Navigating change: The role of conferences amid global uncertainties
Writing an article about hosting the Economic Science Association (ESA) Africa conference could have taken several directions: how conferences build a community of like-minded individuals who come from diverse backgrounds yet are united by a shared interest in behavioral and experimental economics; highlighting the power and benefits of hosting key research and development events in the Global South; or offering practical tips on making the most out of your time at the conference, among other possibilities.?
The direction I chose to pursue, however, is shaped by current affairs—the significant shifts we are witnessing in the research and development landscape in terms of major cuts in foreign assistance and attacks on science. With the uncertainties those shifts present, it is clear that we can no longer continue business as usual. In fact, acknowledging these changes provides an opportunity to progress to the next step of coming together to discuss the pressing question: How do we, as a research and development community, strategically move forward??
Enter the importance, and responsibility, of conferences at this point in time: creating spaces to come together as individuals representing science, research, and development, and to facilitate meaningful dialogues about the path forward.
How are we creating inclusive spaces through ESA Africa?
Our decision to host ESA Africa was guided by four core principles that reflect our identity and values:
While the shifts in aid may be reversed, they have already profoundly shown the limitations and unsustainability of the current structure of foreign assistance. For us in the research and development space, this shift is an urgent call to reassess how we can improve our efforts to better understand human behavior and create more impactful, sustainable interventions to address people’s problems. Improvement can emerge from sparking a conversation—or even better, forging a partnership—with someone from a different discipline, or listening to local actors share their lived experiences about the problem you are investigating. It can also come from collaborating with an open mind with a local researcher or research team on the ground.?
Hosting ESA Africa presents an important platform for Busara to advance those principles. In addition to economists, the conference will engage psychologists, anthropologists, political scientists, and others, encouraging a multidisciplinary dialogue. We also see the conference as an opportunity to bring people closer to the context, both geographically and through direct interaction with local players from research, policy, and practice. This multi-way exchange helps build partnerships, reduce bias, and ensure that research becomes a more effective tool for development.?
Engaging early-career researchers in shaping the conversation
On June 25th, just before the main conference, and in collaboration with senior academics and key policy and research organizations, we will be hosting a series of workshops for PhD students and early-career researchers from African institutions. The conference will also feature mentorship sessions during both conference days in collaboration with the Economic Science Association Mentorship Committee.
In addition to sharing practical tips for conducting rigorous and impactful research in Africa, the workshops and sessions will focus on creating interactive spaces for senior and junior researchers to address:?
Expanding the dialogue: Nairobi Evidence Week
The ESA Africa conference will be part of a week of evidence-focused events. Busara, the Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA), and the Network of Impact Evaluation Researchers in Africa (NIERA) are joining forces to carry out the 13th annual Africa Evidence Summit and the Economic Science Association (ESA) Africa Conference back to back in the same hotel on the week of June 23rd to 27th, under the name of Nairobi Evidence Week. These events aim to maximize impact by reaching hundreds of scholars, policymakers and practitioners. Together, we will advance global knowledge, hold collaborative sessions on timely topics like DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion), build partnerships, and showcase innovations in inclusive research, evidence-informed policy, and practice.
Ultimately, our goal is to create various spaces where every attendee, whether African or non-African, an academic, policy-maker, donor or practitioner, early-career or senior, is represented and heard. We hope everyone leaves the conference feeling part of a larger movement and an influential sector and that through their participation they have played a role in shaping the path ahead for the field. We hope that attendees will also be inspired to define what their next move should be; a partnership, a collaboration, a defined direction for their research, or maybe an idea of what issue or challenge they should address or problem they should contribute to solving.?
Amidst the panic and concern, we should remember that with every uncertainty there is always an opportunity to shape the direction of what comes next - hopefully informed by insights from our current lived experiences. Initiatives like “Stand up for Science” should not be isolated events; they should be part of a broader movement where we gather, listen, and strategize collectively.
We would love to hear from you. If you have further ideas on how Busara, and in particular the ESA conference, can engage with the latest developments, please get in touch with us through our social media accounts or at [email protected]??
The Economic Science Association (ESA) conference is a premier event in experimental and behavioral economics and one of the only academic, international experimental economics conferences to occur regularly in Africa. This year, Busara brings ESA Africa conference to Kenya from June 25-27, convening top global and local researchers, as well as research and academic teams and organizations from all across Africa and around the globe to exchange cutting-edge research, explore innovations in the field, and promote interdisciplinary collaborations using experimental approaches. Early registration is now open.