The Independent Evaluation Group of the World Bank (IEG), the Global Evaluation Initiative (GEI), and EvalYouth announce a call for papers on the topic of culturally responsive evaluation in countries in the majority world.
This call is open to emerging evaluators who are interested in exploring this critical topic in evaluation practice. The deadline for submission was December 31, 2023.
Competition is now closed
About the competition
Culturally responsive evaluation acknowledges the diversity and subjectivity of knowledge, perspectives and ways of knowing that guide evaluations. Culturally responsive evaluation highlights the influence of evaluators' knowledge and perspectives on their capacity to engage with, understand and produce meaningful findings that resonate with the social and cultural context of the communities, cultures, and societies with which they work.
The competition aims to promote greater culturally responsive and reflective practice among evaluators and to engage evaluators in the majority world to share their expertise on culturally responsive evaluation.
Emerging evaluators from the majority world have an intimate understanding of the gap between global and local knowledge. This competition invites emerging evaluators to propose solutions for closing that gap.
Young and emerging evaluators are invited to submit essays on the following topics:
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Case studies of culturally responsive evaluation in practice.
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Explorations of the challenges and opportunities of integrating the principles of culturally responsive evaluations into evaluation practice.
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Discussions of the specific role emerging evaluators can play in the advancement of culturally responsive evaluation.
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Reflections on meeting the challenge of communicating the validity of culturally responsive evaluation and getting influential voices and change-makers to listen.
You can read about the judges of this competition here.
Eligibility
Emerging evaluators with less than five years of professional experience. The submitted essay or portion of it has not been previously published. Essays authored by a maximum of three co-authors are acceptable.
Process
Participants should submit an essay of max 1500 words and a short abstract between 30-500 words that lays out their main ideas and what they believe would be innovative about their approach.
The deadline for submission was December 31, 2023.
Competition is now closed
Participants should follow APA style guidelines and can submit their essays in any language. If you are submitting a non-English version of your essay, also attach an English Google-translated version which will be used to assess the quality of the research, the questions raised, and the innovativeness of the proposed approach.
Include a short, biographical statement in English (no more than a paragraph).
We welcome essays from all disciplines, including but not limited to evaluation, public policy, public health, education, social sciences, and development studies.
Evaluation criteria
Three essays will be selected according to the following criteria:
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The essay includes thorough research on the current discourse around culturally responsive evaluation
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The essay raises important questions and includes innovative ideas and thoughts on culturally responsive evaluation
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Culturally responsive evaluation principles are embedded in the specific regional context of the submission (e.g., drawing on literature or examples from the region)
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The overall essay and abstract are well-written and structured.
The selection committee will moreover consider a gender balance as well as representation from different regional contexts.
Note: Participants may use generative artificial intelligence tools but all sources should be cited at the end of the paper. Please see guidance on acceptable ways to use AI and disclose any use in the submission form disclosing how any AI tools were used in the preparation of your essay.
Awards and recognition
Essay submissions will be evaluated through a blind review process conducted by a review committee. The winner and finalists will be recognized at the IEG@50 event Future of Evaluation, which will take place in early 2024.
The author(s) of the winning essay will be invited to present their essay in the program. The organizers will cover the travel and lodging expenses for the authors of the winning essay. The award recipients will also be invited to join in any subsequent virtual dialogues on the respective topics organized by IEG and GEI.
Questions? Want to stay up to date with this competition?
Please contact the IEG/GEI review committee at yeecompetition@worldbankgroup.org.