Communities of practice on linking research, policy and practice

Pre-Announcement: Training course on local governance and rural decentralization

06/04/12

Dates: 11 - 22 February 2013 ( NB: Applications for NUFFIC scholarships must be submitted before 27 April 2012)
Type of event: Training course
Location: Wageningen, The Netherlands
Organization: Wageningen UR - Centre for Development Innovation and Royal Tropical Institute (KIT)
More information: Download brochure (pdf)

The course is designed for people who are involved with governance processes in a context of rural decentralisation, including government officials, project and programme managers, policy makers, consultants, NGO staff, federations of community organizations or private sector organizations.

Launch event: Online Guide on effective partnerships for humanitarian research and practice

31/03/12

Dates: 17 April 2012
Type of event: Panel Discussion (with live webcast)
Location: London, UK: 15:00-17:00 BST (GMT + 01)
Organization: Overseas Development Organisation (ODA)
More information: http://www.odi.org.uk/events/details.asp?id=2911&title=humanitarian-partnerships-research-academic

In 2011, the Humanitarian Emergency Response Review (HERR) called for humanitarian action to be underpinned by evidence and highlighted the need for more systematic and rigorous applied research. However, in order to build this body of evidence and ensure that practitioners can access and apply it, humanitarians and academics need to work in partnership. But what are the key ingredients to an effective partnership between humanitarians and academics? What are the pitfalls and at what stage does it make sense to introduce certain activities or actors?

This event, hosted by the Humanitarian Practice Network at ODI, will launch a ELRHA-commissioned study report that sought to answer this question. In addition to identifying the obstacles to partnership and how these can be overcome, the report highlights a number of examples where effective partnerships between academics and practitioners have yielded results which have had a direct positive impact on vulnerable communities. The report has also been translated into an Online Guide to Effective Partnerships with an Android Application for use in poor coverage areas.The event will include a panel discussion around the value of partnerships, a presentation from one of the case studies and a demonstration of how to use the Online Guide.

Webinar series: Increasing the effectiveness of networks working on global public challenges (iScale)

18/03/12

Dates: Various: between 28 March and 6 April 2012
Type of event: Webinar
Location: Online/Global (sessions organised by timezone)
Organization: Innovations for Scaling Impact (iScale)
More information: www.scalingimpact.net/content/iscale-webinar-increasing-effectiveness-networks

Since 2008, iScale, has implemented an IDRC-supported project examining the role of multi-stakeholder networks as agents of change in addressing global challenges that has resulted in the development of frameworks that can help networks scale impact by understanding what to measure, for what purpose, when, and how, through the use of approaches that integrate planning, assessment, reporting, and learning. Beginning in late March 2012, iScale will host webinars to discuss this work on how networks working on global public challenges can increase their effectiveness and scale impact. The webinars will be offered in two formats: a condensed session lasting 1.5 hours and an in-depth session lasting approximately 2.5-3 hours. Each session will be conducted three times and in three time zones in an effort to accommodate interested participants from all over the world.

Best Practices, Lessons Learned, and Effective Tools in Knowledge Sharing for Food Security and Agriculture Programmes

16/03/12

Date: 20-22 April 2012
Type of event: Online discussion
Location: Online, global
Organization: USAID Bureau for Food Security
More information: http://agrilinks.kdid.org/groups/agexchange-knowledge-sharing

Capturing, sharing, and applying knowledge is inherent in everything we do. From recognizing an approach that worked well in the field to sharing that approach with a colleague, effective knowledge management enables practitioners to learn from one another to implement more efficient and sustainable programs. This online discussion will bring together a diverse group of donors, food security technical experts, and knowledge management professionals for a three-day online discussion. Good practice, learning, and areas for future collaboration raised during the discussion will be synthesized into a resource document available to the Agrilinks community.

1st Summer Institute on global poverty and inclusive development

10/03/12

Date: 24-25 April 2012
Type of event: Specialized training programme
Location: Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Organization: University of Amsterdam
More information: www.gsss.uva.nl/sip

There is an increasing urgency to understand the conditions of poverty, the dynamics of poverty, and the complexities involved in embarking upon more inclusive development trajectories. The Summer Institute on Global Poverty & Inclusive Development contributes to the growing worldwide interest among academics and professionals in the causes of poverty and its alleviation. Classes are taught by Dr. Deepa Narayan, an internationally known expert on poverty and author of Voices of the Poor and Moving out of Poverty in close cooperation with Dr. Nicky Pouw, co- author of Local Governance and Poverty in Developing Nations (with Isa Baud).

Theory of change training workshop

30/01/12

Dates: 5 - 7 March 2010
Type of event: Training workshop (Please note that this is a paid course)
Location: Oxford, UK
Organization: International NGO Training and Research Centre (INTRAC)

This new course provides an opportunity to understand and explore what Theories of Change are; how they complement other planning processes; how they can be applied to organisations and to programmes. The course enables participants to consider the steps they need to take in developing a ToC for their own organisation/programme; and offers an opportunity to experiment with developing elements of a ToC on the course.

Planet under pressure: new knowledge

19/01/12

Dates: 26-29 March 2012
Type of event: International conference
Location: London, UK
Organization: International Council for Science (ICSU) and diverse partners

The research community has a responsibility to provide the knowledge needed to move society towards effective stewardship of the planet and to communicate the urgency of this challenge to society. But science alone is not enough. This conference is intended to be a major opportunity to link global-change science in a two-way engagement with the wide range of other stakeholders working towards global sustainability. It is organised as part of the lead up to the forthcoming UN Conference on Sustainable Development taking place in Brazil in June, commonly known as Rio+20.

Climate change governance: Adaptation and mitigation as institutional change processes

11/01/12

Dates: 30 January - 12 February, 2012
Type of event: Training workshop
Location: Wageningen, the Netherlands
Organization: Wageningen UR Centre for Development Innovation

The impact on food production, food security and natural resources in developing countries by climate change is likely to be severe. This course offers conceptual frameworks to understand climate change, vulnerability and adaptation and mitigation options that bring together different stakeholders such as policymakers, scientists, communities, citizens, farmers, extension workers, media and businesses.

NB: The application deadline for this course is 15th January (Apply online)

Using case studies in development evaluation: Validity, Generalisation and Learning

28/12/11

Dates: 21-23 May, 2012
Type of event: International workshop
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Organization: Centre for Social Science Development Research University of Copenhagen and the Evaluation Department of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Abstracts are invited for this international workshop, which will focus on methodological and practical considerations when using case studies in evaluations of development. The workshop will be organised in collaboration with the journal Evaluation:the international journal of theory, research and practice. The deadline for submitting abstracts is 15 December 2011 .

Impact Evaluation Conference 2011: Follow live conference updates

08/06/11

Dates: 15-17 June 2011
Type of event: Conference
Location: Cuernavaca, Mexico
Organization: 3iE

The 2011 impact evaluation conference 'Mind the gap: From evidence to policy impact'  will bring together over 400 policymakers, practitioners and researchers from Latin America, Africa and Asia, to take stock of what we have learned from evaluations and the way forward for adopting new approaches.The conference will highlight cases from across the world where impact evaluations have provided evidence to scale up or modify existing development programmes. The conference offers a unique learning space to share ideas and be part of current debates on impact evaluations. All are welcome to participate by following live updates and commenting on the live blogs.
 

INTRAC announces 2011-12 training programme

01/04/11

Dates: Various

Type of event: Training (Please note that this is a paid course)

Location: Oxford, UK

Organization: International NGO Training and Research Centre (INTRAC)

Course overview: INTRAC’s 2011-12 training programme kicks off with a Monitoring and Evaluation course on 9-13 May. This is the first of a series of courses on monitoring and evaluation, advocacy and organizational development being organized in May and June 2011. Please visit the INTRAC website for application details and an overview of the full training calendar.