Transforming Evidence Network Co-Hosted International Conference in South Africa

Five people sit on black chairs on a conference stage. The white backdrop reads “Transforming Evidence Network 2024 Conference,” alongside logos from The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Pan-African Collective for Evidence, and the African Center for Equitable Development. From the left, there is a woman with long black hair and a sleeveless dress next to a woman with blonde hair, wearing a white shirt and dark blue pants. In the middle sits a woman wearing a white dress; beside her is a man wearing a green shirt and orange headwear, and then a woman in a gray jacket and dark dress. — Conference speakers shared successful strategies for using artificial intelligence, data visualization dashboards, and trusted relationships to deliver high-quality data to policymakers. Pictured from left to right: Vivian Tseng, Foundation for Child Development; Kristin Corbett, International Development Research Centre; Laurenda Todome, African Center for Equitable Development; Godfrey Mashamba, South Africa Department of Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation; and Pew’s Rumeli Banik.

Fact Sheet September 23, 2024

Note: This page was updated on July 9, 2025, to reflect conference highlights.

The Pew Charitable Trusts co-hosted the second Transforming Evidence Network (TEN) Conference with local partners, the Pan-African Collective for Evidence (PACE) and the African Center for Equitable Development (ACED), in Cape Town, South Africa, on Nov. 19-21, 2024. The conference brought together more than 250 scholars, leaders from nongovernmental organizations, policymakers, and funders from more than 35 countries. These experts represent diverse issue areas, including health, education, climate, sustainability, peace and security, international development, economic mobility, and more. Attendees shared innovative approaches that close the gap between research and outcomes.

Three people stand on a conference stage against a white backdrop that reads “Transforming Evidence Network 2024 Conference.” On the left is a man wearing an orange shirt and black pants with white paint on his face. In the middle is a man strumming a guitar; his face also sports white paint and he wears an orange shirt, and green and white pants. On the right is a woman with dotted white paint on her face, wearing a white strapless dress with colorful stripes. — Musicians from eBase Africa performed an original, multimedia piece about using evidence to improve the lives of people and the planet.

Conference sessions focused on making research more relevant and useful to policymakers, practitioners, and community leaders. Funders participated alongside experts to discuss new funding programs and potential initiatives.

The group discussed:

Leading-edge methodologies for studying how to increase the use of research in policy and practice.
Strategies for strengthening institutional frameworks and incentives for societally impactful research.
Best practices for embedding routine data and research use within government agencies.
The responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) in supporting policymakers with evidence.
Approaches to mobilizing large amounts of data for public policy through government-university partnerships.
Creative communications strategies such as storytelling and podcasts to bring data and evidence to life for different audiences.

Conference organizers used the location to ensure the global group could learn from each other and collaborate. African colleagues, for example, showcased their successes in delivering high-quality data and evidence to policymakers using AI, data visualization dashboards, and long-term trusted relationships—strategies that can be used in a variety of other contexts.

In a crowded conference room, a slideshow is presented on a screen. Two people stand by a wall with sticky notes on it. There are four roundtables with about six people at each of them. — Workshops and small group discussions enabled conversations about bridging the gaps between research, data, policy, and practice, drawing on experiences from across disciplines and geographies.

To overcome the language barrier for the global audience, the conference used an AI language translation tool that provides real-time, two-way captioning and translation, to allow participants to better communicate with each other and enabled some sessions to be conducted entirely in French, to facilitate the engagement of the many participants from Francophone West Africa.

Pictured from the back of a crowded room, conference participants seated at tables face two screens flanking each side of a stage. The room is awash in blue light emitted from the screens. Seven speakers sit on the stage between the screens. — Conference participants discussed the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) in moving evidence to policy. An AI language translation tool used during all conference sessions allowed audience members to access the same information on their phone or laptop in multiple languages.

Led by Pew, TEN brings together global leaders who are working to develop best practices for supporting policy and practice with research and evidence. Pew facilitates learning and collaboration across various issue areas so participants can adopt and scale promising approaches. Several new partnerships have emerged through connections fostered during the inaugural conference in 2022. These collaborations, for example, have expanded the use of new techniques for rapidly synthesizing evidence, launched new funding programs that connect country-specific data platforms and boost community-engaged technology development, and tackled new frontiers in evidence-informed decision-making within international affairs.

A room full of people peer up at a camera positioned over a balcony. The majority are standing, while there are a couple of rows of people crouched on the floor. In the background, a piece of artwork shows a person with short hair painted in shades of black, white, and gray, with splotches of pink on the canvas. — Two hundred participants gathered for the Transforming Evidence Network conference in Cape Town, South Africa, in November 2024. Co-hosted by The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Pan-African Collective for Evidence, and the African Center for Equitable Development, attendees discussed how to advance research that benefits communities.

Support from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, William T. Grant Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Gates Foundation, and Foundation for Child Development helped make this convening possible.