FID at the Collège de France: Esther Duflo’s 
chair position “Poverty and Public Policy”

"Placing evidence and innovation at the heart of development policy": the morning session addressing the use of evidence in development policy will be introduced by Abhijit Banerjee, awardee of the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2019.

Juliette Seban will give a presentation on innovation funds with Sasha Gallant, Chief of DIV (USAID) along with project leaders who have received grants from these two funds. Some of this morning session's highlights include:

• Reflections on 20 years of research and evidence use by Rukmini Banerji (Pratham) and Rachel Glennerster (University of Chicago)

• A presentation on how to think about the social returns of investments in research and innovation, by the Nobel Prize laureate Michael Kremer, followed by an introduction on the creation of FID by Hervé Berville, the French Secretary of State for the Sea

• Perspectives from projects implementers with Alison Naftalin (Lively Minds), Naomi Kirungu (African Management Institute) and Kwabena Tandoh (Ghana Education Service)

• A panel on how development cooperation has been transformed by the surge in rigorous evidence, with Dean Karlan (USAID), Arianna Legovini (DIME, World Bank), Thomas Melonio (AFD) and Charlotte Watts (FCDO)

This morning session is part of a two-day colloquium organized at Collège de France as part of Esther Duflo's "Poverty and Public Policy" Chair with J-PAL. This colloquium is dedicated to global poverty reduction challenges and the role of evidence-driven innovation in development. It will address development practices and the role of evidence in policy making and will bring together researchers, social innovators, funders, and a broad audience.

The event will be open to the general public and no prior registration will be required. The Friday session will be delivered in English. Read the full agenda of the colloquium which will be on free acces at the Collège de France in Paris, 75015.