2021 PEP Annual Conference 

May 18 - June 4, 2021 | Online

PEP conferences bring together development researchers, practitioners, leading experts and policy stakeholders from around the world, to discuss issues, challenges and opportunities related to economic policy analysis and advisory work.

This year's conference is organized as part of three research initatives:

• Impact Evaluation Mentoring for Governments supported by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation 
• COVID-19 Responses for Equity (CORE) supported by the International Development Research Centre
• Climate change in Africa: Impacts and responses for women and girls supported by Global Affairs Canada

Find out more about previous PEP conferences.

Building capacity for policy research in developing countries

May 18 - June 3, 2021

PEP meetings represent a unique opportunity for all participants to discuss new and ongoing research projects and findings on emerging development issues with researchers and experts from around the world. As this year’s event will be taking place online, all members of the project teams will be able to attend and benefit from PEP training and peer-review.

Members of 15 research teams from 14 developing countries, supported under the Impact Evaluation Mentoring and CORE initiatives, will present their research results and project outcomes for discussion with peers and international experts.

Members of teams shortlisted for PEP support under the Climate Change in Africa initiative will present their project proposals for peer-review and discussion.

Attendees will also benefit from training in policy engagement, policy communication and climate change policy analysis, depending on their program (see below). 

 

Policy conference: Southern participation
in economic development policy debates

June 4, 2021 

PEP conferences also feature a one-day policy conference to present and discuss the policy implications of PEP research and analytical approaches.

These events are thematically focused on current or emerging development policy issues, and PEP publishes the main lessons drawn from the dialogues for wider impact - see previous PEP Policy Forums.

The theme of this year's policy forum, to be held on June 4, is: "Southern participation in economic development policy debates". The objective is to determine the nature and scope of Southern researchers' participation in economic development policy debates, the obstacles they face and possible remedies. See below
 

Program of activities

All sessions start at 12 noon UTC

Join us on June 4 to discuss how Global South researchers can and should participate in development policy debates, as well as the obstacles they face and possible remedies.

Over the past 12 months, we have seen how really understanding local needs is essential when responding to a problem and even more critical in a crisis. 

For citizens of the Global South, the vast majority of research about their respective situations is produced by scientists and institutions in the Global North.

National and regional governments and organizations rely overwhelmingly on foreign expertise to inform their policy decisions. And global development policy debates are dominated by multilateral organizations headquartered in North America and Europe (World Bank, IMF, UNDP, etc.). 

Because they understand the local social, political and economic context, in-country experts are best-placed to inform more sustainable, inclusive and effective policy choices. They are also able to respond much more quickly when new development challenges emerge. 

In 2020, we invited the PEP Research Fellows to study the participation of Southern researchers in economic development policy debates. The Fellows will present and discuss the results of the study at the 2021 PEP Policy Conference. 

This is a public event, free to attend.
It will take place from 12 noon to 3 p.m. UTC. Look out for information on how to register.

The 2021 PEP Policy Conference is organised as part of the 2021 PEP Annual Conference, held online from May 18 to June 4.