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In the age of AI and rapidly expanding alternative data sources, household surveys remain indispensable for generating representative and comprehensive insights on jobs and   living conditions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).  

Despite the value of household surveys for research and policymaking, there is room to improve their quality, timeliness and policy relevance. Developing better survey methods, including approaches leveraging the latest advances in AI, can address common criticisms of surveys and guide more effective policies and interventions to create more and better jobs and pave the path to prosperity. 

Against this background, the Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) ¨C the World Bank¡¯s flagship household survey program - in collaboration with the at Northwestern University and the World Bank Data Academy, is pleased to invite submissions for the conference Better Data for Better Jobs and Lives: Innovations in Survey Measurement in the Age of AI. The conference will be held in person at the World Bank Headquarters in Washington, D.C. on December 8¨C9, 2025. 

This event will bring together researchers from academia and international organizations to share and discuss recent advances in the design, implementation, and analysis of household surveys in LMICs. A special focus will be on highlighting research for improved measurement of work and employment and applications of AI and machine learning for improving survey measurement. The goal is to strengthen the link between frontier research on survey methods and measurement and the needs of survey implementers, development practitioners, and broader data user community. 

The program will showcase completed papers as well as early-stage methodological research, along with invited sessions on strategic priorities and transformative ideas in survey methods and measurement. As such, the conference will foster exchange across research applications at varying maturity levels, while maintaining a strong focus on methodological rigor and relevance for household survey practice. 

We welcome submissions of either full working papers or extended abstracts for work in progress (max. 800 words). We will include parallel sessions for full papers and shorter sessions for extended abstracts. Submissions should focus on innovations, challenges, or empirical findings related to the design, implementation, or analysis of household surveys and measurement of development outcomes. This may include, for example, work on questionnaire design and testing, survey operations, sampling and weighting, survey mode, interviewer behavior, data quality assessment, data harmonization, or meta-analysis.  

We particularly encourage submissions related to: 

• Measurement of jobs, employment outcomes, and household businesses
• Measurement of socioeconomic enablers for transition to and success in the labor market, including but not limited to, demographics and household composition, education, skills, health, nutrition, food security, and consumption
• Applications of AI and machine learning for improving survey measurement

Across all submissions, we encourage authors to reflect on data quality, cost-effectiveness, and the scale-up potential of the methods discussed. Applications focused on improving the data collected on women and youth are especially welcome.  

This meetup aims to serve as a platform for sharing research that can inform the development of validated, practical, and policy-relevant survey methods. Selected presenters will have the opportunity to engage with World Bank teams and external experts working at the frontier of survey methods and measurement. 

Submission instructions

Please submit your extended abstract (max. 800 words) or full working draft by October 31, 2025 to surveymethods@worldbank.org. Please indicate whether you would like to include your paper in a full paper session or a shorter work-in-progress session. Submissions should include a short bio of the presenter and confirmation that the presenter will be available to attend in person on December 8¨C9. 

If you have any questions, please contact surveymethods@worldbank.org.