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

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

Charlotte Lane, Ingunn Storhaug, Rike Riesmeier, Tina Koch 06 May 2022 blog

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.

How to design and use a process evaluation

Michael Bamberger 26 April 2022 blog

3ie’s recently-published working paper ‘Incorporating process evaluation into impact evaluation – What, why and how’ by Senior Research Fellows Vibecke Dixon and Michael Bamberger lays down guidelines that provide impact evaluators tools and ideas for exploring and adding relevant elements of process evaluations to experimental and quasi-experimental impact evaluation designs.

What does the evidence on energy efficiency say? Results from a systematic review and evidence gap map

Miriam Berretta, Yue (Nicole) Wu 22 April 2022 blog

In November 2021, the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow proposed ambitious goals to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees C, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 45 percent by 2030 compared to 2010 levels, and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Energy consumption is the largest source of global GHG emissions, and energy efficiency has great potential to reduce energy demand and use.

How process evaluation can help improve program design and implementation

Michael Bamberger 20 April 2022 blog

3ie’s recently-published working paper ‘Incorporating process evaluation into impact evaluation – What, why and how’ by Senior Research Fellows Vibecke Dixon and Michael Bamberger lays down the guidelines that can provide impact evaluators with tools and ideas for exploring and adding relevant elements of process evaluations to experimental and quasi-experimental impact evaluation designs.

Evidence Dialogues: How to set up development institutions so evidence informs policy

Paul Thissen 12 April 2022 blog

One year ago, a group of experts on a 3ie panel agreed that simply producing evidence and data was not sufficient for learning. On Friday, 3ie’s Executive Director, Marie Gaarder, invited those experts back to her virtual table to share what they've learned about how to set up processes within development institutions so that good evidence is not just generated but incorporated into the project planning cycle.

Applications of nighttime light data in international development research

Moussa Bagayoko, Damazo Kadengye, Cynthia Runyenje , Aayush Malik, Ran Goldblatt 31 March 2022 blog

The increasing availability of remotely-sensed measurements of nighttime light intensity across space and time opens the door to new possibilities to understand how the Earth is changing. These insights can improve decision-making to guide policy, deliver services, and improve governance in near real-time. However, accelerated human modifications of the landscape and human activities are profoundly affecting the processes on the Earth's surface, both locally and globally, creating a variety of challenges for scientists and policymakers in understanding global change and its repercussions.

Mapping the impact of urbanization on vegetation in Nairobi, the 'green city in the sun’

Michelle Mbuthia , Francis Kiroro, Aayush Malik, Ran Goldblatt 30 March 2022 blog

In August 2021, 3ie and New Light Technologies co-led a series of capacity-building workshops with 10 researchers from the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) on the potential to use remotely-sensed geospatial data for impact evaluation. This blog is the third in a series of four in which workshop participants reflect on the uses of remotely-sensed and geospatial data.

Geospatial data for measuring vegetation impact on agricultural productivity

Dennis Akeyo , Henry Owoko, Aayush Malik, Ran Goldblatt 29 March 2022 blog

In August 2021, 3ie and New Light Technologies co-led a series of capacity-building workshops with 10 researchers from the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC) on the potential to use remotely-sensed geospatial data for impact evaluations. This blog is the second in a series of four in which workshop participants reflect on the uses of remotely-sensed and geospatial data.

Machine learning and remote sensing: New evaluation tools, especially to measure land-use

Sylvia Muyingo, Moussa Bagayoko, Aayush Malik, Ran Goldblatt 28 March 2022 blog

In August 2021, 3ie and New Light Technologies co-led a series of capacity-building workshops with 10 researchers from the African Population and Health Research Center on the potential to use remotely-sensed geospatial data for impact evaluations. This blog is the first in a series of four in which workshop participants reflect on the uses of remotely-sensed and geospatial data.

TREE Review Framework – Reimagining ethics review and oversight

Jennifer Sturdy 16 March 2022 blog

At 3ie, we are refining a process to help research teams consider the ethics questions raised in social science research and document their decisions. Our Transparent, Reproducible, and Ethical Evidence (TREE) Review Framework complements the necessary work of Institutional Review Board (IRBs) while ensuring we do not outsource our ethical judgement to them.

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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.