Varja Lipovsek
Research Scientist
email vlipov@mit.edu
twitter @vlipovsek
Varja is a Research Scientist at MIT GOV/LAB. Varja’s role is to bridge the academic and practitioner worlds through support to southern-based practitioner (civil society) organizations working on Transparency, Accountability and Participation (TAP). This includes development and strengthening of organizational learning methods and frameworks, sharpening of theoretical underpinnings of the program, and co-design and implementation of evaluation and research portfolios. Prior to joining GOV/LAB, Varja led the Learning, Monitoring and Evaluation portfolio at Twaweza East Africa, a non-governmental organization focusing on producing evidence for accountability and action in the domains of basic education and open government. Before Twaweza, Varja worked for international non-governmental organizations and the World Health Organization (WHO) focusing on public health in a variety of contexts, including Central and Eastern Europe, South East Asia, and South America. Varja holds a PhD from Tulane University.
Related Work
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Research Report March 2020
Information and Accountability: Evidence Syntheses of Within-Government and Citizen-Government Accountability Pathways
Full report on the evidence syntheses undertaken for the Transparency and Accountability Initiative as part of the Learning from Evidence series.
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Learning Case March 2020
Supporting Field-Based Learning for Transparency and Accountability Initiatives: Lessons from the Learning Collaborative
Executive Summary for the final report of the Learning Collaborative, a network of civil society focused on institutional learning to support transparency, accountability, and participation.
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Update March 2020
To Improve Learning, Invite Friendly Criticism
We conducted peer-led organizational learning assessments to support the Learning Collaborative, a civil society network focused on learning more systematically.
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Research Brief March 2020
Preface to Evidence Syntheses on Information and Accountability
An overview of the specific pathways to accountability explored through the Learning from Evidence series and longer evidence syntheses.
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Update March 2020
When Does Information Lead to Greater Government Accountability?
The latest research and evidence on different ways to achieve accountability between government and citizens.
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Data & Tools August 2019
How to have difficult conversations / a practical guide for academic-practitioner research collaborations
This document is meant to provide guidance on how to have “difficult conversations” that often arise when academic researchers and practitioners decide to collaborate.
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Update July 2019
What's Next for MIT GOV/LAB?
One outcome of our strategic review is a renewed commitment to conducting rigorous research that is co-created by practitioners and grounded in local problems.
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Update June 2019
Five Musings on What Makes for a Functional Learning Collaborative
In the learning spirit, we highlight five key questions that are emerging from our effort of knitting together a functional, meaningful learning network.
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Update May 2019
Learning to Learn as a Collaborative
An update on our work with the Learning Collaborative focusing on transparency, accountability, and participation.
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Update May 2019
How Would This Work in My Context?
A practical tool to include contextual factors in reviewing evidence on governance initiatives.
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Research Report November 2018
Taxation and Accountability in Developing Countries
Does taxation motivate citizens to hold government accountable? How is taxation increased and tax evasion decreased?
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Research Report November 2018
Effect of International Standards on Accountability Behaviors
Evidence review on the impact of international norms and standards initiatives on accountability.
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Update September 2018
Varja Joins MIT GOV/LAB After Six Years at Twaweza
As GOV/LAB’s first practitioner in residence, Varja Lipovsek will support partner learning in transparency, participation, and accountability.
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Update May 2018
Fostering Learning and Effectiveness through Collaboration: A New Collaborative on Transparency, Accountability, and Participation
MIT GOV/LAB is excited to join the Learning Collaborative as a resource organization working with practitioners on transparency, participation, and accountability.
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Update March 2018
Twaweza learns, and so do we
A few highlights from Twaweza’s Evidence and Ideas event where MIT GOV/LAB presented research on elections and access to information in East Africa.
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Data & Tools January 2018
Information and Non-Electoral Accountability: Evidence in Context
What do we know about transparency and non-electoral accountability? An interactive tool mapping evidence from the last ten years.
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Update March 2017
Taking the Mystery out of Access to Information in Kenya
MIT GOV/LAB and Twaweza sent "mystery shoppers" to 45 of 47 counties across Kenya to request public information from local government offices.
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Research Brief January 1970
How to Learn from Evidence: A Solutions in Context Approach
A twofold approach for how donors and practitioners can successfully engage with evidence to inform their work on information and non-electoral accountability.