3ie announced its first round grants of US$4.3 million for better evidence and development effectiveness

Delhi, June 16, 2009 – The International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) announced today the results from its first round of funding for impact evidence. Eighteen high quality impact evaluations have been selected under the 3ie open window, with more than half of the funded projects being in Africa. 

“Critical to keeping the G8 promise of boosting aid by $50 billion by 2010, is the need for better evidence on what works, what does not work and why. While millions are being pledged each year, it is quite alarming to see that we have learned very little when it comes to evaluating the real impact of most anti-poverty interventions,” said Howard White, Executive Director of 3ie. 

“With the current economic crisis, it has become even more urgent to get value for money. Financing high-quality impact evaluations and campaigns to inform better program and policy design in developing countries will be crucial to ensure this,” he added. 

The selected research projects present rigorous evaluation designs to track the impact of technology, in-kind and financial incentives, and the level of community participation on the effectiveness of interventions in education, health, agriculture, social protection, and environmental sectors. These also include the appraisal of two national flagship programs in Mexico and Mozambique focusing on access to child care and early childhood development services.   Read more