On January 27-29, 2026, JICA, together with the World Bank and Asian Development Bank, held a LEADS workshop on evidence-based project promotion.
The Learn, Adapt and Scale (LEADS) workshop is a World Bank initiative to promote the use of evidence and adaptive learning in business by bringing together government officials, researchers and business teams to collaborate and design business projects. The workshop provides tools, methods, and ideas for policy makers to learn in real time, adapt implementation tools, and scale effective solutions. The workshop was co-hosted for the first time in Tokyo by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and JICA, and was attended by about 100 participants, including project staff and researchers from four JICA projects, six World Bank projects, and three ADB projects, as well as researchers from the Development Economics Association of Japan.
In addition to a lecture by Ariana Rigovini, Director, Development Impact Assessment Group, World Bank, who led the LEADS workshop, the program included a panel discussion with Albert Park, Chief Economist, Asian Development Bank; Elina Scheja, Chief Economist, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency; Hitoshi Hirata, Senior Advisor, JICA; and other participants. The program included a panel discussion and an online session with Mr. Indermit Gill, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of the World Bank.
On the final day, based on the findings from the program, project stakeholders from a wide range of fields, including health, law and justice, waste management, and transportation infrastructure, gave presentations on how to improve the development impact of their individual projects. Going forward, the participants will continue to implement these measures by making use of the network formed during the workshop and receiving advice from researchers.
For JICA, it was a valuable co-creation opportunity for researchers and practitioners to discuss improvement measures through the use of evidence in specific projects, to learn from the practices of the World Bank and Asian Development Bank in order to promote the introduction and further use of evidence, and to discuss how to improve projects.
JICA will use this workshop as an opportunity to further maximize development results through the use of evidence.
In addition, as part of the workshop, a research conference dedicated to the infrastructure sector is being held on Monday, January 26. For more information, please visit the JICA Ogata Institute website.
Lecture by Ariana Rigovini, Director, Development Impact Evaluation Group, World Bank
Panel discussion with Albert Park, Chief Economist, Asian Development Bank; Elina Scheja, Chief Economist, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency; Hitoshi Hirata, Senior Advisor, JICA; and others
© Source JICA