This webinar is part of IPA's RECOVR Webinar Series: Bringing Evidence to COVID-19 Policy Responses in the Global South. Together with our partners, we are using this series to rapidly share what we are learning with the policy and research community to support evidence-informed response efforts. More information about other events in the series is available here.
COVID-19’s wide-ranging health and economic impacts have permeated across the world, and much of the research community has pivoted to respond. At IPA, we have launched a major effort—Research for Effective COVID-19 responses, or RECOVR, to support immediate response efforts and provide evidence to decision-makers working to mitigate the impacts of the crisis in the 22 countries where we work.
On May 23, in partnership with the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) and IPA’s Financial Inclusion Program, IPA Sierra Leone organized a workshop for select financial service providers and government stakeholders – Bank of Sierra Leone, NATCOM, National ID Commission, and the Ministry of Finance’s Accountant General’s Office – to mainstream client centric design and evaluation methods in the development of digital financial services for government employees.
The World Health Organization (WHO) hosted IPA Sierra Leone's Country Director, Osman Siddiqi, for a brown bag session on evidence from randomized controlled trials in health. The presentation had three main sections including why we should randomize, case studies and a summary of the health program policy brief, and a discussion on big questions for Sierra Leone.
The event was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Health & Sanitation, WHO, the private sector, and NGO representatives.
Andrew Tedesco (Country Director, IPA Sierra Leone), Ben Jaques-Leslie (Research Manager, J-PAL Global), and Tavneet Suri (MIT; Scientific Director, J-PAL Africa; IPA affiliate) presented at a one-day workshop on agriculture, which was organized by IPA and the International Growth Centre (IGC) in Sierra Leone. Prince Kamara (Sierra Leone Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Security [MAFFS]) chaired the meeting. Ben and Tavneet presented lessons from evaluations of programs to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.