impact evaluation strategy to answer the questions they have identified. The proposed design will be recorded in the project’s PowerPoint template.

19:30

Panorama Restaurant

Workshop dinner

Thursday, June 2, 2022

9:00-9:45

Main Room

Methods: Sampling

Elwyn Davies – Economist, Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation Global Practice, World Bank.

Mariana Pereira-Lopez – Economist, Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation Global Practice, World Bank.

Interactive session on the importance of selecting an adequate sample size.

9:45-10:45

Debrief from Project Teams: Research Questions and Knowledge Gaps

A panel of senior researchers provides feedback to teams on their preliminary impact evaluation design.

10:45-11:00

COFFEE BREAK

11:00-11:45

Policy Session 3:  Entrepreneurship / Business Start-up

Stephen J. Anderson – Assistant Professor, The University of Texas at Austin.

Provides a framework and summarizes the evidence on how investing in entrepreneurship and startups can enhance firm performance.

11:45-12:30

Ignite Session 3: Entrepreneurship / Business Start-up

15 min per case, 15 min Q&A

·   Chiara Spina – Assistant Professor, INSEAD.

·   Patricio Dalton – Associate Professor, Tilburg University.

12:30-13:30

LUNCH

13:30-14:15

Policy Session 4: Cross-Cutting Issues in Firm Impact Evaluations

David McKenzie – Lead Economist, Development Economics Research Group, World Bank.

Provides an overview of key challenges of evaluating business-support programs including targeting and take up.

14:15-14:30

COFFEE BREAK

14:30-15:00

SME Digitization Challenges: A Private Provider' Perspective

Sean Kask – Chief AI Strategy Officer, Artificial Intelligence, SAP Technology & Innovation.

15:00-18:00

Breakout Rooms

Clinic 4: Implementation Plan and Presentation

Teams will work on a practical implementation plan of the IE (including budget, timeline, and staffing) and polish their PowerPoint presentation. No scheduled break. Coffee and snacks available near the room.

Friday, June 3, 2022

8:30 – 10:15

Main Room

Clinic 5: Teams’ presentations (5 teams)

15 min per team (5 min presentation, 10 min discussion)

10:15-10:30

COFFEE BREAK

10:30 – 12:00

Clinic 5: Teams’ presentations (5 teams)

15 min per team (5 min presentation, 10 min discussion)

12:00 – 13:30

Clinic 5: Teams’ presentations (5 teams)

15 min per team (5 min presentation, 10 min discussion)

13:30-14:30

LUNCH

14:30-15:00

Knowledge Exercise

Christoph Lhotka – Workshop Coordinator, World Bank.

15:00-16:00

Closing Remarks and Certificates Ceremony

Mona Haddad – Global Director, Trade, Investment and Competitiveness, Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation Global Practice, World Bank.

Ilias Skamnelos – Practice Manager, Finance, Competitiveness, and Innovation Global Practice, Europe & Central Asia Region, World Bank.