The evidence-to-policy conundrum and how to solve it

Does better evidence lead to better policies and programs? Massive amounts of reliable evidence, drawing on scientifically strong methods, including randomized controlled trials, mixed-methods approaches, and more, have been generated and disseminated in recent decades. A Nobel Prize has been awarded for that pathbreaking work. Yet the impact of that evidence – on what policymakers and program implementers think and do – has been far below expectations, even pitifully tiny according to some accounts. billion people.

Insights from the Development Evidence Portal – the Middle East and North Africa

Our latest piece in the ‘state of the evidence’ series – which interprets data by unpacking the studies in our Development Evidence Portal (DEP) – focuses on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. . The DEP currently includes 740 impact evaluations (IE) and 352 systematic reviews (SR) from the region, which is the second smallest amongst regions containing low- and middle-income countries (L&MICs). Interested readers are encouraged to further explore the DEP for additional data not covered in this blog.

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Latest blogs

Launch of 3ie’s policy and institutional reform ‘Methods Menu’

Carolyn Huang, Douglas Glandon, Jane Hammaker 17 August 2023 blog

In May 2021, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and 3ie began a partnership to advance the learning and knowledge base around the evaluation, design, and implementation of policy and institutional reform (PIR) interventions. We conducted a scoping review that identified gaps in the way PIR interventions are studied and evaluated, and we are now ready to launch an interactive ‘Methods Menu’ that aims to address many of those gaps. The menu aims to increase awareness and uptake of complexity-informed and mixed-methods approaches to strengthen the way PIR is evaluated and implemented.

Towards SDG 7: Mapping evidence of access to sustainable energy in L&MICs

Cem Yavuz, Constanza Gonzalez Parrao 04 August 2023 blog

With the slowing down of progress towards SDG 7, we move into the second phase of the 2030 agenda with more urgent questions about what interventions are effective to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. The consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with the war in Ukraine aggravated the global energy crisis resulting in the scaling back of even basic electricity access around the world

Mapping evidence and gaps in interventions reducing anaemia- for pictorial presentation

Mapping evidence and gaps in interventions reducing anaemia in low- and middle-income countries

Ashiqun Nabi, Charlotte Lane, Daniel Lopez de Romaña, Alison Mildon 26 July 2023 blog

In 2019, 269 million children under five, 32 million pregnant women, and over half a billion women of reproductive age were reported to be affected by anaemia. The condition causes adverse health outcomes, delayed cognitive and physical development in children, and reduced productivity which may lead to economic losses

Mapping the evidence on sexual and reproductive health and rights in L&MICs

Lina Khan, Shannon Shisler, Tomasz Kozakiewicz 18 July 2023 blog

Sexual and reproductive rights are human rights, and the right to make sexual and reproductive decisions affects sexual and reproductive health. To understand the extent of the evidence on sexual and reproductive health and rights, and inform decision-making, 3ie is developing an evidence gap map (EGM).

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

Charlotte Lane, Ingunn Storhaug 11 July 2023 blog

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.

Results from an evaluation of the COVAX Facility and AMC to inform pandemic preparedness and response

Monica Jain, Kirthi Rao, Rohan Shah 07 July 2023 blog

The COVAX Facility aimed to accelerate the development, production and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines worldwide. To ensure equitable access for 92 low-income (LICs) and lower-middle-income countries (LMICs) within the COVAX Facility, Gavi created a separate funding mechanism — the Advance Market Commitment (AMC). By the end of 2021, the COVAX Facility and AMC had provided close to 1 billion doses to 144 countries. While this vaccine supply was broadly equitable (prioritizing LICs and LMICs), vaccine coverage rates across countries were inequitable.

Why you should explore (and use) 3ie’s maps on WASH, resilience, nutrition and agriculture

Annie Vincent, Tanvi Lal, Carolyn Huang 30 June 2023 blog

Almost a year ago, we announced in this blog 3ie's collaboration with USAID’s Bureau of Resilience and Food Security (RFS) to map the existing evidence and gaps in four technical areas: agriculture-led growth, resilience, nutrition-sensitive agriculture and water security, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH). While these maps are intended to help guide RFS’ programmatic and strategic investments, they have much broader applications for the international development community as they reveal key insights into priority evidence gaps.

Members of the media cover the Opening Plenary of the 2009 IMF/World Bank

Strengthening democracy and freedom in backsliding contexts: mapping and synthesizing the evidence

Etienne Lwamba, Ashiqun Nabi, Pierre Marion, Mark Engelbert 06 June 2023 blog

In recent years, international observers such as the V-Dem Institute have highlighted an alarming crisis of democracy with a decline in competitive elections, political participation and public accountability. For the first time in two decades, the Institute’s 2023 Democracy Report found more closed autocracies than liberal democracies in the world.

Six remote and hybrid caregiver engagement models that boost child outcomes

Emma Näslund-Hadley, Juan Manuel Hernández-Agramonte 01 June 2023 blog

This is a guest post by Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA).

15 years of 3ie: "We need an effectiveness culture," panelists say

Paul Thissen 31 May 2023 blog

Opening the expert panel which convened last week in Washington to mark 3ie's 15th birthday, Inter-American Development Bank President Ilan Goldfajn made a pitch that would be echoed throughout the morning.

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Evidence Matters is 3ie’s blog. It primarily features contributions from staff and board members. Guest blogs are by invitation.

3ie publishes blogs in the form received from the authors. Any errors or omissions are the sole responsibility of the authors. Views expressed are their own and do not represent the opinions of 3ie, its board of commissioners or supporters.