The evidence-to-policy conundrum and how to solve it

Does better evidence lead to better policies and programs? Massive amounts of reliable evidence, drawing on scientifically strong methods, including randomized controlled trials, mixed-methods approaches, and more, have been generated and disseminated in recent decades. A Nobel Prize has been awarded for that pathbreaking work. Yet the impact of that evidence – on what policymakers and program implementers think and do – has been far below expectations, even pitifully tiny according to some accounts. billion people.

Insights from the Development Evidence Portal – the Middle East and North Africa

Our latest piece in the ‘state of the evidence’ series – which interprets data by unpacking the studies in our Development Evidence Portal (DEP) – focuses on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. . The DEP currently includes 740 impact evaluations (IE) and 352 systematic reviews (SR) from the region, which is the second smallest amongst regions containing low- and middle-income countries (L&MICs). Interested readers are encouraged to further explore the DEP for additional data not covered in this blog.

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Latest blogs

Enhancing rural livelihoods in India: evidence-based policy evolution and innovation

Anjini Kochar 24 July 2024 blog

One of India’s largest livelihoods programs—which 3ie is evaluating—and its transformation over time offer insights into how policies interact with and adapt to the changing ground realities and the vital role played by effectiveness evidence. This blog explains how the traditional approach has evolved to focus on new evidence-informed ways to address constraints and enable an environment for income generation and empowerment.

Final update to living food systems E&GM: New studies address gender-transformative interventions and food loss outcomes

Ingunn Storhaug, Mark Engelbert 16 July 2024 blog

In our eighth and final scheduled update to 3ie’s living food systems evidence and gap map (E&GM), we add 307 new impact evaluations and eight new systematic reviews, bringing the total number of studies in the map to 3,218.

Word cloud on Evidence_frameworks: For Illustrative purpsose only

Using evidence in decision-making: Moving from commitment to practice by distinguishing evidence from any old data

Douglas Glandon, Thomas Kelly, Marie Gaarder 02 July 2024 blog

The importance of evidence for decision-making is widely acknowledged, and an increasing number of organizations are stating this officially. This type of organizational signaling can be an important lever for improving the culture of evidence use. At the same time, acknowledging the importance of evidence is just the beginning; it does not entail any specific decision, action, or behavior.

Open technical questions in geospatial impact evaluations and why they matter

Fiona Kastel, Sanchi Lokhande, Anca Dumitrescu, Devika Lakhote, Douglas Glandon 26 June 2024 blog

Geospatial impact evaluations offer deeper insights but also come with their unique set of challenges. As part of the GeoField community of practice, we are finding ways to unpack and address these by collaborating with individuals and organizations working across sectors. To that end, 3ie, AidData, and DevGlobal recently co-hosted a workshop with GIS experts to address key issues and best practices in response to technical questions received from participants before and during the session.

State of the evidence on SDGs: Five key takeaways and reflections

Zafeer Ravat , Dr Martin Bruder 12 June 2024 blog

As we crossed the halfway point of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we examined the state of the evidence for all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Joining forces with DEval^* – and with funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) – we did a deep dive into the effectiveness evidence in our Development Evidence Portal (DEP) to unpack the trends and themes across SDGs.

Using the intelligence of a laptop to interact with artificial intelligence

Generative artificial intelligence: Addressing five common misconceptions

Devika Lakhote, Fiona Kastel, Sanchi Lokhande, Douglas Glandon 06 June 2024 blog

You’ve probably heard or read about generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) and its revolutionary potential. Having productive conversations with a chatbot, something that was painful (at best) until a few years ago, has now become easier because of Gen AI models that can generate coherent, meaningful output in a matter of seconds.

New 3ie handbook for measuring cost-effectiveness in impact evaluation

Jane Hammaker, Douglas Glandon, Arnab Acharya, Tanvi 04 June 2024 blog

Leaders and practitioners across the international development space have emphasized, re-emphasized, and re-re-emphasized the importance of integrating rigorous costing in

Recent and fast-growing evidence on sustainable energy interventions, but gaps remain

Constanza Gonzalez Parrao, Cem Yavuz, Zafeer Ravat 20 May 2024 blog

Progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 – to ensure universal access to energy and clean cooking, the adoption of renewables and an increase in energy efficiency – has been mixed. While electricity access has improved in select countries, clean cooking remains a prevalent issue for one in three people globally.

3ie's living Food Systems Evidence and Gap Map: Now expanded with social assistance and social insurance interventions

Ingunn Storhaug, Mark Engelbert 13 May 2024 blog

Our latest update of the living food systems evidence and gap map (E&GM) focuses on the addition of multiple new social assistance and social insurance intervention categories that we added to the map for the first time.

A roadmap for more TRIPS on the evidence journey

Marie Gaarder 08 May 2024 blog

In October 2023, 3ie created the Global Evidence Commitment, a statement signed by seven leading international development institutions to date to improve their organizational use of rigorous evidence in decision-making. Today, we offer thoughts on the levers these and likeminded organizations can use to improve their culture of evidence use. We call this the TRIPS Framework.

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Evidence Matters is 3ie’s blog. It primarily features contributions from staff and board members. Guest blogs are by invitation.

3ie publishes blogs in the form received from the authors. Any errors or omissions are the sole responsibility of the authors. Views expressed are their own and do not represent the opinions of 3ie, its board of commissioners or supporters.