Your occasional update on our network, upcoming events, professional development and the world of impact evaluation
Dear members,
The Australian Evaluation Society conference is on next month. If you are coming, there will be an informal side-event for IEPN network members. Read on for the details; we hope to see you there.
Two recent IEPN seminars have featured practical insights into running randomised trials. The presentations from Dr Berk Özler (The World Bank) and Prof Sally Brinkman (University of South Australia) were followed by insightful questions and discussion. Read on for a short recap. If you missed these talks, we are adding previous seminar recordings to our members platform. Below you will find instructions on how to join the platform and connect with fellow IEPN members.
We have two more seminars scheduled for September and October. As a network member, you should have received calendar appointments, but the details are also in this newsletter. It is a bumper issue, with some external opportunities, lots of updates on the network and some reading recommendations. Enjoy!
Yours in impactful impact evaluation,
The IEPN Secretariat
Network update
Recap on recent seminars
June and July saw two excellent IEPN seminars from Berk Özler and Sally Brinkman. Both had a wealth of practical advice on running randomised trials. Dr Özler’s work is mostly in development economics, running trials in developing countries. His central piece of advice for practitioners: micromanage your trials. Given the complexity of implementing a trial, Berk argues the researcher needs to be present and engaged with all the details to ensure the trial is executed as designed.
Professor Brinkman talked about the unexpected outcomes and challenges that arise during a randomised trial, particularly in relation to her trial on the use of infant simulators. She also discussed the difficulty of scaling a program that is found to be effective. If you missed these sessions, the slides are attached to this email. You can watch the recordings by joining the IEPN members collaboration platform.
Members collaboration platform
The IEPN members platform is now live on Microsoft Teams. If you have not joined yet, reach out to Tony (tony.bertoia@edresearch.edu.au) with the following details to be added.
| Prefix | FirstName | LastName | Job Title | Organisation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The group will allow you to
- Chat directly to other IEPN members
- Share ideas, post notices and ask questions. You can reach the whole network or join dedicated channels for side-discussions and special-interest sub-groups.
- Access a SharePoint folder via the Teams app or web browser. This is where we are uploading recordings of past seminars.
- Collaborate with other group members in files within the SharePoint folder structure.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Tony Bertoia on tony.bertoia@edresearch.edu.au
Now open: The IEPN members directory
Within the members collaboration platform, we will soon be hosting a member directory. The directory is designed to help members connect, share expertise, and collaborate. Participation is voluntary, and the directory will be hosted on the IEPN Microsoft Teams drive, accessible only to network members.
Enter your details to the IEPN members directory.
IEPN to kick off a new social program
We are excited to be launching the IEPN’s social program shortly, commencing with the Randomised Coffees and Teas (RCTs) initiative.
Stay tuned for more details in your email inboxes!
If you have any questions, please reach out to Tony on tony.bertoia@edresearch.edu.au
IEPN gathering at aes25
The theme for the 2025 Australian Evaluation Society conference is ‘beyond the bubble.’ Expand your bubble by meeting IEPN network members face-to-face. We will be gathering informally on the second day of the conference at the National Convention Centre Canberra (NCCC).
Date: Thursday 18th September, 2025 (the second day of the conference)
Time: Lunchtime, 12:30 – 1:30 pm
Location: Around the lunch buffet – we will find a spot and save some seats. Look for the crowd of people talking about trials.
You will need a conference ticket for the second day to attend.
Upcoming IEPN seminars
There are seminars scheduled for September and October. All members should have received a calendar appointment via email. If you haven’t, please reach out to Campbell McNolty (campbell.mcnolty@treasury.gov.au). We also have a December seminar in the calendar, although the details may change.
Delivering equity and value through early childhood investment: The ‘right@home’ trial of the Maternal Early Childhood Sustained Home-visiting (MECSH) program
Please join us for the September IEPN Seminar on the ‘right@home’ trial of the Maternal Early Childhood Sustained Home-visiting (MECSH) program
Date: Wednesday 3rd September, 2025
Time: 10 am – 11 am AEDT
Location: Join via Microsoft Teams
'right@home' is a landmark Australian trial of the Maternal Early Childhood Sustained Home-visiting (MECSH) program, showing that proportionate, sustained nurse home visiting improves outcomes for families experiencing adversity. Led by the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth, Western Sydney University, and the Centre for Community Child Health (Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the Royal Children’s Hospital), the team has collaborated since 2012, publishing over 25 research papers from the trial, and securing $16 million in research investment and over $80 million in additional government funding. Presenters include Dr Anna Price, Professor Lynn Kemp, Professor Lisa Gold, and Professor Sharon Goldfeld AM, whose combined expertise spans equity research, paediatrics, nursing, health economics, and large-scale trials. The program’s evidence has driven implementation across multiple Australian jurisdictions and informed early years policy nationally and internationally.
Using the Person Level Integrated Data Asset (PLIDA) for Experimental Designs
The October IEPN seminar will feature the Trials, Research and Evaluation Team (TREaT) from the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR).
Date: Thursday 30th October, 2025
Time: 1-2 pm AEST
Location: Join via Microsoft Teams
TREaT staff will present on the application of PLIDA in analysing Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) data in Workforce Australia Online. The session will focus on the rationale behind data integration and how it enhances analytical capabilities. Presenters will delve into the process of integrating trial data with PLIDA, and highlight key considerations when using PLIDA in the context of running field experiments.
External opportunities
Opportunities for evaluators, sent to us by friends of the IEPN. The IEPN is not involved in these programs, please reach out directly to the contacts below for more information.
Advise the Australian and Thai governments on evaluation practice
The Australian Office of Impact Analysis and the Thai Office of Council of State have a shared interest in building and implementing stronger evaluation planning for their work on administering Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA). A Request for Quotation(RFQ), supported by the Australian Government’s Southeast Asia-Australia Government to Government Program, seeks the creation of foundational products that will guide design decisions on evaluation planning for RIA administration in both jurisdictions. The RFQ is available and the closing date is 11:59 pm (AEST time) on 31 August 2025.
Call for applications: Join the ACSES Impact Evaluation Practitioner Directory
The Australian Centre for Student Equity and Success (ACSES) partners with universities across the country to help close equity gaps in higher education. ACSES promotes effective policies and practices that improve student success, with a vision to be the leading authority on what works to improve equity in higher education. The Trials and Evaluation program supports this vision by providing evaluation training and resources, summarising and promoting evidence, and funding impact evaluations.
In 2021, the Australian Student Equity in Higher Education Evaluation Framework (SEHEEF) called for a national approach to improve the quality of equity program evaluations, promoting a focus on assessing whether equity initiatives were achieving their intended effects. While some Australian university equity teams have their own in-house evaluation expertise to deliver impact evaluations, many do not. That’s why ACSES is creating the Impact Evaluation Practitioner Directory.
The Impact Evaluation Practitioner Directory will be a national resource to help university equity teams connect with relevant IE specialists, who can help them successfully design and/or implement IEs relevant to their equity initiatives. Although being listed in the Directory does not guarantee work, it does signal that the listed individual meets defined quality criteria for conducting impact evaluations. ACSES will also promote this Directory as a resource to the Australian higher education sector.
If you are an experienced impact evaluation specialist within Australia, we invite you to apply to be listed in the Impact Evaluation Practitioner Directory. Follow the link to access the Guidelines and Application Template.
Apply by 29 September 2025 to be considered.
Reading and links
If you find this reading list interesting or you would like to submit something for the next edition, please contact us at evaluation@treasury.gov.au.
Practical tips for designing well-powered experiments: David McKenzie gives useful advice on boosting the power of your experiment at the design, implementation and analysis phase.
The ACE Evaluation Library: A newly launched repository of evaluations commissioned and produced by Australian Government entities hosted by the APO. There are already more than 100 evaluations published there, including from the randomised trial on right@home.
On the J-PAL blog, Laura Feeney and Cillian Nolan make the case for impact evaluation for public policy in Europe and North America. They forgot to mention Australia, but the same ideas apply.
Andrew Gelman discusses the interaction between internal validity and external validity on his blog, Statistical Modelling, Causal Inference, and Social Science.