CUNEF Universidad hosts a meeting on opportunities and challenges in Spanish cooperation impact assessment

The “Meeting on Spanish Cooperation Impact Assessment: Opportunities and Challenges”, held by the Spanish Network of Development Economists (SPANDE) at CUNEF Universidad, brought together academic, public administration and third-sector experts.

The purpose of the meeting was to bridge the gap between research and practice and thus drive evidence-based development cooperation. After a welcome speech by María Hernández de Benito, Professor of the Department of Economics at CUNEF Universidad, speakers Jorge García Hombrados (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid), Beatriz Sánchez Delgado (Spanish Cooperation Evaluation Office within the Secretary of State for International Cooperation) and Samuel Bentolila (Centre for Monetary and Financial Studies - CEMFI) reflected on the challenges and advances in public policy and cooperation impact assessment.

The final round-table discussion was chaired by Julián Messina (Universidad de Alicante). Participants Teresa Molina (Universidad de Alicante), Daniela López Cajiao (Save the Children Spain), Blanca Pérez (SIC4Change), Beatriz Sánchez Delgado and Samuel Bentolila discussed the challenges and opportunities involved in systematically embedding impact evaluation in Spanish cooperation, highlighting how this would enhance accountability, transparency and institutional learning.

The meeting concluded with an informal chat that allowed participants to identify new collaboration opportunities for the different agents in the Spanish cooperation ecosystem.