On Thursday, June 27, Dr.Angela Ofori-Atta, Prof.Dean Karlan, and Prof.Christopher Udry presented results from the first randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a CBT intervention in Ghana. The study evaluated the impact of a relatively low-cost group-based CBT intervention on developing resilience and eliminating negative thought distortions among poor households in rural and peri-urban areas.The research also aims to understand if CBT helps equip people with the mental health stability and positive outlook necessary to make successful investments and if it can be used as a therapy to reduce intimate partner violence.

On June 19 and 20, the Research on Improving Systems of Education (RISE) program convened high-profile academics and policymakers to answer the question: "How can education systems be reformed to deliver better learning for all?" The conference featured presentations by researchers on three IPA-implemented projects: Andrew Zeitlin presented preliminary results from the Rwanda teacher pay-for-performance study; Torsten Figueiredo Walter presented findings from the Zambia teacher allocation study, and Syeda Farwa Fatima presented results from the Ghana Fast-Track Transformational Teacher Training (FTTT) study.

On June 11-13, 2019 the USAID/Malawi MELS Project, implemented by IBTCI, convened over 40 Malawian M&E practitioners in Lilongwe for an annual learning workshop on the “State of Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning.” The workshop this year had four objectives: Update the Malawian M&E practitioners on the state of Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) and USAID expectations to date.  Explore impact evaluations and share experiences in using outcomes for future implementation. Facilitate a discussion on analytical frameworks and share experiences and lessons learned around using data for action.