Spotlight | Reflections on 2021
We are in an era of uncertainty. As development professionals, we are trying to lean in and adapt to people's changing needs. I am both awed and humbled by those at 3ie and beyond who, despite everything, have tried to do their best to understand the needs of decision-makers and program implementers, and delivered actionable evidence, tools and resources to help inform their work. Please join me in recognizing these efforts as we close this year.
The Development Evidence Portal
The Development Evidence Portal (DEP) is the world’s largest database of impact evaluations and systematic reviews on interventions to improve lives in low- and middle-income countries. It is updated monthly and contains more than 10,000 impact evaluations, systematic reviews and evidence gap maps. The DEP provides advanced searching capabilities and a rich set of options for filtering studies to help you find the evidence you need.
Transparency, Reproducibility and Ethics (TRE) Initiative
Research that generates evidence requires accountability, transparency, and learning. As both an evidence producer and consumer, 3ie sees the research transparency and reproducibility movement as a means to understand and mitigate challenges to the credibility of social science research. Our renewed Transparency, Reproducibility, and Ethics (TRE) Policy is a step towards stronger integration of ethical principles into practice.
Where next in the quest for better evidence?
The buzz around this year’s Nobel Prize picks in economics continues to stimulate discussion, not least on “where next in the quest for better evidence?” The groundbreaking research by Laureates David Card, Joshua Angrist and Guido Imbens has substantially improved our ability to answer key causal questions with great benefits to society. But much more needs to be done to get from conceptual advances to improved practice in evidence-informed decision-making.
