04/08/2025
By Shanna Thompson
This month Rosie Emerson, Ph.D., and CPE Alumni presents:
Evaluating Social Impact in Africa: Approaches, Challenges, and Lessons from the Field
How do we assess the effectiveness of social programs in diverse and complex environments? In this talk, Dr. Rosie Emerson will share insights from her extensive experience conducting research and evaluations across East and West Africa, covering areas such as economic development, education, youth empowerment, public health, gender equity, and Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH). Drawing from her work leading evaluations in developing countries, Dr. Emerson will discuss the unique challenges of conducting field-based evaluations in resource-constrained settings, including ethical considerations, data reliability, and local context adaptation. She will also share a bit about how she got into program evaluation in Sub-Saharan Africa and why she continues to engage in this work. Attendees will gain an understanding of how program evaluation is conducted in these contexts, along with practical insights into best practices in mixed-methods research, stakeholder engagement, and impact measurement. Additionally, they will hopefully find inspiration and ideas on how to contribute to development work in Africa.
The mission of the Center for Program Evaluation (CPE) is to conduct research on program evaluation methods as well as to offer evaluation planning, consulting, training and services for the university, regional and global community. CPE offers program evaluation services that support the university’s missions of research, teaching, and service to the community and industry for both faculty and students.