How to Manage, Design, and Conduct Impact Evaluations - Course from July 23 – Aug 3, 2012

Centre for Learning on Evaluation and Results at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa 

Course Overview

The course introduces impact evaluation as a key instrument for determining project/program effectiveness, informing policy development and improving program designs. The course has two streams:

• Impact Evaluation for Managers and Policy Makers (3 days; July 23/morning - 26/afternoon)
• mpact Evaluation for Technical Implementation (9.5 days – July 23 – August 3, consisting of the stream for Managers and Policy Makers plus 6.5 more days for technical sessions)

Through these two streams, the focus is on learning when and how to commission and manage impact evaluation (for managers and policy makers) and how to perform evaluations to understand the effectiveness of a program (for technical specialists). The course covers commonly used econometric and statistical methods to evaluate the impacts of social and other programs in developing countries. The course will cover both randomized and non-randomized methods.

The course will also cover other practical aspects, such as managing an impact evaluation team, planning and implementing data collection, and disseminating the results of the evaluation.

Delivery of the course consists of lectures, class exercises, and group work. Many of the exercises will involve case studies using data from actual programs that are discussed in the lectures. Participants will also have an opportunity to determine options for evaluations for their own programs. The course will be taught in English.

Objectives of Impact Evaluation for Managers and Policy Makers
At the end of these three days participants will be able to:

• Understand what impact evaluation is and the different techniques used for impact evaluations
• Make judgments about the situations (and/or interventions) when impact evaluation is and is not appropriate to use
• Know which kind of evaluation or decision-making questions that impact evaluation is best suited to answer
• Establish a management plan for having impact evaluations conducted

Objectives of Impact Evaluation for Technical Implementation
At the end of the course participants will be able to:

• Review the “parameters of interest” (ATE-average treatment effect, ATT-average impact of treatment on the treated, ITT-intention-to-treat, etc.)
• Describe in detail how randomized trials can estimate parameters of interest
• Explain how to use regression methods that do not require randomized data (Difference-in-differences and within estimators, Instrumental variable methods, Regression discontinuity methods, Matching methods)
• Present recommendations for designing high quality questionnaires
• Provide advice on how to choose the sample size and attain statistical power
• Discuss main issues concerning data collection and data management

Certification
Participants in the Impact Evaluation for Managers and Policy Makers stream will receive a “CLEAR” certificate of attendance.
Participants in the Impact Evaluation for Technical Implementation stream will receive a Certificate of Competence in Introduction to Evaluations and Surveys from the University of the Witwatersrand, upon fulfilment of the course requirements.

Course Prerequisites
Priority will be given to teams (2 or more individuals) considering, designing, or implementing impact evaluations; including policymakers, policy analysts, program and evaluation managers, and their technical staff. There are no prerequisites for the Managers and Policy Makers stream other than a willingness to learn as much as possible about why and how impact evaluations are conducted, and how to use their findings.

To fully benefit from the course, the more technically oriented stream participants need to be familiar with statistics, multiple regression analysis and possess some knowledge of a statistical software package (e.g., STATA, SAS, SPSS, or R). In applying for the technical stream participants for the technical course will be required to take a short quiz.

All participants must be proficient in English

Lead Instructors

• Prof. Paul Glewwe, Department of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota & CLEAR Affiliate
• Prof. Petra Todd, Alfred L. Cass Term Professor of Economics, University of Pennsylvania & CLEAR Affiliate
• Dr. Phil Davies, Head of 3ie’s European office based at the London International Development Centre 
• Prof. Neil Rankin, School of Economics and Business Studies, University of Witwatersrand & CLEAR Affiliate

Costs
Days 1 through 3 – Impact Evaluation for Policy Makers

• R4,000 (approx. $450) without accommodation, breakfast or dinner
• R5,150 (approx. $580) with accommodation and all meals

Days 1 through 9 – Impact Evaluation for Technical Implementation

• R13,900 (approx. $1560) without accommodation, breakfast or dinner
• R17,250 (approx. $1950) with accommodation and all meals

Information/contacts
For more information about the course, please e-mail edith.lefine@wits.ac.za

Or go online: http://www.wits.ac.za/academic/clm/certificate%20programmes/16461/h...

Documents

• Application for Managers and Policy Stream
• Application for Technical Implementation Stream
• Pre-course Survey Part I