JICA, the World Bank and ADB Advance Evidence- Based Operations through Tokyo LEADS Workshop
Day：2026.03.04
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From January 27 to 29, 2026, JICA, together with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB), co‑hosted TOKYO LEADS Workshop aimed at promoting evidence-based project implementation.
The LEADS (Learn, Adapt and Scale) Workshop is a World Bank’s initiative designed to bring together government officials, researchers, and operational teams to work together on design development projects and advance the use of evidence and adaptive learning. The workshop provides tools, methodologies, and mindsets that enable policymakers to learn in real time, to adapt implementation modalities, and to scale effective solutions. This marked the first time JICA, the World Bank, and the ADB jointly organized the workshop in Tokyo. Approximately 100 participants attended, including government officials, project operation teams members, and researchers from 4 JICA projects, 6 World Bank projects, and 3 ADB projects, as well as researchers from Japan Association for Development Economics. The projects that participated spanned a wide range of sectors, including health, law and justice, waste management, and transport infrastructure.
The program featured series of lectures by Arianna Legovini, Director of Development Impact (DIME), World Bank Group, who leads the LEADS initiative and other researchers. It also included a panel discussion with Albert Park, Chief Economist of ADB; Elina Scheja, Chief Economist of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida); and Hitoshi Hirata, Vice President of JICA. In addition, an online interactive session was held with Indermit Gill, Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of the World Bank, contributing to a rich and comprehensive agenda.
On the final day, each project presented strategies for enhancing development impact of each project based on the insights gained throughout the workshop. JICA will leverage the networks formed during the workshop to pursue practical improvements with advice from researchers.
For JICA, the workshop served as a valuable opportunity for co‑creation, enabling discussions on evidence-based improvements within development projects, learning from the practices of the World Bank and ADB, and fostering dialogue between researchers and practitioners on project enhancement.
Building on this workshop, JICA will continue its efforts to strengthen evidence-based approaches to maximize development outcomes.
Additionally, as part of the workshop program, a research conference focused on the infrastructure sector was held on Monday, January 26. For further details, please refer to the website of the JICA Ogata Research Institute.
Lecture by Arianna Legovini, Director of Development Impact (DIME), World Bank Group
Panel discussion with Albert Park, Chief Economist of ADB; Elina Scheja, Chief Economist of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida); and Hitoshi Hirata, Vice President of JICA
“clinic” in which practitioners and researchers discuss each project
【関連リンク】
JICA Ogata Research Institute site：Innovation in Infrastructure Impact: A Discussion Among Researchers From the World Bank, ADB and the JICA Ogata Research Institute - JICA Ogata Research Institute