Learning Days 10: West Africa Regional Hub Workshop

Organized by Centre de Recherche et d’Action pour la Paix (CERAP), home of the West Africa Regional Hub of Evidence in Governance and Politics (EGAP)

July 18-22, 2022

Abidjan-Cocody, Côte d’Ivoire

The Centre de Recherche et d’Action pour la Paix (CERAP), home of the West Africa Regional Hub of Evidence in Governance and Politics (EGAP) will hold a Learning Days workshop in Côte d’Ivoire in July 2022. This 5-day intensive workshop aims to introduce and develop familiarity with causal inference in impact evaluations with a quantitative focus. It is intended for scholars and program evaluators in the Global South, and will take place from July 18-22, 2022, at CERAP’s Cocody campus in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

The workshop is intended for both Francophone and Anglophone Africa-based researchers and evaluation professionals working in academic, non-governmental, and governmental organizations who carry out analyses related to governance and development. 

Ideal attendees for the workshop will be scholars with prior training in the social sciences (such as political science, economics, public administration, and other related disciplines). Scholars who primarily use qualitative methods but have some familiarity with quantitative research are encouraged to apply. All lectures will be held in English, with additional small group and one-on-one sessions held in a mix of English and French. Participants must have professional command of English, with some French-speaking instructors in attendance to provide additional support for those who also speak French.

In order to be eligible to attend the workshop, applicants must:

• Be currently based at a university, government, or civil society organization in Africa
• Have professional command of English (applicants from both Francophone and Anglophone countries are welcome)
• Have basic knowledge of statistics (descriptive statistics)
• Have training in the social sciences, with at least some portion of their higher education from an African institution
  • We are not currently considering applications from scholars who have training exclusively from non-African institutions.

Preference will be given to qualified applicants with degrees from African institutions and those who currently work on (or are planning to work on) studies related to polarization, conflict and democracy in Africa. However, other topics are welcome.

The workshop will cover concepts and tools for impact evaluations, and it will include presentations of examples of impact evaluations, statistical exercises, and individual advisory sessions for participants to develop their own research designs. Key topics include causal inference, randomization, estimation, and hypothesis testing among others. Accepted applicants will be expected to complete a preparatory exercise before arriving for the clinic.

CERAP and EGAP will cover the financial costs of transportation to and from the workshop location, accommodations (for attendees from outside Abidjan), lunch/snacks at the workshop, and a celebratory dinner, along with a stipend for other meal expenses. If selected to attend the workshop, participants must arrive before the morning of July 18 and be in attendance through the evening of July 22.

In order to attend the workshop, participants must sign a liability waiver and comply with the event’s COVID-19 vaccination policy. If you are not already vaccinated, depending on which vaccines are available in your area, you may need to begin your vaccination series in May 2022 in order to attend the workshop.

How To Apply

Applications are currently open. To apply, please visit this page and complete the form found there, including uploading your CV. Please note that applications will not be considered complete without an attached CV. Applications are due by end of day on Sunday, May 1, 2022. For any questions, please contact cerap.egap-berkeley@cerap-inades.org and m.lisiecki@berkeley.edu.

About CERAP

The Centre of Research and Action for Peace (CERAP) is a research center and higher education institution in Côte d’Ivoire. It was established in 1962. CERAP’S mission is to contribute to the building of a world of justice and peace through education and community outreach. It offers both undergraduate and graduate academic programs. CERAP has implemented projects on reconciliation and violence mitigation since the Ivorian political crisis. CERAP is also home to a publishing house, Editions du CERAP, which contributes to the promotion of African writers. 

Vaccination Policy

In order to enhance safety for all attendees and to increase equity by creating an environment that enables more individuals to participate, EGAP will require all meeting attendees (including EGAP members, workshop participants, and EGAP/Regional Hub staff planning to attend the full event) to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. (A person is considered “fully” vaccinated when two weeks have passed since they completed a COVID-19 Vaccine series (for example, 1 dose of the Janssen/J&J vaccine, or 2 doses within no more than 2 weeks of the Moderna, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Sinovac/CoronaVac, BIBP/Sinopharm, Comirnaty, Covaxin, AZD1222/Vaxzevria, Novavax/Nuvaxovid, Covovax/Covavax vaccine). This policy covers all EGAP events with (a) in-person participation for which (b) at least two event attendees will be traveling to the event site from a different country. In addition to the vaccination policy, all attendees must comply with the masking policy in place for each event.

Travel to EGAP meetings and workshops requires transit through large public facilities in areas with varying levels of COVID-19 prevalence and prevention measures. In addition, many countries require vaccination in order for international travelers to enter the country. EGAP meetings and workshops involve attendees being indoors together for extended periods of time, with attendees often speaking loudly. These are activities with elevated risk for transmission of COVID-19. Moreover, COVID exposure potentially means disruptions to work and family life, risks to vulnerable family members, and the financial burden of not being able to travel home until after a period of quarantine. The vaccination policy is aimed at reducing these risks in order to promote equity and encourage the participation of those for whom these health and financial risks are particularly burdensome, including those with a higher risk of complications from contracting COVID-19.

We understand that for some, access to vaccination or preference for vaccination may be complicated, particularly as EGAP and members of the network have devoted considerable effort and resources to studying questions of access and preferences regarding vaccination. Vaccination against COVID-19 is not guaranteed to prevent contracting the virus. Some may experience a couple days of side effects (usually a sore arm, tiredness, muscle pain, or nausea that subsides after a day or two). 

Nevertheless, multiple peer–reviewed studies also show that they are very effective in reducing risk of getting COVID, as well as the risk of becoming seriously ill, hospitalized, or dying due to COVID. COVID vaccines are also proven to be safe, with over 10 billion doses administered worldwide. For more information from the World Health Organization, see here. EGAP leadership has decided upon this vaccination requirement after evaluating the balance of these considerations.

EGAP is a research network institutionally based at the University of California, Berkeley, USA. As a UC Berkeley-sponsored event, participation is voluntary and signature of the UC general waiver will be required:https://riskservices.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/uc_general_waiver.pdf