About
The Trinity IMpact Evaluation Unit (TIME), is a research centre based in the Department of Economics in Trinity's School of Social Sciences and Philosophy. TIME brings together researchers, development practitioners, and policy makers in a collective effort to estimate the impact, and understand the underlying mechanisms, of social projects and investments.
Mission
TIME contributes to the global debate on development by conducting high quality research, developing policy advice and providing training to development practitioners on rigorous methods of impact evaluation. Our vision is to provide strong evidence to inform policy, so that better investments with a real impact can be made to support sustainable inclusive development. By producing evidence on what works, what does not work and how change takes place, we contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals - the universal call of our time end poverty, protect the planet and improve the lives of everyone, everywhere.
Research
TIME conducts research to evaluate the impact and effectiveness of interventions and policies aimed to foster sustainable development. The current portfolio of TIME projects spans a wide set of important topics, such education, environment and agriculture, financial inclusion, gender, health, labour and entrepreneurship, political economy, urban and migration, and social protection.
Workshop and Summer School
TIME has entered a partnership with Irish Aid/Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) which will help establish Ireland as a key player in international development research in Europe. The partnership with Irish Aid/DFA provides support for an annual Workshop in Development Economics and a Summer School on Impact Evaluation which focuses on developing the skills required to conduct, evaluate and manage programmes on impact evaluation. From 2021, the Summer School on Impact Evaluation has become a five-week online course.
People
With 24 researchers in total, TIME represents one of the largest clusters of development economists in Europe. This speciality is complemented by expertise in urban economics and political economy. The ten core members of TIME are Prof. Michael King, Prof. Gaia Narciso, Prof. Carol Newman, Prof Selim Gulesci, Prof. Tara Mitchell, Prof. Alejandra Ramos, Prof Martina Kirchberger, Prof. Ronan Lyons, Prof Nicola Fontana and Prof Martina Zanella. In addition, there are two affiliated members Prof. Andrea Guariso, Prof Nicola Mastrorocco, eleven PhD students and one post-doctorate researcher affiliated with TIME.
Get in Touch
We invite NGOs, policy makers and international organizations that are planning a development project to get in touch with us. We can help in the design of interventions and impact evaluations according to the best practices established by academic research.