World Bank Grant for Continuing Education Program

Since 2018, the University of Bern has been home to IPDET, the world’s leading International Program For Development Evaluation Training which was founded by the World Bank in 2001. Now, this program can be further expanded for an initial 2 years, thanks to a USD 1.5 million competitive grant from the World Bank.

For 18 years, the University of Bern has been the only Swiss university to offer a comprehensive range of advanced training in evaluation. In 2001, the World Bank initiated the International Program For Development Evaluation Training (IPDET). This program has been conducted jointly since 2018 by the Zentrum für universitäre Weiterbildung (Center for Continuing Education – ZUW) of the University of Bern, Switzerland, the Center for Evaluation CEval in Saarbrücken, Germany, and the Independent Evaluation Group IEG of the World Bank.

IPDET’s courses and workshops are tailored to the needs of professionals who commission, lead, conduct, or use the evaluations. “IPDET provides managers and practitioners with the tools to evaluate development strategies, programs, and projects at local, national, regional, and global level.” says Stefanie Krapp, Head of the IPDET Program at the University of Bern. In recent years, more than 4,000 professionals have participated in training offers and joined the global and multidisciplinary IPDET network.

Greater Appeal Thanks To Additional Funding

As a result of the reorganization of funding for its evaluation programs, the World Bank awarded IPDET a grant in November 2021 in the amount of USD 1.5 million for the years 2021 to 2023 – with the prospect of receiving USD 0.6 million for an additional year. “This provides us with the financial security to be able to implement our plans,” says Stefanie Krapp, Head of the IPDET Program.

The additional funding will help IPDET to reach more people in countries of the Global South and to become more decentralized and virtual. This will allow the IPDET evaluation community to exchange ideas and to network virtually. An expanded mentoring program is also planned to help young evaluators gain practical experience. “And above all, we wish to provide training and consulting in all regions of the world,” continues Stefanie Krapp, “in a need-based, online, on-site fashion, or combined as blended learning and always in cooperation with local partners.”

World Bank Grant for the University of Bern

The grant is the first of its kind that the World Bank awarded to the Zentrum für universitäre Weiterbildung ZUW at the University of Bern. IPDET prevailed over other World Bank programs in an elaborate bidding process. “Naturally, we also needed to prove that effective work has been done at IPDET in Bern since 2018,” explains Stefanie Krapp.

The grant is very important for the University of Bern since it contributes to the internationalization of the university, adds Stefanie Krapp. “The fact that the Center for Continuing Education ZUW is the location for an internationally renowned program, that attracts many experts and decision-makers every year, radiates out into the world.”

IPDET (International Program for Development Evaluation Training)

IPDET is the world’s leading International Program For Development Evaluation Training. It was initiated by the World Bank and was based at the Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada, from 2001 to 2016. In 2017, the World Bank searched for a new implementing partner. In an international selection process, the University of Bern (Evaluation Department of the ZUW), Switzerland, in cooperation with the Center for Evaluation CEval in Saarbrücken, Germany prevailed over 40 competitors. IPDET provides managers and practitioners with the tools to evaluate development strategies, programs, and projects at local, national, regional, and global level. The range of further training is aimed at development professionals who perform, order, manage or use evaluations. Attendees come from ministries or authorities in developing countries, development banks, the non-profit and foundation sector, the system of the United Nations and from bilateral development agencies, universities, think tanks and private-sector consulting firms specializing in development evaluation.

For more information, please visit: www.ipdet.org

2021/12/23