Workshops (Week 2 of Bern Program) | IPDET

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Two levels of workshop cater for the needs and interest in fundamentals of evaluation and advanced, cutting-edge topics, theoretical issues, and practical application. The workshops have a duration of 2 days. Participants may attend the whole week or register for single workshops only.

Workshop Requirements and Expectations

The workshops are set for the second week of the On-Site Program in Bern, comprising two sessions. In each session, there will be two parallel workshops, allowing participants to choose one workshop per session:

Session I: July 14 – 15, 2025
Session II: July 16 – 17, 2025

The workshops are offered on consolidation and specialized levels:

Consolidation Level: Solidify and deepen conceptual knowledge and enhance practical skills of evaluation basics as follow-up on the core course. Please see the topics in the blue boxes.

Specialized Level: Explore methodological and thematic topics on introductory, intermediate, and advanced level including cutting-edge and current development issues. Please see the topics in the yellow and orange boxes.

Please click the boxes below for each workshop’s detailed descriptions, objectives, and requirements; please read carefully to find the best-match workshops.

It will not be possible to change the workshop selection during the program!

Certificate

Participants will be awarded an official IPDET workshop certificate of attendance during graduation night at the end of the workshop week.

Session I

in Week 2 | July 14 - 15 | 2 days long

I-c: Quantitative Impact Evaluation

Are experimental methods the gold standard of evaluation? Are there other valid and useful methods to answer questions about impact? What does that mean and why should we care? If you are interested in impact evaluation, but too afraid (of math and statistical formulae) to ask, this is the workshop for you.

Instructor(s)Claudia Maldonado

Recommended forEvaluators, Commissioners, Policy Makers, Practitioners, Activists

LevelIntermediate

I-d: Theory-based Causal Analysis: the Basics of Process Tracing and QCA

This workshop covers the following topics: review of various causal theories and their affiliated theory-based evaluation methods; fundamentals of designing a theory-based case-based causal analysis; applications using within case causal analysis such as Process Tracing; and applications to enhance generalizability of causal claims through cross-case causal analysis (including brief introduction of QCA).

Instructor(s)Estelle Raimondo

Recommended forEvaluators, Researchers

Levelintermediate to advanced

Session II

in Week 2 | July 16 - 17 | 2 days long

I-e: From Data to Decisions: Integrating Machine Learning in Evaluation

The workshop introduces the fundamentals of integrating big data science and machine learning algorithms into your evaluation approach. You'll learn about Bayesian theory, predictive and prescriptive analytics, and how to address selection and algorithmic bias. You will be guided through an interactive step-by-step process of building evaluation models with primary and secondary datasets using an open-source, no-cost, no-code visual-based analytics platform.

Instructor(s)Peter York

Recommended forEvaluators, Practitioners, Policy Makers

LevelIntroductory

II-b From Insights to Influence – Communication Strategies to Amplify Evaluation Utility

Are you tirelessly crafting evaluation reports, only to see them gather dust without making a real impact? They lack the narrative and creative spark that ignites action and influence. Here, you'll learn to morph your data into compelling stories. We'll equip you with innovative storytelling techniques and communication strategies tailored to various stakeholders. Our goal? To ensure your evaluation findings don't just inform but are utilised to inspire action and meaningful change.

Instructor(s)Ann Murray Brown

Recommended forEvaluators, Management, Policy Makers, Practitioners, Researchers, Commissioners

LevelIntroductory to intermediate