The Islamic Development Bank, in collaboration with the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, will organize a high-level training course on Impact Evaluation of Development Programs at the IDB Headquarters from eight to12 June 2013.
Dr Ahmed Tiktik, IDB Vice-President (Cooperation & Capacity Development) and Mr Birama Sidibé, IDB Vice President (Operations), along with Mr. Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel, President and Chairman of the Abdul Latif Jameel Group, will grace the opening session together with a delegation from Abdul Latif Jameel Community Initiatives (ALJCI) and other invited participants.
The training program will be delivered by renowned experts in the field, including Dr. Abhijit Banerjee, Professor of Economics, MIT, and Director, J-Pal Global; Dr. Dean Karlan, Professor of Economics, Yale University; Dr Bruno Crepon, Associate Professor, ENSAE et École Polytechnique; and Dr Karen Macours, Associate Professor of Economics, PSE Ecole d’Economie de Paris.
Impact evaluation seeks to respond to the growing demand of donors and beneficiaries for measurable results of development interventions carried out by development banking institutions around the world. The training is therefore in line with the IDB’s drive to improve the quality of its interventions and showcase results on the ground.
The training program is being coordinated by the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD) in collaboration with the Operations Policy and Services Department (OPSD), and the Group Operations Evaluation Department. (GOED) of the Bank.
The Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development was officially launched in 2007 as a WAQF (trust) with an initial target capital of USD 10 Billion, to be raised through voluntary contribution from member-states of the OIC, IDB and institutions from member-countries. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the IDB are the largest contributors to the Fund, with each committing USD 1 Billion to the capital of the ISFD. Since its inception, ISFD has focused on poverty eradication in member countries through
concessional financing to member-countries.
The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) is a research centre at the Economics Department at MIT. The Centre uses randomized techniques to evaluate the impact of development programs and projects. Since its establishment in 2003, J-PAL has been at the fore-front of quantitative, Impact Evaluation of development interventions with studies conducted in various areas including agriculture, education, environment and energy, finance, health, labor markets, and political economy and
governance in more than 50 countries. J-PAL is named after Abdul Latif Jameel, father of MIT alumnus Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel, who has provided significant support to the Centre since its establishment.