How can we use evidence more effectively to inform and improve government policies and programs? IPA Kenya attended the Development Impact Evaluation division (DIME)’s forum on Using Evidence to Improve Policy and Program Designs in Nairobi, and presented IPA evaluations in the energy and sanitation sectors that focused on maximizing large-scale infrastructure investments. Despite the fact that Kenya is one of the largest producers of impact evaluations in the world, this evidence often does not reach its intended audiences, limiting its potential to inform policy.

IPA Rwanda hosted an Impact Evaluation and Scientific Writing workshop at Hotel Portofino, Kigali.The training covered several topics such as an introduction to impact evaluation, cost-effectiveness analysis, scientific writing in economics and public health, IPA's role as a high-quality evidence provider, and more.An interesting approach used encouraged participants to take part in cases practice and complete results interpretation and writing exercises which were followed by plenary discussions.   Sessions were delivered by Thomas Clasen (Emory),James Habyarimana (Georgetown), Miles Kirby (LSHTM), NGABO R.

This seminar addressed the "last-mile" problem of uptake in health: products and services are available, people are aware of their effectiveness, and yet uptake remains low.