Group decision experiments with civil servants in India and Pakistan
Dr. Laura Metzger, Center for International Development’s Evidence for Policy Design, Harvard Kennedy School
The BCURE (Building Capacity to Use Research Evidence) initiative at EPoD collaborates with top public policy schools in India and Pakistan to systematically address barriers to data and evidence use in policy making. A main part of BCURE consists of using blended learning tools that equip civil servants with technical skills to effectively use data and evidence in their work. This fall, we plan to conduct lab-in-field experiments in Pakistan to explore whether group decisions make BCURE trainings more effective by fostering peer-learning. Existing evidence suggests this might be the case. Group decision experiments can also provide non-training related insights: to the degree that groups perform better than individuals at using evidence for problem solving, public administrations might see quality gains by delegating such tasks to groups.
About the speaker
Laura Metzger is a senior research fellow with the Center for International Development’s Evidence for Policy Design at the Harvard Kennedy School. She received her PhD from ETH Zurich. Laura conducts applied empirical research on the effectiveness and allocation of development assistance. A major part of her work focuses on information use and decision-making among policy makers, blending development economics with behavioral science approaches.
Venue: 0.16/0.17
Date: 27 November 2019
Time: 15:00 - 16:00 CET
