Thirty-two awards for new systematic reviews investigating the impact of development interventions in the fields of education, health, social protection, social inclusion, governance, fragile states, disasters, the environment, agriculture, economic development, and aid effectiveness were announced in early 2011.

 

“This is an important step in the search for real evidence on what works in development practice. By reviewing existing evidence, drawing a gap map and pulling together key lessons learned, these new reviews will help improve policy making in international development", said Marie Gaarder, 3ie Deputy Director.

 

The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) and the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) made this joint call for proposals to strengthen the international community’s capacity for evidence-based policy making.

 

The systematic reviews proposed for funding are:
                      
AusAID funded reviews

 

The impact of national and international assessment programs on education policy, resource allocation and teaching and learning practices in developing countries

 

What are the impacts of measures to increase the accessibility to education for people with a disability across developed and developing countries and what is known about the cost effectiveness of different approaches?

 

What are the impacts and cost effectiveness of strategies to improve classroom performance of untrained and under-trained teachers in developing countries?

 

What is the effectiveness of different models of post-basic Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) provision on employability and employment of TVET graduates? Does this vary by gender?

 

How effective are different approaches to higher education provision in increasing access, quality and completion for students in and from developing countries, and does this differ by gender of students?

 

Effectiveness and impact of nutrition support programs in reducing maternal mortality and morbidity

 

What is the effectiveness, appropriateness, meaningfulness and feasibility of demand side financing (DSF) measures that aim to increase maternal health service utilisation and outcomes with particular reference to rural, poor and socially excluded women?

 

Are community based infection surveillance and control interventions effective in identifying and responding to emerging zoonotic infectious diseases in developing countries?

 

Are programs to reduce gender based violence in the context of HIV effective?

 

What is the evidence on the relative effectiveness and cost effectiveness of conditional cash transfers versus unconditional cash transfers in improving health, education and household welfare?

 

What is the evidence of impact of initiatives to reduce risk and incidence of sexual and gender-based violence of women and children in fragile conflict and post-conflict states and humanitarian crises?

 

How, why and when do Community Based Disaster Risk Management initiatives impact on social and economic costs of disasters?

 

Are interventions to reduce the impact of arsenic contamination of groundwater on human health and crop productivity in developing countries effective?

 

Does private involvement (including public private partnerships) in delivery of water, information and communication technology and electricity services lead to improved access and quality of service in developing countries?

 

Does communication for development contribute to the diffusion of information that results in behaviour change around key social issues such as HIV, domestic violence etc? 

Is the provision of agricultural innovation grants to small holder agricultural producers effective in facilitating agricultural innovation, particularly in ways that benefit the poor and women in developing countries?

Natural resource revenue sharing and investment arrangements to promote government accountability, economic growth and poverty reduction in low- and middle-income countries.   

 

DFID funded reviews

Are contract and para-teachers a cost effective intervention to address teacher shortage and improve learning outcomes?

 

Under what circumstances does increasing community accountability and empowerment improve education outcomes, particularly for the poor?

 

Does strengthening national health service delivery improve the coverage, quality and access to health services for the poor?

 

Do social accountability measures, specifically community monitoring, report cards and scorecards and social audits affect (1) behaviours of policymakers (for example, changes in funding, design), (2) behaviours of participants, and (3) service delivery outcomes (new and/or better quality services)?

 

What factors determine the performance of institutional mechanisms for water resources management in delivering more equitable, sustainable and efficient allocation and use of water resources, and improved resilience of poor people to floods and droughts?

 

What are the enabling or limiting factors influencing the large scale uptake by households of cleaner and more efficient household energy technologies, covering cleaner fuel (including liquefied petroleum gas, ethanol and biogas) and improved solid fuel cookstoves?

 

What are the major barriers to increased use of modern energy services among the world’s poorest people and are interventions to overcome these effective?

 

What is the impact of infrastructural investments in roads, electricity and irrigation on agricultural productivity?

 

Under what circumstances or conditions do farmers adopt new technologies in Africa?

 

What is the impact of labour market regulation (for example, minimum wage, employment taxation, unemployment benefits) on employment in LICs? How does this vary by gender?

 

Does mobile banking serve as an effective financial inclusion intervention, enabling poor people and especially women to engage in economic opportunities, and if so, how and in what circumstances? 

What is the evidence to support sustainable scale-up of low-cost private schools in South and West Asia, in particular in Afghanistan and Pakistan?
 

 

Are interventions to help street children effective?

 

What are the impacts of community based rehabilitation for people with physical and mental disabilities?

 

What are the impacts of interventions to reduce violent crime in developing countries?

 

What are the impacts of ICT provision, such as mobile phones, laptops and community-based computer access, in rural areas?

 

What are the effects of free trade zones on employment and wages?