Transforming Evidence Network Holds Inaugural Conference

The Transforming Evidence Network (TEN), a global cross-sectoral forum for evidence experts to learn and innovate together, held its inaugural conference Oct. 3-5, 2022, in Miami. The event drew more than 180 attendees, connecting researchers, practitioners, policy professionals, funders, intermediaries, and others across different policy sectors, scholarly disciplines, and countries. Each group provided insight about the science and practice of evidence use. By convening a new community in this way, TEN aims to strengthen the capacity for creating evidence-informed, equitable solutions to societal challenges around the world. TEN is a collaboration of The Pew Charitable Trusts’ evidence project, the William T. Grant Foundation, and the Transforming Evidence initiative.

The event, “Making, Mobilizing, and Using Evidence in Policy and Practice,” featured four plenary sessions.

Below you can find recordings of each.

Opening plenary

Welcome and setting an agenda for the Transforming Evidence Network

Speakers

• Angela Bednarek, project director, evidence project, The Pew Charitable Trusts
• Annette Boaz, co-director, Transforming Evidence
• Kim DuMont, senior vice president of program, William T. Grant Foundation
• Lauren Supplee, senior program officer (former), William T. Grant Foundation

How can we build durable institutional infrastructure to support evidence use?

Ensuring that evidence is used in policy and practice requires decision-makers to have the capacity, opportunities, and incentives to use it routinely. The panel discusses important characteristics of the institutional architecture (e.g., formalized processes for use of evidence in budgeting or program decisions) needed to support productive and routine evidence use, and how to scale and sustain it.

Speakers

• Karen Bogenschneider, Rothermel-Bascom professor emerita of human ecology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
• Susanna Campbell, associate professor in American University’s School of International Service
• Harsha Dayal, director of research and knowledge management at the Department of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation within the Presidency of South Africa
• Moderated by Lauren Supplee, senior program officer (former), William T. Grant Foundation

Engineering evidence use: Mobilization strategies to connect making and using evidence

Mobilization plays a critical role in developing and using evidence. Mobilizing evidence can include packaging it for use, making it easier to access, embedding evidence experts in specific areas (e.g., research fellows in government), and creating connections between individuals and organizations. This panel deliberates about the distinct role of knowledge mobilization, what we know about how and when to employ different strategies, and the specialized skill sets and workforce needed to undertake it effectively.

Speakers

• Angela Bednarek, project director, evidence project, The Pew Charitable Trusts
• Fréjus Thoto, executive director, ACED-Benin
• Alison Bourgon, director general, science policy branch, Canadian Institutes of Health Research
• Rowena Bermingham, Net Zero Society Foresight policy lead, U.K. Government Office for Science
• Moderated by Annette Boaz, co-director, Transforming Evidence

Expanding models for evidence production and encouraging systems level changes to generate more useful evidence

This session explored how to expand the ways evidence is produced and how the system for generating evidence can be enhanced to better support its use in policy and practice. Panelists shared different approaches for developing evidence that are/can be useful to decision-makers and the systemic changes that can support and incentivize them.

Speakers

• Ruth López Turley, professor, Department of Sociology, and director, Kinder Institute for Urban Research, Rice University
• Rayvon Fouché, division director, Social and Economic Sciences, National Science Foundation, and professor of American Studies, School of Interdisciplinary Studies, Purdue University
• Ruth Stewart, director, Africa Centre for Evidence, University of Johannesburg
• Moderated by Annette Boaz, co-director, Transforming Evidence

Closing plenary session

Panelists reflect on the conference discussions and next steps for the network.

Speakers

• Erwin Gianchandani, assistant director for technology, innovation, and partnerships, National Science Foundation
• Angela Bednarek, project director, evidence project, The Pew Charitable Trusts
• Annette Boaz, co-director, Transforming Evidence