Ingunn Storhaug

Ingunn Storhaug
Designation: Research Assistant, 3ie
Ingunn supports the production of evidence gap maps and systematic reviews on a variety of topics. Prior to this, she provided research assistance at UCL on a project relating to the effect of teacher incentives on student achievement. Ingunn holds an MSc in Social Policy and Social Research from UCL and a BA in Sociology and Social Policy from Middlesex University.

Blogs by author

3ie's living Food Systems Evidence and Gap Map: Mixed mid-term findings and project extension

3ie has now been engaging in its ambitious living evidence mapping process for three years. The mid-term report showed a mixed message: although we have added 267 impact evaluations and systematic reviews of impact evaluations to the map in the last two years, the rate of expansion in the evidence base has slowed since 2019.

3ie Living Evidence Gap Map: New food systems evaluations focus on the big picture

Food systems transformation is a global problem, and increasingly evaluations of food systems interventions are considering national and transnational solutions. The world's food system is under threat from the “three Cs” – COVID, climate, and conflict. As the Food and Agriculture Organization notes, the war in Ukraine brought these threats into sharp focus in 2022, pushing the already high global food prices even higher. To mitigate the effects of, and eventually recover from, these shocks, we need to know what interventions are effective at improving food security and nutrition, who they work for, and what they cost. In our newest update to our living Evidence Gap Map we've added 72 new studies, some of which show positive effects of nation-wide plans to shift land ownership policies.

Groundbreaking studies now part of 3ie's Food Systems and Nutrition Evidence Gap Map

In June 2022, a high-level expert group from the European Commission called for independent and up-to-date reports on the scientific evidence about food systems transformation. We certainly agree this work is essential – that’s why we’ve been producing such reports since 2020 as part of 3ie’s living Food Systems and Nutrition Evidence Gap Map (EGM). In our latest update, we add groundbreaking studies to the map, including one on sugar-sweetened beverage taxes.

In the fast-growing field of food systems impact evaluations, a shift toward evaluating consumer behaviour

As we've noted before on this blog, the world faces a critical need to revamp its food systems to provide healthy diets for a growing global population within the planetary boundaries. Making these changes means policymakers need to know what interventions work, for whom, and at what cost – and the state of knowledge about that question is changing rapidly.

This new evidence gap map shows what we know – and what we don't know – about food systems interventions

Right now, 690 million people are undernourished and at least 650 million people are obese. Given these staggering statistics, it is imperative that we use the best available evidence to improve nutrition and food security across the globe.