EVIDENCE 2016 - ENGAGE. UNDERSTAND. IMPACT
Brought to you by the Africa Evidence Network
We look forward to meeting you at EVIDENCE 2016, which will take place at the CSIR International Convention Centre in Pretoria from 20 - 22 September 2016.
Keynote Speakers
Evidence 2016 has an impressive line-up of thought leaders in the field of EIDM from around the world. Speakers include those working in government, parliament, civil society and research institutions. Minister Naledi Pandor of the Department of Science and Technology in South Africa will be giving a keynote, and other plenary speakers include Honourable Olfa Soukri Cherif, Member of Parliament and Member of the Committee on Finance in Tunisia. Sir Ian Chalmers, a stalwart in advancing the use of evidence in policy-making in medicine, one of the founders of the Cochrane Collaboration, and coordinator of the James Lind Initiative, will be delivering a message of support. Our programme includes representation from 15 countries.
For more information on the programme, click here.
Who should attend
Anyone who works in Africa and has an interest in evidence, its production and use in decision-making. This includes those working in government, civil society, universities and the private sector.
Objectives
EVIDENCE 2016 aims to encourage and promote evidence-informed decision-making (EIDM) in Africa, thereby contributing to the development of effective public policies, efficient implementation of services, as well as joint learning on interventions that tackle poverty and equality in African countries.
The objectives of the conference include the following:
•to share lessons learnt and advance discussions in supporting EIDM in Africa;
•to increase engagement across AEN membership and build relations with relevant institutions and professionals in EIDM;
•and to situate the AEN as a key player in, and umbrella body for, EIDM in Africa.
Background to the Africa Evidence Network
The Network was conceived in December 2012 following the Campbell Collaboration’s mini-colloquium in Dhaka, Bangladesh. At this colloquium, a number of African delegates from various systematic review and EIDM organisations had a meeting at which they agreed to form a network with the purpose of sharing information, experiences and ideas on EIDM. The AEN thus seeks to link up people and activities across various fields, initiatives and organisations working to produce and use evidence. The AEN is supported by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) via the University of Johannesburg’s Building Capacity to Use Research Evidence (UJ-BCURE) Programme, an initiative aimed at enhancing the use of evidence in the governments of South Africa and Malawi through mentorship programmes and practical workshops.
In November 2014 (25-28 November 2014), the AEN hosted its first ever colloquium in Johannesburg which brought together the EIDM community from the African continent and beyond. It served to pay testimony to the growing appetite and demand for evidence and to connect producers and users of such evidence.