August 10, 2011

Dissemination & Implementation Conference: Workshop

4th Annual NIH Conference on the Science of Dissemination and Implementation: Policy and Practice
March 21-22, 2011

NIH Sponsored Training on
Impact Evaluation Using Randomized Trials
In Partnership with Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab

About the Workshop

Rigorous impact evaluation is a critical ingredient in evidence-based policy. Within the health sector, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are considered standard practice in clinical research. However, evaluation of programs and policies to implement large-scale health interventions tend to be far less rigorous. Much of this is due to the fact that researchers, health practitioners and policymakers are sometimes unsure of how to reconcile the rigor of clinical trials with the uncontrolled diversity of the field, particularly when operating in a developing country context. Political, logistical and ethical constraints can often make the ideal research design appear infeasible.

The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) is a network of empirical research economists who specialize in international development and have acquired substantial expertise running randomized evaluations in such settings. Researchers in the J-PAL network have adapted the driving characteristic of RCTs—randomization of the treatment—to test the effectiveness of health programs and policies in what are often difficult environments.

J-PAL, in partnership with the NIH, is offering a workshop on how to incorporate rigorous impact evaluation methodologies into operations and implementation research (OR/IR). J-PAL researchers will share their experience evaluating programs on HIV/AIDS, immunization, maternal health, reproductive health, human resources for health and mobile health technologies. Using these case studies, they will cover the research design and implementation considerations necessary to conduct randomized evaluations. Through this workshop, participants will acquire many of the tools and lessons necessary to implement rigorous impact evaluations in a number of contexts and over a range of global health issues.

Participants should be researchers, clinicians, or senior program managers with a Masters, PhD, or equivalent who are interested in implementation research. Some research background expected. Participants may come prepared with the details of a clinical or public health program/intervention that they are interested in studying, including the setting, context, and the size and characteristics of the target population.

Sponsors
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
John E. Fogarty International Center (FIC)
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR)