impactAFRICA Series of Webinars for Journalists

This series of webinars forms part of an initiative by Code for Africa, the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), and the World Bank's Strategic Impact Evaluation Fund (SIEF). The webinars are intended for journalists who are interested in applying to the impactAFRICA storytelling contest, which seeks to support data-driven investigative reporting that sheds light on neglected or under-reported development topics in Africa. There are four annual contests - each covering a different development issue. The ICFJ and Code for Africa have partnered with the World Bank's Strategic Impact Evaluation Fund to present monthly online webinars on development issues. These webinars are designed to help journalists applying to ICFJ's impactAFRICA challenge understand many of the critical issues facing policymakers across the developing world. "The webinars feature experts on health, education, and early childhood nutrition, and underscore the importance of evidence-based policy-making for programmes that deliver results. While the webinar series was developed for journalists in Africa who cover these issues, they will also be useful for global students, development practitioners, policy makers and others who want to improve their knowledge of development issues and how to measure impact."

The following webinars are available online:

Webinar #1 - Measuring the impact of development projects

To better report on poverty, health, education, and more, journalists need to understand how experts measure the impact of development programmes. This webinar explores these methods and offers a "top 5" list of techniques and tools to improve reporting on the issues. The discussion includes a focus on what data to look at, where to find the data, and how to best interpret it. Expert: Dave Evans, Senior Economist in the Chief Economist's Office for the Africa Region of the World Bank. Moderator: Christopher Conte, former ICFJ Knight Fellow

Webinar #2 - Early childhood nutrition, health and education

This webinar focuses on early childhood growth and development, including issues of health, nutrition, and education. It looks at how journalists can use measurements of children's health and development to report on poverty and the negative, lasting impacts into adulthood. The webinar includes information on evidence about the importance of early nutrition and stimulation for young children, the effectiveness of different approaches, and the programmes being studied to address these issues. Expert: Leslie K. Elder, a World Bank Senior Nutrition Specialist in the Health, Nutrition and Population Group, and Emanuela Galasso, a World Bank Senior Economist in the Development Research Group. Moderator: Brenda Wilson, former National Public Radio (NPR) health journalist and ICFJ Knight Fellow

Webinar #3 - How journalists can use data to improve reporting on water and sanitation issues

What is the connection between clean water and good health? How do governments provide clean water in sprawling and overcrowded cities? Water and sanitation is a complex and under-reported subject that intersects areas of governance, health, environment, well-being, and human rights. During this webinar, journalists learn from World Bank experts how to better understand and report on access to and demand for clean water and improved sanitation. The experts will explain different approaches to framing and explaining these issues and how to best use data to simplify and localise them. Journalists will also learn more about the importance of clean water and sanitation for human development and the challenges of collecting and interpreting the data to prove success. Experts: Emily Christensen Rand, a World Bank Water Supply and Sanitation Specialist, and Christian Borja-Vega, a World Bank Economist with the Water Global Practices. Moderator: Christopher Conte, Former ICFJ Knight Fellow

Webinar # 4 - Reporting on mother and child healthcare

According to the United Nations, maternal mortality has fallen by 45 percent since 1990. Globally, preventable child deaths have decreased by over 50 percent. During this webinar, journalists will hear from World Bank experts on what makes a successful health programme and what policies are helping improve healthcare. Specifically, it looks at the importance of data-driven analysis to understand successful approaches to healthcare.  Experts: Arndt Reichert, an economist in the Development Research Group at the World Bank & Marcus Holmlund, an economist with Development Impact Evaluation (DIME) in the World Bank’s Research Group. Moderator: Christopher Conte, Former ICFJ Knight Fellow.

Webinar # 5 -  Reporting on education

This webinar seeks to give journalists the knowledge and data to cover major education concerns in their countries. Experts from the World Bank discuss the major obstacles to student learning and how impact evaluation is testing new methods for journalists to assess their coverage of schools. It covered how journalists can use data to identify the challenges that schools face in enhancing student learning; and how their investigations can motivate the government and schools to take action and maintain accountability.
The discussion will cover how journalists can investigate topics more directly correlated with student learning, such as whether teachers show up, what they do in the classroom and whether raising parental involvement can improve schools’ accountability. Expert: Dave Evans, a Senior Economist in the Chief Economist's Office for the Africa Region of the World Bank. Moderator: Christopher Conte, Former ICFJ Knight International Journalism Fellow.