Better Data for Better Jobs and Lives: Innovations in Survey Measurement in the Age of AI - World Bank Group Conference (December 8–9)

If you’re a researcher, policymaker, or data enthusiast pushing the frontier of survey methods and development measurement, the “Better Data for Better Jobs and Lives: Innovations in Survey Measurement in the Age of AI” conference is a must-watch. Organized by the World Bank’s Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS), the Data Academy, and Northwestern’s GPRL, this hybrid event (in person + livestream) explores how advances in AI and survey design can transform how we understand labor, livelihoods, and well-being.

✏️ Conference Summary

• Date & Time: December 8–9, 2025; 09:00 AM – 05:00 PM ET both days

• Location / Format: World Bank Headquarters, Washington, D.C. & online (hybrid)

• Organizers:

  • World Bank’s Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS)

  • World Bank Data Academy

  • Northwestern University’s Global Poverty Research Lab (GPRL)

• Audience: Researchers, survey methodologists, development practitioners, data users, policymakers

• Focus Themes:

  • Innovations in survey measurement

  • AI / machine learning in survey design & analysis

  • Measurement of jobs, employment, household business activity

  • Socio-economic enablers (education, health, consumption, skills)

  • Data quality, cost efficiency, scalability

  • Special emphasis on women, youth, LMICs

• Abstract / Paper Submissions: Full working papers or extended abstracts (up to 800 words)

  • Submission deadline: October 31, 2025

  • Indicate preference for full or short session, include presenter bio, and confirmation of in-person availability

• Registration / Participation: Hybrid participation (in person or virtual); first-come, first-served for in-person slots

🧭 Conference Overview & Objectives

In an era of rapidly expanding alternative data sources and AI tools, traditional household surveys remain essential for delivering representative, comprehensive insights into jobs, livelihoods, and living conditions—especially in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Yet surveys often fall short in timeliness, measurement precision, and policy relevance. This conference aims to bridge that gap by promoting methodological breakthroughs.

The event will bring together both mature and early-stage work, featuring parallel sessions for full papers and work-in-progress abstracts. Invited sessions will surface strategic priorities and creative ideas in survey methods. The goal: to strengthen synergy between frontier methodological research and the needs of survey implementers, development practitioners, and data users.

By focusing especially on innovations in measuring employment and work, and applying AI / ML tools to survey tasks (e.g. question design, data validation, sampling, interviewer behavior), the conference aspires to push survey practice forward.

Selected presenters will gain the opportunity to engage directly with World Bank teams and external methodological experts, offering a real pathway from research to impact.

📚 Key Themes

The Enduring Value of Household Surveys

Despite the rise of big data, satellite imagery, mobile phone traces, and administrative records, household surveys still serve as the backbone of development measurement—particularly for capturing individual- and household-level outcomes in jobs, income, health, consumption, education, and so forth.

👩🏻‍💻 Challenges That Must Be Addressed

• Measurement error and bias (recall bias, misreporting)

• Cost and logistical constraints (field costs, interviewer training)

• Timeliness and frequency (surveys often conducted infrequently)

• Scalability to national programs

• Adapting to changing technology, remote methods, and hybrid modes

⭐ Opportunities from AI / Machine Learning

• Intelligent question routing / adaptive survey paths

• Automated validation and anomaly detection in real time

• Predictive imputation for missing data

• Smart sampling and stratification

• Hybrid data fusion (combining survey + alternative sources)

👷🏻‍♀️Focus on Job / Labor Measurement

Given global concern on employment, particularly youth unemployment and informal work in LMICs, the conference aims to spotlight improvements in measuring:

• Labor force participation, underemployment, job transitions

• Household enterprises / informal businesses

• Skills, training, and enablers of labor market success

• Gender- and youth-disaggregated labor data

💫 Emphasis on Quality, Cost, and Scale

All innovations presented should consider not just novelty but also how to maintain data quality, minimize costs, and enable scaling to national-level surveys or repeated rounds. Additionally, work improving measurement for women and youth is especially welcomed.

🎁 Benefits & Opportunities for Participants

• Platform to present cutting-edge research to leading methodological and development audiences

• Exposure to World Bank survey teams, data practitioners, and methodological experts

• Networking and dialogue across academics, practitioners, and policymakers

• Potential for research to influence real survey designs and policy measurement

• Engage in sessions with both innovative early-stage work and mature methodologies

• Hybrid format gives flexibility to attend remotely or in person

✅ Eligibility & Submission Guidelines

• Who may submit: Researchers from academia, think tanks, international organizations, or survey practitioners

• What to submit:

  • Full working papers

  • Extended abstracts (max 800 words) when research is in progress

• Deadline: October 31, 2025

• Submission details:

  • Send to: surveymethods@worldbank.org

  • Indicate whether your work is for full paper sessions or work-in-progress sessions

  • Include short bio of presenter

  • Confirm presenter’s availability in person on December 8–9

• Register Online Here

• Selection & Sessions: Accepted works will be assigned to full paper sessions or shorter “work-in-progress” slots, depending on maturity and theme alignment

ℹ️ Additional Notes & Tips for Applicants

• Prepare well ahead: Review recent literature on AI in survey methodology, measurement of labor outcomes, and innovations in household surveys

• When choosing whether to submit full vs abstract, consider maturity of your work and readiness to present

• Emphasize practical relevance, scalability, and data quality alongside technical innovation

• Be ready to discuss limitations, cost tradeoffs, and implementation challenges

• If possible, highlight how your work benefits measurement for women, youth, or marginalized subpopulations

• Engage with complementary methods (e.g. administrative data, remote sensing, digital data sources) but anchor in survey validation

• Consider submitting hybrid methods or pilot work that could evolve into full survey instrument designs

🔗 Details & Apply

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