Closing the loop: Bringing evaluation findings back to communities in Sierra Leone and Guinea

In far too many evaluations, the end of data collection is the last time that community members hear from the research team. Research participants generally don’t find out the results of the studies…

Asking the right question: evidence, method, and what the RCT debate is missing

The wrong fight: moving beyond the RCT wars toward rigorous learningA response to Todd Moss and Dean KarlanTodd Moss and Dean Karlan are relitigating a familiar argument. The short version is that…

Addressing irregular migration: Insights from 3ie’s latest evidence synthesis

3ie has updated its 2023 Evidence Gap Map (EGM) on interventions aiming to address the root causes and drivers of irregular migration. The updated map, released in early 2026, now covers 105 impact…

The missing middle: why connecting evidence systems to decision systems is key

The development sector has never had access to more evidence. Decades of impact evaluations, systematic reviews, evidence gap maps, and data systems have produced a substantial body of knowledge (see…

Evidence in a fragmented world: some reflections

Aid has always been shaped by donor interests, but development cooperation is now becoming more overtly interest-driven. Can development outcomes survive inside that new framing? In this blog, I…