Event
Cross-sectoral Learning in Implementation Research
Harnessing the Potential to Accelerate Results for Children
(Past event)
Event type: Workshop
Related research: Applied Behavioural Science
 | 24 January 2022 |  | 09:30 - 13:30 CET |
| 25 January 2022 | | 09:30 - 13:30 CET |
| 26 January 2022 | | 09:30 - 13:30 CET |
| 31 January 2022 | | 13:00 - 15:00 CET |
Workshop: Cross-sectoral Learning in Implementation Research
Implementation Research is an innovative approach to systems strengthening in which decision-makers and implementers use ...
Implementation Research is an innovative approach to systems strengthening in which decision-makers and implementers use ...
Implementation Research is an innovative approach to systems strengthening in which decision-makers and implementers use research to overcome implementation bottlenecks and improve outcomes. UNICEF is striving to enhance our work with partners so that we systematically identify priorities for Implementation Research to strengthen programming and improve child well-being across the life course. Join us for a virtual workshop to hear from world-leading implementation researchers, exchange lessons, and together build a collective understanding of Implementation Research, including complementarities with related concepts such as adaptive learning, systems strengthening, operational research, and scaling science.
SESSION ONE - 24th January 9.30 am to 1.30 pm CET
This session will involve multi-sectoral presentations of Implementation Research in practice for effective, equitable programming and systems reform. Plenary talks and panels of experts from across the world will highlight the lessons learned and the potential of Implementation Research, capacity building for Implementation Research, and transferability across all sectors of UNICEF’s work.
SESSION TWO - 25th January 9.30 am to 1.30 pm CET
This session will focus on the ‘how’ of Implementation Research. It will include case studies of Implementation Research and discussion of UNICEF's Implementation Research Roadmap with breakout discussion groups and Q&A.
SESSION THREE - 26th January 9.30 am to 1.30 pm CET
In this session, we will plan together how to take forward Implementation Research within UNICEF and build our capacity. There will be working groups on how to embed Implementation Research and build capacity to leverage this work within UNICEF.
SESSION FOUR - 31st January 1.00 pm to 3.00 pm CET
Key speakers from within and outside UNICEF will present an agenda for the future, setting out intentions for Implementation Research and partnership opportunities.
This event is jointly hosted by UNICEF Primary Health Care & Health System Strengthening Unit, UNICEF Office of Research-Innocenti and the Centre for Global Health Inequalities Research (Norwegian University of Science and Technology ntnu.edu/chain) and facilitated by Centre for Evidence and Implementation.
Related Content
Publication
Ethical Considerations When Applying Behavioural Science in Projects Focused on Children
Evidence increasingly shows applied behavioural science can positively impact childhood development and contribute to reducing inequalities. However, it is important for practitioners to reflect on the ethical considerations. For example, are you confident that the intervention is unlikely to have unintended harmful consequences? Or, is it easy for child recipients to opt out of the intervention?
To better understand these impacts, we consulted children in Australia, Chile and Ghana, interviewed subject matter experts and practitioners, and conducted a targeted literature review. This paper distils our findings and provides examples of how evidence-based interventions can meaningfully impact children’s futures. It is accompanied by a toolkit to guide and support practitioners through key ethical decision points.
Publication
Ethical Considerations for Evidence Generation Involving Children on the COVID-19 Pandemic
This paper identifies key ethical considerations when undertaking evidence generation involving children during the mitigation stage of the pandemic (emergency phase), on subject matter relating to COVID-19 once the pandemic has been contained, and once containment policy measures, including lockdowns, have been lifted (post-emergency phase).
While the COVID-19 pandemic is undoubtedly a global crisis, with evidence generation activities raising critical ethical issues that have been captured in the literature and relevant guidelines, there are specificities relating to this emergency that must be considered when unpacking potential ethical issues.
Hence while ethical issues pertaining to evidence generation involving children in emergencies and humanitarian contexts are relevant and should be considered, there are factors that define this ‘special case’ that must be considered from the outset. These will inform the core ethical considerations that need to be addressed.
Project
Applied Behavioural Science
Every day, the decisions and actions of parents, teachers, healthcare workers, community leaders, and policymakers profoundly affect children’s lives. These decisions and actions are themselves influenced by habits, norms, and cues in the social environment that can influence or “nudge” people—for better or worse. Emerging evidence from the sciences of human behaviour can provide actionable insights and practical methods to encourage decisions and habits that secure a better future for all children.
UNICEF has long played a leading role in social and behavioral change programming to help children and young people survive and realize their full potential. UNICEF Innocenti is helping the organization update its approach based on the latest evidence about human behaviour, applying a behavioural lens to identify, understand, and test solutions while scaling up the incorporation of experimental methods and implementation research in our programming.
We do this by:
• creating a global research agenda for building a child-focused behavioural science evidence base
• capacity building internally and with partners to ethically harness the application of behavioral sciences
• partnering with research centres, particularly in low- and middle-income countries
• building local research capacity to ensure decisions are evidence-informed, feasible, adaptive and equitable.
Upcoming work includes:
• Ethical guidelines for using behavioral sciences with children and adolescents
• Establishing and co-chairing a virtual behavioral insights research and design laboratory
• E-learning and webinars to increase internal capabilities to apply behavioral science and encourage South-South exchange
• Using behavioral sciences-informed interventions to increase uptake of primary health and immunization services in programme countries
• Supporting UNICEF’s and partners’ capabilities to utilize low-cost field methods to assess the contribution of interventions to outcomes
Project
Ethical research for children
UNICEF is committed to ensuring that all research, evaluation and data collection processes undertaken by UNICEF and its partners are ethical.