Paul Thissen

Paul-Thissen
Designation: Senior Evaluation and Communication Specialist
Paul provides technical and management leadership of and support for impact evaluations, synthesis, and other evidence programs. He is the lead author for 3ie’s 2020 Hindsight campaign blogs. Paul also supports the production of communication materials to effectively convey research findings and 3ie accomplishments to a wide variety of audiences.
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Blogs by author

Evidence impact: Increasing immunization rates by engaging community leaders

Paul Thissen, Kirthi Rao 10 June 2021 blog  
In Nigeria, as in much of the developing world, many children never receive their full set of recommended immunizations. Even among children who receive some vaccinations, not all return for subsequent doses or later shots. In 2019, only 57 percent of infants in Nigeria completed their three-shot course of the DTP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis) vaccine.

Evidence Dialogues: Implementation research is key to understanding why nutrition interventions work – or don't

Paul Thissen 28 May 2021 blog  
In Thursday's 3ie Evidence Dialogues webinar, nutrition experts shared the reasons implementation research is so important in the field, as well as some examples of key takeaways from already-completed studies.

Evidence impact: Claiming the influence of studies with confidence

Kirthi Rao, Paul Thissen 27 May 2021 blog  

In a previous blog, we described our definition of 'evidence impact.' Now, given how messy the decision-making process can be in the real world, how can we be sure that a study and its findings made an impact?

Service d'assistance WACIE: Un nouveau dispositif pour accompagner l’usage des données probantes en Afrique de l'Ouest

Paul Thissen 25 May 2021 blog  
Les lacunes dans l'expérience d'évaluation sont criantes dans les pays membres du programme de renforcement des capacités et évaluation d'impact en Afrique de l'Ouest (WACIE), comme en témoigne l'étude exploratoire du programme. En conséquence, l'utilisation des données probantes dans l'élaboration des politiques est limitée. Mais l'obstacle principal à cette utilisation est la capacité, pas l'intérêt. L’étude exploratoire a révélé un intérêt presque universel chez les décideurs politiques et professionnels de l'évaluation pour le l’accompagnement et le renforcement des capacités en la matière.

WACIE Helpdesk: A new source of support for evidence-informed decision-making in West Africa

Paul Thissen 24 May 2021 blog  
In the countries where the West Africa Capacity-building and Impact Evaluation (WACIE) program works, the gaps in evaluation experience are stark, as the program's scoping study found. Accordingly, the use of evidence in policymaking is limited. But the barrier is capacity, not interest – the same study found that the desire among policymakers and evaluation professionals for support and capacity building was nearly-universal.