Evidence gap maps

egm

3ie has developed an interactive online platform that allows users to explore the evidence in a particular evidence gap map (EGM), with links to user-friendly summaries and full-text articles where available.

Latest evidence gap maps

What are evidence gap maps?

Our EGMs are thematic collections of information about impact evaluations and systematic reviews that measure the effects of international development policies and programmes. They present a visual overview of existing and ongoing studies or reviews in a sector or sub-sector in terms of the types of programmes evaluated and the outcomes measured. This evidence is mapped onto this framework, graphically highlighting the gaps, where few or no impact evaluations or systematic reviews exist and where there is a concentration of impact evaluations but no recent high-quality systematic review.

How we create our maps

EGM methods draw on the principles and methodologies developed for systematic and transparent evidence review. We consult relevant decision makers and stakeholders, often in the form of an advisory group, to decide on the thematic or sector focus. These consultations are held at the start of the mapping to discuss the scope, questions and framework and to review draft findings at the end of the mapping.

We then conduct a systematic search to identify relevant published and unpublished impact evaluations and systematic reviews, and include both completed and ongoing studies and reviews. We describe characteristics of the evidence base and populate the map framework with studies and their respective links to summaries and, when available, full-text reports. In the case of systematic reviews, we also include a confidence rating of how the review was conducted to help decision makers gauge how much to rely on that evidence.

For a conceptual introduction to 3ie EGMs, please read Evidence gap maps: a starting point for strategic evidence production and use, 3ie Working Paper 28. For a more detailed discussion on evidence gap maps and methods, read the Journal of Clinical Epidemiology paper authored by 3ie's systematic review experts.

To commission a map or collaborate to create a map, visit our Evidence mapping page.

How to use them

EGMs are a useful tool for development decision makers looking to see what evidence exists to inform policies and programmes. For funders and researchers, these maps show where more investments are needed or where they can avoid duplicating existing research.

Each EGM adopts a framework designed to systematically capture different interventions and outcomes associated with an intervention. EGMs do not provide recommendations for policy and programming or guidelines for practice. They provide links to resources that can inform policy or programme development.

Check out our video on how to use an evidence gap map

Download How to read the evidence gap maps.

We no longer provide open access to the EGM platform. Want to learn more? Drop us a line at info@3ieimpact.org for a personalized consultation with an Evaluation Specialist.

Latest gap maps

Agriculture-led growth in low and middle-income countries: an evidence gap map

Evidence gap map

This EGM assesses the availability of rigorous evidence on the impact of interventions in the agricultural sector in L&MICs. The results suggest that there are large quantities of evidence on the impact of interventions designed to disseminate technologies and knowledge to farmers, increase access to financial and insurance services, and establish formal land rights. However, there is limited availability of evidence on interventions designed to strengthen agricultural markets, particularly those interventions targeting non-producer actors in these markets. There is a need for impact evaluation research to remedy these gaps. The reliability of evidence from systematic reviews in this sector is limited, and the field may benefit from up-to-date, high-quality syntheses of evidence on such topics as land rights reform and access to financial and insurance services.

Nutrition-Sensitive Agriculture Evidence Gap Map

Evidence gap map

In this evidence gap map (EGM), we systematically describe the available evidence on the effects of nutrition-sensitive agriculture interventions across food systems in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The map covers interventions related to 1) production; 2) transport and distribution; 3) support for food processing, storage, and packaging; 4) fortification and re-formulation; 5) pricing and profit initiatives; 6) market places; 7) voluntary adoption of standards and ethical practices; 8) women’s empowerment; and 9) consumer behavior. To the extent possible, we categorized intervention groups into education interventions; the direct provision of goods, services, or technologies; market-based approaches; and structural approaches.

Mapping water, sanitation and hygiene achievements to prosperity, stability and resilience: An outcome-to-outcome systematic map

Evidence gap map

This outcome-to-outcome systematic map seeks to go beyond the effects of WASH on health to understand the research base on the associations between achieving intermediate WaSH outcomes (improving access to drinking water, improving access to sanitation facilities, and increasing practices of hygiene behaviors) and the high-level development outcomes of improved prosperity, increased stability, and enhanced resilience in low- and middle-income countries. It serves as one of the first research maps to focus explicitly on these outcomes and the relationships between them.

Building resilient societies in low- and middle- income countries: an evidence gap map

Evidence gap map

This evidence gap map (EGM) provides a comprehensive overview of the evidence base for programming that seeks to strengthen resilience against covariate shocks, stressors, and recurring crises in low- and middle-income countries. Overall, we found a total of 362 studies, 343 of which were quantitative IEs and 19 were SRs. The field has rapidly expanded since the early 2000s, with approximately 20–50 new studies published annually since 2014.

Political competition and consensus building Evidence Gap Map

Evidence gap map

A politically competitive society allows citizens the opportunity to form political parties, compete for power through elections and shape the direction of public policy (Strom, 1992). The United Nations Human Rights Office has claimed that free and fair elections are a fundamental concept in the effort to protect and promote human rights, and that every citizen should have the right to vote and stand for office (OHCHR, 2011).

Independent media and free flow of information Evidence Gap Map

Evidence gap map

Depending on the metrics used, between approximately half (Reporters without Borders, 2016) to 13% (BBC Media Action, 2016) of the world’s population has access to an independent media. Interventions aimed at strengthening independent media and free flow of information include interventions that promote or strengthen mediums for citizens to conduct free and open communication, engage with government and civil society, and increase constituency mobilization, and/or oversight of government functions to increase transparency and accountability.

Civil society Evidence gap map

Evidence gap map

This map will improve the access to understanding about the effects of interventions to strengthen civil society in L&MICs such as supporting the capacity or development of organizations working in human rights, business, religion, democracy, environment, labor, media, and independent research, among others.

Human rights Evidence gap map

Evidence gap map

Human rights programming encompasses a vast variety of interventions and is guided by several international and national legal frameworks. Understanding the gaps and the evidence on the effectiveness of these interventions can help inform policymakers and practitioners on where resources are most needed. In this evidence gap map, we look at two sub-sets of human rights: civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights.

Rule of law Evidence gap map

Evidence gap map

This map includes interventions focused on strengthening and building linkages between systems, services, and society to improve prevention of and solutions to justice problems. It highlights significant evidence on interventions that aim to prevent and reduce crime and a notable gap on programs focusing on youth in low-and middle-income countries (L&MICs) and women and girls.

Food security in humanitarian settings Evidence Gap Map

Evidence gap map

Food security exists when all people have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food at all times. During a humanitarian emergency, an individual’s ability to purchase food is adversely affected due to loss of income, while food production and transportation can also be severely disrupted. This evidence gap map utilises a multi-sectoral approach and provides an overview of 146 impact evaluations (IEs) and 17 systematic reviews (SRs) which evaluate the effect of food security interventions during humanitarian emergencies.

Interventions to improve childhood immunisation and related outcomes in low- and middle-income countries: an evidence gap map

Evidence gap map

Immunization is one of the most cost-effective interventions to prevent and control life-threatening infectious diseases among children. Nonetheless, rates of routine vaccination of children in low- and middle-income countries (L&MICs) are strikingly low or stagnant. Identifying effective strategies for improving coverage and timeliness of routine child immunization is therefore a priority for many L&MIC governments and the global health community at large. This evidence gap map (EGM) report presents the findings of a systematic evidence mapping exercise to characterize the evidence base on routine child immunization in L&MICs.

Good governance Evidence Gap Map

Evidence gap map

The purpose of this map is to determine the distribution of the evidence regarding interventions to strengthen government effectiveness in L&MICs and provide easy access to this literature.

Development evaluations in Uganda 2000-2018: A country evaluation map

Evidence gap map

The Uganda country evaluation map seeks to make available the existing development evaluations and facilitate evidence-informed decision-making across government, development partners, and civil society. This EGM includes evaluations (formative, process, outcome and impact evaluations) conducted between 2008 and 2018. We mapped a total of 617 evaluation reports comprising interventions from sectors such as macroeconomic policy, economic development, social transformation and governance.

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Energy Efficiency EGM

Evidence gap map

The EGM reveals clusters of evidence and key gaps where limited or no evidence exists and more research is needed. By searching both academic and grey literature, we have mapped a total of 283 impact evaluations (IEs) and 16 systematic reviews (SRs) related to the effects of energy efficiency (EE) interventions at the household, public institutions, and business level around the world.

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Food Systems and Nutrition Evidence Gap Map

Evidence gap map

This evidence gap map report addresses this challenge by providing an overview of the literature on food systems interventions. It reports on evidence from all key areas and intervention types within the food system and also identifies potential primary and synthesis evidence gaps.

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Implementation research gap map

Evidence gap map

This map provides quick and easy access to published and grey literature on the implementation of nutrition-specific interventions in India. The map reveals concentrations of evidence, where we may know more than we think, and key gaps where limited or no evidence exists. This map will be a useful tool for policymakers who want to learn more about programme implementation and also point researchers to where gaps in evidence exist and more studies are needed.

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Big Data Systematic Map

Evidence gap map

This systematic map shows where big data has been used to evaluate development outcomes across the world. This map is different from 3ie’s evidence gap maps, and innovatively uses the same methodology to map data sources to development outcomes. Given the scale, we created five sub-maps associated with outcomes including: economic development and livelihoods, health and well-being, governance and human rights, urban development and environmental sustainability.

Achieving the SDGs in Africa: A Cross-sectoral Evidence Gap Map

Evidence gap map

This EGM captures the evidence base for social and economic interventions, across all sectors, in Africa. The studies contained in this are drawn from 3ie’s Development Evidence Portal, which is the largest-of-its-kind repository of rigorous impact evaluations and systematic reviews in international development. Interventions are categorised according to the World Bank’s taxonomy of sectors, and outcomes are categorised according to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The map contains 1,267 impact evaluations and 634 systematic reviews.

Building Peaceful Societies Evidence Gap Map

Evidence gap map

This map facilitates access to the existing evidence base of interventions that aim to build peaceful societies in fragile contexts. This is an update and expansion of 3ie’s 2015 evidence map on peacebuilding.

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The Effect of Transparency and Accountability Interventions in the Extractive Sectors: An Evidence Gap Map

Evidence gap map

This map displays interventions that seek to improve transparency and accountability in the extractives sector through compliance with global transparency initiatives, provision of information to citizens, citizen monitoring and participation and environmental and financial audits. The map includes 18 impact evaluations and two systematic reviews. Eight impact evaluations used experimental designs and 10 used quasi-experimental designs. We critically appraised the two systematic reviews. All studies in the map were published after 2013.

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Performance Measurement and Management in Primary Care Delivery Systems

Evidence gap map

This map provides an overview of existing studies and gaps on the effects of performance measurement and management (PMM) systems interventions. These systems are designed to measure and improve the performance of healthcare delivery systems and their effective functioning is important for creating high-quality primary healthcare services in L&MICs.

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Intimate partner violence prevention evidence gap map

Evidence gap map

This newly updated map facilitates access to rigorous evidence on intimate partner violence prevention interventions in L&MICs.

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Group-based Livelihood Interventions in L&MICs

Evidence gap map

This evidence gap map report describes existing and missing evidence on the effects of livelihoods interventions provided through groups in rural India.

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Water, sanitation and hygiene evidence gap map

Evidence gap map

This newly updated map facilitates access to high-quality evidence on the effectiveness of water, sanitation and hygiene promotion for households, communities, school and health facilities in L&MICs. It includes published and unpublished systematic reviews and impact evaluations up to April 2018.

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Agricultural innovation: an evidence gap map

Evidence gap map

This map, funded by the UK Department for International Development and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, presents existing evidence on agricultural inputs, practices and programmes aimed at improving farmers’ productivity and well-being. It further highlights prominent evidence gaps on cost-effectiveness, measurements of spillover effects and the use of experimental evaluation methods.

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Evidence gap map on social, behavioural and community engagement interventions

Evidence gap map

This map, produced by the World Health Organization and 3ie, presents the evidence available on social, behavioural and community engagement interventions related to reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health programmes in low- and middle-income countries (L&MICs). Financial support was provided by the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, and USAID.

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A map of evidence maps relating to sustainable development in L&MICs

Evidence gap map

This map of evidence maps, funded by the Centre of Excellence for Development Impact and Learning and the UK Department for International Development, presents the findings related to sustainable development in L&MICs.

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Agricultural risk and mitigation gap map

Evidence gap map

This map, funded by the UK Department for International Development, presents existing evidence on agricultural insurance interventions that aim to improve smallholder farmer resilience in L&MICs.

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State-society relations evidence gap map

Evidence gap map

This map consolidates evidence on interventions to improve state-society relations in L&MICs.

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Science, technology, innovation and partnerships evidence gap map

Evidence gap map

This map, funded by the US Global Development Lab at USAID, presents the impact evaluation and systematic review evidence base for how science, technology, innovation and partnerships accelerate development outcomes in L&MICs.

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Adolescent sexual and reproductive health evidence gap map

Evidence gap map

This map, funded by the Hewlett Foundation, presents existing evidence on the effects of adolescent sexual and reproductive health programming in L&MICs.

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Forest Conservation gap map

Evidence gap map PDF icon

This map presents existing evidence on forest conservation in L&MICs. Our clearest finding is that there a paucity of high-quality evidence in areas significant for policy, such as the effect of forest-related climate change policies, trade laws and management, or education and awareness campaigns on environmental and social outcomes in forests.

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Land use change and forestry evidence gap map

Evidence gap map PDF icon

This map presents the evidence available on the effects of land-use change and forestry programmes on greenhouse gas emissions and human welfare outcomes. Our clearest finding is that there is a major gap in the evidence addressing effects on both emissions and human welfare outcomes, including food security. Moreover, few studies measured greenhouse gas emissions or food security directly.

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Youth and transferable skills evidence gap map

Evidence gap map PDF icon

This map presents existing evidence on the outcomes of transferable skills programming for youth in L&MICs and highlights where there are important gaps in this evidence base. Transferable skills, often referred to as soft, non-cognitive or life skills, provide youth with the tools and confidence to succeed in term of employment, health and personal well-being.

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Primary and secondary education evidence gap map

Evidence gap map

This map presents evidence on interventions designed to improve access to education and learning outcomes for primary and secondary school children in L&MICs.

Productive safety nets evidence gap map

Evidence gap map

This map presents evidence on the effects of productive social safety net programmes on extreme poverty and related outcomes in L&MICs. Productive social safety nets are programmes that include livelihood or income-generating components to expand market opportunities for extremely poor populations.