The Asian Development Bank's (ADB) Independent Evaluation Department (IED) and the Asia-Pacific Finance and Development Institute (AFDI) are hosting the 2025 Asian Evaluation Week (AEW) on 1- 4 September in Xi'an, China. The AEW will mark its 10th year with the theme, ‘Navigating Crises: Building on Successes.’ The 2025 edition of the conference will offer participants actionable insights to navigate future uncertainties through inspiring keynote speeches, dynamic panel discussions, and collaborative interactions.

Session 1

As part of the plenary session on 1 September titled ‘Evidence Talks’, Dr. Dean Karlan, Professor of Economics and Finance, Northwestern University and former Chief Economist of USAID, will share how evidence-based evaluation helps governments make smarter decisions, especially when resources are limited. Following the talk, 3ie Executive Director Marie Gaarder will moderate a Fireside Chat with Dr Karlan, offering deeper insights into the role of evidence in shaping policy.

Session 2

On 2 September, 3ie Senior Evaluation Specialist, Divya Pandey, will be moderating a panel ‘Strengthening theories of change (ToCs) for rigorous and actionable evaluations’ that will explore how robust, context-sensitive ToCs can strengthen the design and effectiveness of evaluations. Speakers from research, government, and international financial institutions will discuss the role of ToCs in clarifying outcomes, embedding monitoring and learning, anticipating risks and unintended consequences, and enabling course corrections in policy and program implementation. The session will emphasize cross-sectoral collaboration and institutional incentives as critical for making ToCs both technically rigorous and operationally relevant.

Panelists:

  • Emily Sharp, Director, Strategy, Performance & Learning at Pacific Community (SPC)
  • Marie Gaarder, Executive Director, International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie)
  • Mitchell Rakusin, Senior Results Management Specialist, Asian Development Bank (ADB)
  • Neeta Goel, Senior Evaluation Specialist, ADB

To know more about the conference, click here.