The What Works Global Summit, held in Mexico City this year, brought together policymakers, practitioners, knowledge brokers and researchers from all over the world to learn from each other, present their work, share experiences and expand their networks.
Results for Development participated in the following sessions:
Adaptive Learning for Systems Change: How systems thinking and small-scale testing can drive large-scale, sustainable change across health systems
October 16, 2:30 – 3:30 pm
Jalisco Room (3rd floor)
Health systems are complex, adaptive ones, and driving systems change is therefore a complicated task. How can we use systems thinking and methods (e.g., mapping) to identify leverage points that can create the conditions ripe for change across the system? With those leverage points identified, how might we use evidence generation and adaptive learning to rapidly test novel intervention approaches?
Moderated by R4D Senior Program Director Jean Arkedis; presenters included R4D Senior Program Officer Luke Heinkel, Senior Program Officer Katie Bowman, Senior Program Officer Taylor Salisbury, and Program Officer Morgan Benson.
Adaptive learning to understand what works in education: Three case studies on approaches to using monitoring, evaluation, and research to improve the likelihood of success
October 17, 11 am – noon
Nuevo Leon I Room (3rd floor)
The ultimate measure of an effective education system is whether it improves learning; while there has been evidence generated about interventions that do so, the handful of so-called “proven” approaches are merely a starting point. How to best apply, adapt, and scale them is a challenge that requires new ways of generating evidence. The first presenter highlighted how formative research was used to inform theories of change for a mobile reading program in India and an adult literacy and workforce platform in the US. The second discussed how small-scale experimentation and monitoring helped low-fee private schools in West Africa (also the subject of a separate impact evaluation) improve their literacy program. Finally, we shared a new series of action research engagements to provide real-time feedback on how to best deploy education technology within local education systems.
Moderated by Jean Arkedis; presenters included Mr. Heinkel, Ms. Bowman, Mr. Salisbury and Mr. Benson.
