Designing Programmes and Interventions for Impact from the outset

Our world has changed drastically the past few years. Multiple complex problems ranging from health, economic, social, environmental, and political crises have become the order of the day. Humanitarian crises, far from subsiding, are affecting larger populations. As a result, resources have become even more scarce and access to funding has become highly competitive for researchers and program managers. Funders, governments, communities, and workers alike, increasingly want to see evidence that a research/program or intervention is worth its while. Impact evaluation is defined as the generation of evidence to demonstrate that changes observed in an outcome are attributable to the intervention/program/service. If not planned prospectively at project/ research design, impact becomes difficult to ascertain and becomes more vulnerable to bias. Confronted by the need to do so, researchers and program managers scramble to produce evidence, leading to black-box evaluations. Such evaluations lack the methodological robustness to determine the extent to which observed changes in the outcome are attributed to the intervention/research and fail to report potential harms.

To date, most impact evaluations have been limited to experimental or quasi-experimental designs. But not all phenomena can be studied through these designs. Most research and programs are observational in nature. How can the impact of such studies be demonstrated? In our view, there will always be counterfactuals.

This course aims to provide participants students, practitioners, and researchers from all over the world (high-,middle-, and low-income countries) with knowledge, key principles, and seven central tenets of an impact evaluation framework that enables them to design programmes and interventions for impact from the outset. Participants will learn how to embed impact aware methods into their research/ intervention at the design stage. The course will utilize participatory and empowering approaches like appreciative and reflective inquiry to engage with the participants. The course will create opportunities for the participants to think through and embed the seven central tenets into their research/ projects from the outset.‍

7 Central Tenets of the Framework

- Project or intervention theory of change and knowledge theory informed by best available evidence (Evidence synthesis)

- Deciding on the outcomes of interest to assess effects

- Involvement of beneficiaries in co-design, monitoring and evaluation

- Deciding on what quantitative and qualitative methodology to use

- Midline evaluation of outcome of interest to assess effects

- Endline evaluation of outcomes of interest to assess effects

- Validation/co-creation

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By the end of the course, participants will:

• Have a basic understanding of key concepts and central tenets of the impact framework;
• Be able to define and distinguish between research and program/intervention impact;
• Be able to describe key questions in Impact Evaluation;
• Be able to apply and embed the 7 central tenets of the impact evaluation framework into their own research/ program;
• Be able to critically appraise how researchers and program managers respond to impact demands;
• List the advantages of embedding Impact-aware methods in research or interventions, including impact as an accountability and sustainability tool.

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• Participants are invited to come with a research or project idea, concept, or proposal;
• Familiarity with basic research methods is recommended but not required.

• Research informed teaching;
• Participatory approaches and interactive sessions;
• Lectures and practical learning activities using participant’s own projects as case studies;
• Individual exercises, group discussion, and presentations will be used to assess understanding:
• Project presentation and feedback.

To obtain the Certificate of completion and the 1 ECTS participants MUST:

• Attend at least 80% of the course;
• Attend the plenary offered during the first day of the course;
• Complete individual project/ research proposal/plan imbued with impact aware methods;
• Prepare and present a short presentation of a plan in class;
• Contribute to class discussions and exercises.

At least one facilitator will be on-site in Lugano, and some may join online. Participants are welcomed to join either on-site in Lugano, or online. In case of a change of regional policies (e.g., Covid) or personal reasons, the course could change to online. For those on-site, the course will take place at Università della Svizzera italiana (USI).

For course pricing information, see here. Discounts are available for participants from LMICs, PhD and Master Students, and Students and Employees from the LSS Partner Universities (SSPH+, USI, SUPSI, and SWISS TPH).