On December 15, the IPA SME Program's network of researchers convened for an engaging discussion on innovative research designs, early-stage results, and new papers focused on entrepreneurship and private sector development in low- and middle-income countries.

On December 14-15, IPA Philippines conducted a two-day virtual capacity building workshop with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).IPA led sessions on Data Management and Protocols, Coding Best Practices, and Merging Administrative Datasets.Participants include research and evaluation focal persons from the DSWD Field and Central Office.

More needs to be done to expand the engagement of researchers from low and middle-income countries in development research.But what are we learning about the emerging best practices for engaging researchers? From mentorship to network building, from targeting funding to strengthening the pipeline of researchers, what are we learning about what works? And where should we increase our focus?On December 14 and 15, 2021, a group of individuals from various universities, research and policy institutions, and funding organizations shared their experiences and learnings to create greater opportunities for locally-based research.