Work with partners: About “Impact Assessment Workshop” at AlmaU
On September 3, Almaty Management University hosted “Impact Assessment Workshop”. The seminar brought together over 30 participants from various universities. Among them: researchers, university professors, employees of research organizations and government institutions. The main organizer was AlmaU Research and Development Department in partnership with Georgia State University (Atlanta, USA)
The rector of Almaty Management University Kurganbaeva Gulmira Amanzholovna spoke at the opening ceremony of the seminar. She noted the importance of this seminar for both students and the university staff.
The speaker of the seminar, Bauyrzhan Edgenov, a senior researcher at Andrew Young School of Public Policy at Georgia State University (GSU), spoke in his presentation about the basics of Impact Assessment (AE) as statistical methods for determining changes. According to the speaker, Impact Assessment methods help students determine how well various programs work and evaluate alternative approaches. The speaker noted that Impact Assessment methods are often used in the OECD and other developed countries to optimize public resources in order to improve the effectiveness of government programs.
Aliya Bizhanova, research grants coordinator and AlmaU senior lecturer, the seminar speaker, raised issues in our region and provided facts on research in this area.
This workshop was useful for students, they got complete information about the latest trends and research in the field of Impact Assessment around the world. It was very valuable to learn the latest news on the development of Impact Assessment methods from a scientist conducting research in areas such as behavioral and development economics, public finance and programmatic assessment.
According to the data, in Kazakhstan and in other countries of the region, the use of advanced scientifically-based methods of Impact Assessment is less frequent than in countries belonging to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In this regard, the practical value of the seminar held at AlmaU is very high. We believe that participants found answers to questions of interest on a stated topic. AlmaU is always at the center of current trends and innovations, and we especially note that the first week of the new academic year began with just such a meaningful seminar on Impact Assessment.
Information about the speakers of the seminar:
Bauyrzhan Edgenov got a master's and doctoral degree in GSU economics. B. Edgenov got a bachelor's degree in 2008 at Suleiman Demirel University. During 2008-2009 He worked as a teacher at SDU, and in 2009 received a scholarship from E.Maski of the US State Department. Participated in randomized control trial (RCT) studies in several countries to provide affordable medicine. He is currently the field coordinator of the World Bank Youth Corps project, the first such project in Kazakhstan, using RCTs. Research interests include: behavioral economics and development economics, government funding and programmatic assessment.
Alia Bizhanova from 2012 to 2019 worked as a project coordinator for the Global Education Department of the World Bank. She participated and supervised educational projects in conjunction with the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection and the Ministry of National Economy of the Republic of Kazakhstan. She was the head of the Youth Corps Development project and was responsible for the implementation of RCTs. She gota master's degree in education from Vanderbilt University, USA (E.Maski Scholarship of the State Department) and a diploma from Samara State University, Russia. Research interests include: 21st century skills, professional development and retraining of teachers, issues related to youth development, service-learning, international grants and impact assessment.
