Spotlight


Six major upgrades to the evidence architecture: making evidence easily available and accessible

We at 3ie are tirelessly working to build an evidence architecture that makes it easier for researchers, policymakers and development practitioners to access quality evidence. A key part of that architecture is the Development Evidence Portal, which comprises all impact evaluations, systematic reviews and evidence gap maps focusing on the effects of interventions in low- and middle-income countries across sectors. First in a three-part series, this blog outlines everything new and upgraded that helps you access reliable and actionable evidence on the DEP.

Read more >>

Blogs

Evidence Impact: Taking HIV self-testing from pilot programs to global implementation
Paul Thissen

Around the world, governments are joining efforts to fast-track HIV self-testing. These HIV self-testing efforts are not just well-intentioned, they're backed by solid evidence of effectiveness – a good chunk of which is supported by 3ie. This blog underscores how rigorous impact evaluations and, subsequently, evidence-informed decision-making create a difference in the real world by looking at the role played by two key forces driving this change: the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

To read cases, check out our evidence impact blog campaign or visit our portal of evidence impact summaries that profiles 50 cases of evidence use and impact.


Mapping evidence gaps on good governance and political competition
Etienne Lwamba, Constanza Gonzalez Parrao, Lina Khan, Cem Yavuz

Political decisions and accountability are important drivers of development and stability. These are enabled by good governance and political competition. To understand the extent of the evidence and inform decision-making in these areas, 3ie is developing evidence gap maps (EGMs) on good governance and political competition. You can help us make a more comprehensive map by suggesting relevant research – particularly if it is unpublished! We will be accepting submissions till 8 December 2021.


Making agricultural insurance work for smallholder farmers in the COVID era
Zeba Siddiqui

Around 510 million smallholder farmers are faced with fluctuating agricultural productivity due to erratic climate conditions, crop loss from pests, among other factors. Agricultural insurance instruments can help mitigate these risks, but their uptake is low, and evidence on their effectiveness is scarce. 3ie’s evidence program has funded six impact evaluations to fill this evidence gap, and we’re halfway through. In this blog, we summarize the lessons learned by research teams, implementing partners, and decision-makers on four areas – economic effects of COVID, encouraging uptake remotely, shifting to social protection and vulnerability and gender-based indicators.


Beyond Counterfactuals: Making transparency, reproducibility, and ethics (TRE) central to rigorous evidence generation
Jennifer Sturdy, Sayak Khatua

As both an evidence producer and consumer, 3ie sees the research transparency and reproducibility movement as a means to understand and mitigate challenges to the credibility of social science research. This blog explains how our renewed Transparency, Reproducibility, and Ethics (TRE) Policy is a step towards stronger integration of ethical principles into practice.

Help us ensure rigour and credibility of the research by taking this short demand assessment survey.


Evidence impact: Putting the brakes on a childhood nutrition program with unintended consequences
Kirthi Rao

This blog is about why even bad news can be useful. It explains how a nutrition program in Colombia was reconsidered after a 3ie-supported evaluation found children's nutrition did not improve and some gained an excessive amount of weight.


What is desirable vs. what is feasible: Producing evidence on peacebuilding programming
Tilman Brück, Andrea Cook, Björn Gehrmann, Kyle Jacques, Håvard Mokleiv Nygård, Marie Gaarder

There is a knowledge gap in terms of rigorous evidence about the effects of specific peacebuilding programming, and of programs that aim to improve the prospects of peace. Authors of this blog underline how measuring the impact of peacebuilding is different than measuring the impact of other types of programs, and that the potential payoffs to improved evidence in the field are large.
 

Events

Upcoming events


3ie at Livelihoods India Summit 2021
3ie and LEAD at Krea University are leading the 'Women-led Collective Enterprises' Track at the upcoming virtual Livelihoods India Summit which focuses on strengthening women’s collective enterprises in diverse sectors as a response to the disproportionate impact the pandemic has had on women as workers and entrepreneurs. This annual conference, organized by ACCESS Development Services, seeks to understand and assess the challenges that poor people face in sustaining and strengthening their livelihoods.

Session 1: Building a solutions toolbox for women’s collective enterprises
We will present the theory of change for 3ie’s Swashakt program. The framework links interventions for strengthening collective enterprises with their impact on women’s empowerment and highlights what we know and what we need to know about this linkage. The presentation will also cover the different ways in which Swashakt projects are supporting collective enterprises. This will be followed by a discussion, where panelists will draw on their experiences in working with women’s collective enterprises.
Date: 17 December 2021
Time: 2.10pm-3.40pm IST

Session 2: The importance of partnerships for women’s empowerment collectives
In this session, panelists will talk about the importance of leveraging partnerships and overcoming barriers to building strong partnerships for enhancing the success of women’s collective enterprises.
Date: 17 December 2021
Time: 3:50pm - 5:20pm IST
Register here >>

 

Past events


Evidence Dialogues | What works to strengthen gender equality and empower women in fragile contexts?

This discussion brought together experts who discussed 3ie’s latest BMZ-funded systematic review that synthesizes the evidence on the effectiveness of 14 types of gender-sensitive and gender-transformative interventions in fragile and conflict-affected settings. Panellists also deliberated on what else can be done to increase impact and production of evidence on this important subject. Watch the session recording here and read the session summary here.

Regional Conference on impact evaluation in Francophone Africa

The CLEAR Regional Center for Francophone Africa (CLEAR FA) and 3ie’s West Africa Capacity-building and Impact Assessment Program (WACIE) organized a regional conference with the support of the Independent Evaluation of the Development (IDEV) of the African Development Bank (AfDB). The conference assessed the role and contributions of impact evaluations in the implementation of evidence-informed public policies, within the framework of the SDGs and the African Union's 2063 agenda.
 

Publications

Community advocacy forums and public service delivery in Uganda: Impact and the role of information, deliberation and administrative placement

Do aquaculture interventions improve productivity, income, nutrition and women’s empowerment in low- and middle-income countries?


What stimulates the demand for grid-based electrification in low-and middle-income countries?;

Improving delivery and impacts of pro-poor programmes;

Enabling women’s economic empowerment through collective enterprises in rural India;

Strengthening women’s empowerment and gender equality in fragile contexts towards peaceful and inclusive societies
 
Featured
Journal of Development Effectiveness
 
3ie’s Journal of Development Effectiveness publishes papers reporting evidence of impact of development interventions. The journal welcomes submissions of scholarly works on the generation and use of evidence on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of programs and policies that are meant to improve the lives of people in low- and middle-income countries.

Learn more about how you can contribute to the journal >>

3ie in the News

Former 3ie executive director Emmanuel (Manny) Jimenez has been appointed as the Director-General of Independent Evaluation at the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Manny is currently a 3ie senior research fellow and the editor of 3ie’s Journal of Development Effectiveness.
Read more>>

Jobs

Senior Communication Associate
Consultant – Complex Evaluation Specialist
Have you registered for RIDIE?
 
3ie’s Registry for International Development Impact Evaluations or RIDIE allows researchers to record information about their study plan and make essential details publicly available.