HEW2017 is an initiative led by Evidence Aid, in collaboration with the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine to promote a more evidence-based approach together with over twenty organisations. During the HEW these organisations will provide webinars, blogs and participate in debates to highlight topics related to generation, use and dissemination of evidence in the humanitarian sector, details of which you will find below, in a timeline that will be updated as more activities are added. Aside from the organisations mentioned below, the following organisations also confirmed participation: Oxfam, HIFA, Karolinska Institute, ACF-UK, HCRI, IRC, MSF-UK, UNICEF Office of Research-Innocenti, Campbell Collaboration, ACAPS and 3ie.
Humanitarians and library and information professionals: Towards evidence-based humanitarian action – HIFA Discussion Forum
October 16, 2017

What are the information needs of humanitarians as they prepare and respond to emergencies, disasters and disease outbreaks worldwide? How can they work more effectively with library and information professionals to ensure maximum humanitarian impact?
These are some of the questions addressed during at the HIFA discussion forum from 16 October to the 12 November. You can join the discussions here.Improving evidence-based decision-making and accountability in humanitarian response: opportunities from the RECAP project. – Seminar at LSHTM
November 6, 2017

Seminart at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine with Alice Obrecht (ALNAP), Bayard Roberts (LSHTM) and Gareth Owen (Save the Children UK) – The event will take place on 6th November from 17:30 to 19:00 – More information here.
Eventbrite registration More info at the LSHTM Health and Humantarian Crisis Centre Website

Supporting the mental health and psychosocial needs of children and young people affected by humanitarian emergencies – Blog by EPPI
November 6, 2017

An introduction to systematic reviews in the humanitarian sector – Evidence Aid Training
November 7, 2017

Building on his successful and popular courses on systematic reviews in a wide variety of settings, Professor Mike Clarke will run this 1-day Evidence Aid course to place systematic reviews in the context of disasters and the provision of humanitarian aid. The course will provide learning and practical experience in a small group setting for many aspects of systematic reviewing. These include question formulation and eligibility criteria, searching for eligible material, data extraction, analysis, and reporting. Examples relevant to the humanitarian sector will be used to illustrate key points and participants should leave the course feeling more comfortable about embarking on their own systematic review and when using reviews for decision making – More information here.
Contested Evidence: The challenges and limits of evidence-based approaches to humanitarian action – PHAP Webinar
November 7, 2017

As part of Humanitarian Evidence Week, on 7 November, PHAP will host an online discussion, looking critically at the concept of evidence-based approaches to humanitarian action. The Webinar is chaired by Marc DuBois – More information here. You can register for the webinar through this link.
Gathering evidence on the diversity of humanitarian “languages”: The Humanitarian Encyclopedia – CERAH Blog
November 7, 2017

In this blog, we will present initial evidence on the variation of terms used in humanitarian action. Based on an analysis of the geographical, sectoral and organisational diversity of actors intervening in crisis contexts, we will explore how this diversity is reflected in the way different groups of actors conceptualise humanitarianism. More information here.

Building safety in post-disaster shelter self-recovery: A review of current knowledge – CENDEP Blog
November 7, 2017

This blog aims to address the absence of evidence about safety in post disaster shelter self-recovery by synthesising and evaluating current knowledge, with the objective of identifying what factors have an impact on safety and establishing where the gaps in information are. More information here.
The impact of mental health and psychosocial programmes for adults affected by humanitarian emergencies – Blog by EPPI
November 7, 2017

The use of CTP to deliver food security outcomes in the wake the 2014-2015 Ebola crisis
November 8, 2017

The blog will discuss the role of evidence in decision making during project design and implementation to provide recommendations for improving their use during a CTP intervention and through the project cycle. We will use the findings from a recent documentation review of the response and from a case study on the role of digital technology in CTP. More information here.
Producing evidence synthesis for the humanitarian sector: challenges and potential solutions – Blog by EPPI
November 8, 2017

Social Protection in Fragile Contexts; Building the Evidence – Webinar by UNICEF’s Office of Research Innocenti
November 8, 2017

One of the key commitments under the Grand Bargain revolves around increasing social protection programmes as mechanisms for humanitarian action, including with a specific commitment on building evidence on their benefits and impacts. Drawing on established research under the ‘Transfer Project’ and from recent initiatives in fragile and displacement contexts, UNICEF’s Office of Research – Innocenti will be hosting an online event to contribute findings and lessons as part Humanitarian Evidence Week 2017. Bringing together in-house experts, field practitioners and researchers from academia, the discussion will present recent efforts and findings from conducting impact evaluations of social protection programmes in emergencies, discuss research designs and share lessons from challenges and opportunities to scale-up research efforts and contribute in building the body of evidence on social protection in fragile contexts.
Start at 15:00 CET Speakers: Jose Cuesta / Jacob de Hoop / Tilman Bruck, ISDC / Hannah Ring, American Institutes of Research Register here.Humanitarian Evidence Week: Improving the availability of reliable health information – Webinar by the US NLM DIMRC
November 9, 2017

Speakers will provide an overview of two powerful platforms that promote access to health information for those involved in humanitarian action. Ms. Taylor will describe the scope of the Disaster Lit® database and the process used by the US National Library of Medicine (NLM) to select high-quality resources, freely available on the internet, about the medical and public health aspects of disaster and public health emergency preparedness and response. Dr. Pakenham-Walsh will discuss how his organization, Healthcare Information For All (HIFA) , promotes communication among stakeholders to realize a vision of a world where every person will have access to the healthcare information they need to protect their own health and the health of others.
The webinar will start at 10:00 am ET/3:00 pm UK. More information here.How do we know? What forms of knowledge support humanitarian aid? – Blog by EPPI
November 9, 2017

Gap maps and research priorities – Seminar hosted by UCL
November 9, 2017

This seminar will bring together some of the key organisations working on gap maps and research priorities for the humanitarian sector. They will provide an overview of their work and the opportunity to interact with them through questions and debate. The event is organised by Evidence Aid and hosted by EPPI/UCL and will start at 15:30 at the TCRU Library in 27 Woburn Square, London.
Interested in attending? There are limited seats available, please contact Jane Higgins (jhiggins@evidenceaid.org). Only those with reservations will be allowed to attend.









Building Better Back: gender and health systems strengthening in fragile and post conflict contexts – Blog by LSTM & NPSIA
November 10, 2017


This blog will synthesise the learning on gender from our resources available on Building Back Better website. More information here.
Authors: Sally Theobald, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine / Valerie Percival, Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA), Carleton University

Humanitarian Action in an Urbanising World: Understanding Risk, Building Resilience, Responding to Crises – blog by DFID/UKAID
November 10, 2017

The blog will discuss the findings of two DFID-funded evidence programmes focused on preventing and responding to urban crises. Urban ARK, co-funded with the ESRC and led by King’s College London is building our understanding of hazards and vulnerabilities in urban sub-Saharan Africa, applying a ‘spectrum of methods’ to understand the ‘spectrum of risks’ in towns and cities in the region. The Urban Crises Programme, led by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) has generated a wealth of evidence and tools to support a response to affected populations in urban areas that brings in municipal actors and works with existing city systems to ensure a more context-specific response.
Author: Lucy Earle

3ie London Evidence Week 2017 is a series of public events focused on the importance of using evidence to inform how we address some of the biggest challenges we are facing in development. More information here.
On 8 November, 3ie is organising a one-day conference at the George Fox Room, Friends House, Euston Road. The conference titled ‘Evidence that matters for vulnerable and marginalised people in international development’ will have interesting panels on promoting systematic review evidence in decision-making, reaching vulnerable and marginalised populations in WASH and agriculture sectors and presentations on various topics relating to promoting evidence-informed policymaking. This is a free event and will be of great interest to researchers, academics and students who are based in London. Professor Charlotte Watts, DFID chief scientific advisor, will deliver the annual Howard White Lecture to open the one-day conference. As a renowned researcher in HIV and gender-based violence, her lecture will be very well suited to our theme
To register, please click here. Follow the conversation on Twitter using #3ieLEW2017.
Festival of Social Science – 4 to 11 November 2017The Festival of social science organised by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESCR) is designed to promote and increase awareness of social sciences. The event is a platform to promote ESRC’s research, enable social scientists to engage with non-academics and increase awareness of the contributions the social sciences make to the wellbeing and the economy of the UK society. More information here.