Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) is holding the second International Conference on Research and Learning titled, 'From Knowledge to Action' from April 25 to April 26 in Islamabad. Around 200 participants comprising local and international experts from the development sector, researchers and members of academia are expected to attend this important event.
Because of its international scope, the conference will allow participants to examine issues in both a comparative and global context, with the ultimate aim of not only enhancing knowledge, but also facilitating the implementation of positive changes in and across the development sector.
The primary objective of the two days Conference is to showcase the learnings that have come forth as a result of various research projects and studies designed as a result of PPAF's collaboration with international and national researchers interested in testing various hypothesis linked to poverty alleviation. PPAF's role as an apex is to create more opportunities for collaboration between researchers and practitioners, to develop a strong basis of evidence that can translate into useful policy input and better designed and implemented programmes that aim to reduce poverty.
The conference will provide an interactive forum to learn from both successes and failures of the diverse work of PPAF and its partner organisations thereby setting priorities and a benchmark based on the best practices in the industry.
This year the conference will focus on four main themes, namely, the geography and typology of poverty in Pakistan, research results from the completion of the PPAF-III World Bank project, latest evidence from international and national poverty graduation approaches, and current research that focuses specifically on women and girls in the region.
Shahnaz Wazir Ali, President SZABIST will deliver the keynote speech on Day One of the Conference. Other notable participants of the Conference will include Dr Ghazala Mansuri, Lead Economist, The World Bank (via video conference), Dr Imran Rasul of University College London/IGC, Dr Asad Zaman, vice-chancellor PIDE, Dr Geof Wood, University of Bath, Dr Naved Hamid, Lahore School of Economics, Dr ZebaSathar, Population Council, Dr Louise Walker, DFID, and Kate Vyborny from Duke University.
In April 2014, PPAF organised its First International Conference on Research and Learning in Islamabad. The conference was a reflection of PPAF's long-standing commitment to innovation and sustainability in its approach, ideas, and methodologies by bridging the gap between the development world and that of research. By sharing the results of all the ongoing and completed research studies, PPAF enriched the existing literature on development work within the country.-PR