Where educational challenges can seem like overwhelming barriers, Gustavo J. Bobonis finds opportunities to move forward. Bobonis, Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Toronto, and his team have a research-practice partnership with the Puerto Rico Department of Education (PRDE). Together, they are working to address the unique concerns of Puerto Rico’s students and educators by creating an institutional culture based on data-driven experimentation, identifying what works locally, and setting the stage for evidence-based policymaking.

 

For Bobonis, there are two questions at the core of the pursuit and maintenance of research-practice partnerships. “How can we elevate the key role of implementing partners and their work in an evaluation process – and how can we effectively engage researchers deeply committed to the beneficiaries served by implementing partners in crafting real-world solutions?” [Read more…]

The Forward Society (FOS) Lab, housed in the Department of Economics, is co-hosting its first inter-disciplinary event.

Bringing together social scientists, statistical scientists, computer scientists, and researchers who work in healthcare, education, and environmental sustainability, the workshop recognizes that we are in the midst of a rich and evolving data landscape. Statistical, econometric, and data science advancements all represent opportunities we can realize through collaboration between data scientists, experts in causal inference literature, and applied researchers.

The event will provide our diverse academic and research communities with the opportunity to strengthen connections between cutting-edge econometric tools and relevant economic questions addressing society’s’ most pressing concerns.

What: Forging a Path: Causal Inference and Data Science for Improved Policy

When: November 10-11, 2023

How: In-person

Where: Data Sciences Institute, 10th floor Seminar room, 700 University Ave, Toronto

Why: Our academic communities acknowledge the need for sound, evidence-based policies. The event features keynote speakers who understand the empirical contexts, objectives, and challenges faced by policymakers. The planned presentations, covering diverse areas of interest, all have a focus on the innovative methodologies that are largely untapped by applied research, their potential, and recent projects and publications that bring these nescient methodologies into the foreground.

Who? Keynote speakers include Alberto Abadie, Professor of Economics and Associate Director of the Institute for Data, Systems, and Society at MIT, and Elizabeth Halloran, Professor, Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, and Department of Biostatistics, University of Washington.

Co-sponsored with the Data Sciences Institute, the event is the result of a collaboration between Ismael Mourifié of the Department of Economics, Linbo Wang of the Departments of Statistical Sciences and of Computer Science, and FOS Co-Directors Gustavo Bobonis and Raji Jayaraman, both of the Department of Economics.

Click to register.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the Forward Society Lab (FOS) :The Forward Society Lab (FOS) is a global lab that leverages data and state-of-the-art research methods to shine a light on the voices and experiences of marginalized people to help move society forward. FOS works in partnership with all levels of government, not-for-profits, NGOs, and social agencies to co-create, implement, and evaluate programs on a test scale to identify best practices and generate evidence to inform policies that improve lives. Housed in the Department of Economics, University of Toronto, FOS research affiliates develop their own international community partnerships and projects.