Services

3ie offers a full suite of impact evaluation and synthesis services for decision-makers in government, international organizations, funding agencies and philanthropies to support evidence-informed action across the program cycle of deciding which interventions to fund, how to implement them and how to evaluate them.

Our expertise is in ensuring high-quality, on-time and relevant research and evidence. We offer services in the following areas of evidence-informed policy and practice to our partners.
Services-intro

Problem diagnosis

Problem diagnosis

Problem diagnosis

The first step in designing a successful program is understanding the development problem and barriers the program intends to solve and address.

We conduct rigorous analysis to identify which of many contributing factors to a problem are most severe or “binding." By identifying the most severe barriers and challenges, programs can more efficiently and effectively target their resources to achieve an outcome of interest.

Theory of change development

Theory of change development

Theory of change development

3ie works with partners to develop evidence-informed, contextually tailored theories of change (TOCs) based on rigorous problem diagnosis, including guidance on how to test, adapt, and evaluate the TOCs during and after program implementation.

Recently, we helped the H&M Foundation and its partners develop TOCs to help a program improve the lives of waste-pickers in India.

Evidence synthesis

Evidence synthesis

Evidence synthesis

Carefully examining the impact evaluation evidence of which interventions have a track record of success—or failure—at addressing a development problem will inform the design of a successful program.

3ie can produce and assure the quality of a variety of synthesis products. Click through the options below to learn more.

Systematic reviews

Systematic reviews summarize the full body of global evidence to assess a specific policy question. They do this by identifying, assessing the quality of, and synthesizing the evidence from included empirical studies that address the question of interest. Systematic reviews can address a range of policy and practice questions, including, but not limited to, the effects of different interventions. Our reviews are peer-reviewed, and quality assured according to internationally accepted standards.

We recently synthesized evidence of the effects of market access interventions on smallholder farmers. To see our recent systematic reviews, visit the Development Evidence Portal or click here.

Rapid evidence assessment

Rapid evidence assessment is a type of evidence synthesis that addresses policy and programming questions when time and resources are limited. 3ie uses the same rigorous methodology as a systematic review but tightens the parameters to allow for completion in shorter timeframes.

Our recent assessments include rapid evidence on nutrition, women’s empowerment and democracy for UK’s FCDO. To see more such work, visit our publications page.

Rapid response

Rapid response briefs answer urgent questions from decision-makers and are offered within a 5, 10 or 30-day period depending on need. These briefs identify and summarize the best high-quality, context-relevant evidence on which interventions are effective and how those programs should be implemented. Unlike systematic reviews and rapid reviews, rapid response briefs draw on and summarize existing evidence rather than conducting new searches and analysis.

Through the helpdesk set up as part of our West Africa Capacity-building and Impact Evaluation (WACIE) program, we have delivered several briefs in response to policymakers from Cote de Ivorie, Benin and the West African Development Bank (BOAD), among others. These are available in English and French on the WACIE program page. Rapid Response Briefs identify and synthesize high-quality, context-relevant evidence surrounding which interventions are effective and how those programs should be implemented.

Evidence gap maps

Evidence gap maps

Evidence gap maps

Evidence gap maps are thematic collections of impact evaluations and systematic reviews of the effects of international development policies and programs. This evidence is mapped onto an interactive framework of interventions and outcomes. This framework makes the existing evidence easily accessible and graphically highlights where there is an abundance of evidence and where the important gaps are in the evidence. 3ie invented evidence gap maps and can customize maps to your needs! Recently, we completed one of the largest EGMs on food security for GIZ, a climate and biodiversity EGM for UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and an EGM on Anaemia for Nutrition International with support from the Canadian government. View our latest EGMs.

We also conduct workshops to provide practical application of the steps involved in producing EGMs, including scoping, searching, data extraction, and analysis. 3ie is supporting the IDB in adopting a rigorous methodology to produce evidence gap maps. Read more

Rapid cycle evaluation design, including A/B tests

Rapid cycle evaluation design, including A/B tests

Rapid cycle evaluation design, including A/B tests

When the "right" implementation approach is not known, rapid-cycle evaluations, including A/B testing, enable programs to quickly learn what is working better and iteratively adapt in order to maximize impact. These evaluations tend to assess process indicators that are correlated with improved impact and that can pick up improvements within relatively short timeframes. Rapid cycle evaluations can be standalone or part of a broader evaluation.

Formative evaluation 

Formative evaluation 

Formative evaluation 

Sometimes theory and practice don't quite meet. Formative evaluation allows one to test whether a new program is feasible and appropriate before it is fully scaled up. (Note: formative evaluations do not test the effectiveness of a program). You can find some of our formative evaluations here.

Process evaluation

Process evaluation

Process evaluation

Process evaluation determines whether a program is being implemented as intended and assesses the quality of the program's design. 3ie specializes in process evaluation both as a standalone study that can inform a full impact evaluation and as part of an impact evaluation.

Read key takeaways from four recent process evaluations of programs that support women’s collectives in India for the Gates Foundation. We also have guidance on how process evaluation can be incorporated into the impact evaluation. 

Impact evaluations scoping and design

Impact evaluations scoping and design

Impact evaluations scoping and design

The flip side of designing an intervention to be evaluated is to match the design of the evaluation with the intervention. This requires in-depth consideration of evaluation questions and methods that best align with the proposed activity design. 3ie can help get this coordination right from the outset.

Impact evaluation

Impact evaluation

Impact evaluation

At the core of 3ie’s work, impact evaluations assess the causal effects of a program. 3ie applies mixed methods to better understand why the desired change did or did not occur.

Impact evaluation with cost analysis

Impact evaluation with cost analysis

Impact evaluation with cost analysis

To learn about the cost-effectiveness of your program, it is necessary to know both the effects of your program and the cost to get that effect. 3ie has experience in conducting impact evaluations with cost analysis.

3ie’s Measuring Cost Effectiveness in Impact Evaluation handbook provides a comprehensive field guide for implementing cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) in impact evaluation. Read more about this work.

Stakeholder engagement and communication support

Stakeholder engagement and communication support

Stakeholder engagement and communication support

By engaging with stakeholders from the time of inception of the studies in a critical, efficient and meaningful way, we facilitate their efforts to ensure the evidence produced is integrated and informs their strategies. We support in knowledge management during the study and organize workshops for communicating study findings and promoting understanding and use.

Monitoring and measuring research impact

Monitoring and measuring research impact

Monitoring and measuring research impact

3ie has extensive experience in the application of contribution analysis and other methods that can help monitor and measure the impact of research evidence. We also have experience using contribution tracing to validate whether your research has had an influence. To learn more about our work in this area, visit our impact page.

3ie adapted contribution tracing approach for monitoring, measuring, and verifying instances of evidence uptake and use from 3ie-funded or produced work between 2018 and 2020. Read more

Training Initiatives

Training Initiatives

Training Initiatives

Conducting rigorous research can be daunting and resource-intensive for organizations still building their in-house methodological capacity. 3ie works with partners around the world to develop capacity in evaluation and evidence-informed decision-making. Guided by principles of adult learning, our workshops blend theory with real-world application, ensuring participants gain practical skills.

Our recent evaluation capacity strengthening activities span Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, South Asia and South-east Asia.

We offer a range of training options, delivered in-person or virtually, and tailored to different experience levels. We design training courses for implementing partners, policymakers, and researchers, adapting and customizing workshops to their learning goals. Are you looking to design a customized capacity development plan for your organization? View courses and workshops.

Contact us at info@3ieimpact.org to book a training or to explore customized options to support your team’s learning and capacity development needs.

Research grants administration

Research grants administration

Research grants administration

When done well, managing research grants is not only about contractual accountability and high-quality research outputs, it should also leave grantees better equipped to compete for and successfully complete future awards.

3ie is supporting the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to manage their strategic investments in science, technology, and evidence. Through our recently-launched research commissioning centre, we are commissioning and delivering different types of high-quality research in FCDO’s key priority areas.

Transparency, research and ethics helpdesk

Transparency, research and ethics helpdesk

Transparency, research and ethics helpdesk

3ie is a pioneer and advocate for transparent, reproducible and ethical research. We can help ensure your research programs generate credible evidence and follow ethical principles.

Read more about the Transparent, Reproducible and Ethical Evidence Initiative and the framework developed by 3ie to support research teams.

Problem diagnosis

Theory of change development

Evidence synthesis

Evidence gap maps

Problem diagnosis

Problem diagnosis

The first step in designing a successful program is understanding the development problem and barriers the program intends to solve and address.

We conduct rigorous analysis to identify which of many contributing factors to a problem are most severe or “binding." By identifying the most severe barriers and challenges, programs can more efficiently and effectively target their resources to achieve an outcome of interest.

Theory of change development

Theory of change development

3ie works with partners to develop evidence-informed, contextually tailored theories of change (TOCs) based on rigorous problem diagnosis, including guidance on how to test, adapt, and evaluate the TOCs during and after program implementation.

Recently, we helped the H&M Foundation and its partners develop TOCs to help a program improve the lives of waste-pickers in India.

Evidence synthesis

Evidence synthesis

Carefully examining the impact evaluation evidence of which interventions have a track record of success—or failure—at addressing a development problem will inform the design of a successful program.

3ie can produce and assure the quality of a variety of synthesis products. Click through the options below to learn more.

Systematic reviews

Systematic reviews summarize the full body of global evidence to assess a specific policy question. They do this by identifying, assessing the quality of, and synthesizing the evidence from included empirical studies that address the question of interest. Systematic reviews can address a range of policy and practice questions, including, but not limited to, the effects of different interventions. Our reviews are peer-reviewed, and quality assured according to internationally accepted standards.

We recently synthesized evidence of the effects of market access interventions on smallholder farmers. To see our recent systematic reviews, visit the Development Evidence Portal or click here.

Rapid evidence assessment

Rapid evidence assessment is a type of evidence synthesis that addresses policy and programming questions when time and resources are limited. 3ie uses the same rigorous methodology as a systematic review but tightens the parameters to allow for completion in shorter timeframes.

Our recent assessments include rapid evidence on nutrition, women’s empowerment and democracy for UK’s FCDO. To see more such work, visit our publications page.

Rapid response

Rapid response briefs answer urgent questions from decision-makers and are offered within a 5, 10 or 30-day period depending on need. These briefs identify and summarize the best high-quality, context-relevant evidence on which interventions are effective and how those programs should be implemented. Unlike systematic reviews and rapid reviews, rapid response briefs draw on and summarize existing evidence rather than conducting new searches and analysis.

Through the helpdesk set up as part of our West Africa Capacity-building and Impact Evaluation (WACIE) program, we have delivered several briefs in response to policymakers from Cote de Ivorie, Benin and the West African Development Bank (BOAD), among others. These are available in English and French on the WACIE program page. Rapid Response Briefs identify and synthesize high-quality, context-relevant evidence surrounding which interventions are effective and how those programs should be implemented.

Evidence gap maps

Evidence gap maps

Evidence gap maps are thematic collections of impact evaluations and systematic reviews of the effects of international development policies and programs. This evidence is mapped onto an interactive framework of interventions and outcomes. This framework makes the existing evidence easily accessible and graphically highlights where there is an abundance of evidence and where the important gaps are in the evidence. 3ie invented evidence gap maps and can customize maps to your needs! Recently, we completed one of the largest EGMs on food security for GIZ, a climate and biodiversity EGM for UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and an EGM on Anaemia for Nutrition International with support from the Canadian government. View our latest EGMs.

We also conduct workshops to provide practical application of the steps involved in producing EGMs, including scoping, searching, data extraction, and analysis. 3ie is supporting the IDB in adopting a rigorous methodology to produce evidence gap maps. Read more

Rapid cycle evaluation design, including A/B tests

Formative evaluation 

Process evaluation

Impact evaluations scoping and design

Rapid cycle evaluation design, including A/B tests

Rapid cycle evaluation design, including A/B tests

When the "right" implementation approach is not known, rapid-cycle evaluations, including A/B testing, enable programs to quickly learn what is working better and iteratively adapt in order to maximize impact. These evaluations tend to assess process indicators that are correlated with improved impact and that can pick up improvements within relatively short timeframes. Rapid cycle evaluations can be standalone or part of a broader evaluation.

Formative evaluation 

Formative evaluation 

Sometimes theory and practice don't quite meet. Formative evaluation allows one to test whether a new program is feasible and appropriate before it is fully scaled up. (Note: formative evaluations do not test the effectiveness of a program). You can find some of our formative evaluations here.

Process evaluation

Process evaluation

Process evaluation determines whether a program is being implemented as intended and assesses the quality of the program's design. 3ie specializes in process evaluation both as a standalone study that can inform a full impact evaluation and as part of an impact evaluation.

Read key takeaways from four recent process evaluations of programs that support women’s collectives in India for the Gates Foundation. We also have guidance on how process evaluation can be incorporated into the impact evaluation. 

Impact evaluations scoping and design

Impact evaluations scoping and design

The flip side of designing an intervention to be evaluated is to match the design of the evaluation with the intervention. This requires in-depth consideration of evaluation questions and methods that best align with the proposed activity design. 3ie can help get this coordination right from the outset.

Impact evaluation

Impact evaluation with cost analysis

Stakeholder engagement and communication support

Monitoring and measuring research impact

Impact evaluation

Impact evaluation

At the core of 3ie’s work, impact evaluations assess the causal effects of a program. 3ie applies mixed methods to better understand why the desired change did or did not occur.

Impact evaluation with cost analysis

Impact evaluation with cost analysis

To learn about the cost-effectiveness of your program, it is necessary to know both the effects of your program and the cost to get that effect. 3ie has experience in conducting impact evaluations with cost analysis.

3ie’s Measuring Cost Effectiveness in Impact Evaluation handbook provides a comprehensive field guide for implementing cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA) in impact evaluation. Read more about this work.

Stakeholder engagement and communication support

Stakeholder engagement and communication support

By engaging with stakeholders from the time of inception of the studies in a critical, efficient and meaningful way, we facilitate their efforts to ensure the evidence produced is integrated and informs their strategies. We support in knowledge management during the study and organize workshops for communicating study findings and promoting understanding and use.

Monitoring and measuring research impact

Monitoring and measuring research impact

3ie has extensive experience in the application of contribution analysis and other methods that can help monitor and measure the impact of research evidence. We also have experience using contribution tracing to validate whether your research has had an influence. To learn more about our work in this area, visit our impact page.

3ie adapted contribution tracing approach for monitoring, measuring, and verifying instances of evidence uptake and use from 3ie-funded or produced work between 2018 and 2020. Read more

Training Initiatives

Research grants administration

Transparency, research and ethics helpdesk

Training Initiatives

Training Initiatives

Conducting rigorous research can be daunting and resource-intensive for organizations still building their in-house methodological capacity. 3ie works with partners around the world to develop capacity in evaluation and evidence-informed decision-making. Guided by principles of adult learning, our workshops blend theory with real-world application, ensuring participants gain practical skills.

Our recent evaluation capacity strengthening activities span Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, South Asia and South-east Asia.

We offer a range of training options, delivered in-person or virtually, and tailored to different experience levels. We design training courses for implementing partners, policymakers, and researchers, adapting and customizing workshops to their learning goals. Are you looking to design a customized capacity development plan for your organization? View courses and workshops.

Contact us at info@3ieimpact.org to book a training or to explore customized options to support your team’s learning and capacity development needs.

Research grants administration

Research grants administration

When done well, managing research grants is not only about contractual accountability and high-quality research outputs, it should also leave grantees better equipped to compete for and successfully complete future awards.

3ie is supporting the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) to manage their strategic investments in science, technology, and evidence. Through our recently-launched research commissioning centre, we are commissioning and delivering different types of high-quality research in FCDO’s key priority areas.

Transparency, research and ethics helpdesk

Transparency, research and ethics helpdesk

3ie is a pioneer and advocate for transparent, reproducible and ethical research. We can help ensure your research programs generate credible evidence and follow ethical principles.

Read more about the Transparent, Reproducible and Ethical Evidence Initiative and the framework developed by 3ie to support research teams.