Call for evidence on the effects of engaging the private sector in sustainable development

Tomasz Kozakiewicz, Suvarna Pande, Andrea Floridi, Megha Bhattacharyya, Anil Thota
08 May 2025 blog  

At a time when international development budgets are under pressure, involving the private sector in accelerating progress towards the UN's Sustainable Development Goals has become more pressing than ever. Rather than replacing public funding, private sector engagement serves as a strategic lever—especially in sectors where private investments can enhance sustainability and scalability. 

Evidence on climate, biodiversity and livelihoods highly concentrated thematically and geographically

Pierre Marion, Constanza Gonzalez Parrao
29 November 2024 blog  

Climate change alters or destroys ecosystems on land, oceans and coasts, leading species to extinction, forcing animals to migrate for survival and resulting in the emergence of non-native invasive species. This biodiversity loss can, in turn, exacerbate the climate crisis with greater carbon emissions from land-use change and deforestation.

Final update to living food systems E&GM: New studies address gender-transformative interventions and food loss outcomes

Ingunn Storhaug, Mark Engelbert
16 July 2024 blog  
In our eighth and final scheduled update to 3ie’s living food systems evidence and gap map (E&GM), we add 307 new impact evaluations and eight new systematic reviews, bringing the total number of studies in the map to 3,218.

Recent and fast-growing evidence on sustainable energy interventions, but gaps remain

Constanza Gonzalez Parrao, Cem Yavuz, Zafeer Ravat
20 May 2024 blog  
Progress towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 – to ensure universal access to energy and clean cooking, the adoption of renewables and an increase in energy efficiency – has been mixed. While electricity access has improved in select countries, clean cooking remains a prevalent issue for one in three people globally.

3ie's living Food Systems Evidence and Gap Map: Now expanded with social assistance and social insurance interventions

Ingunn Storhaug, Mark Engelbert
13 May 2024 blog  
Our latest update of the living food systems evidence and gap map (E&GM) focuses on the addition of multiple new social assistance and social insurance intervention categories that we added to the map for the first time.

Assessing the effectiveness of food security and nutrition interventions on gender transformative outcomes

Etienne Lwamba, Kishore Basak, Ashiqun Nabi, Pierre Marion, Ingunn Storhaug
16 April 2024 blog  
In 2023, 735 million individuals worldwide experienced hunger, and 258 million people across 58 countries and territories faced acute food insecurity at crisis or worse levels. With 60% of them comprising women, the gender gap in food insecurity continues to widen.

3ie's living Food Systems Evidence and Gap Map: Slow progress on evidence gaps, but little high-quality synthesis

Ingunn Storhaug, Mark Engelbert
24 November 2023 blog  
In our most recent update to our living Evidence and Gap Map (E&GM) on Food Systems, we see the continuation of several trends: more evaluations of national and transnational programs; fewer evaluations of supplementation and fortification interventions; a shift toward quasi-experimental research; and a dearth of high-quality systematic reviews.

What works to reverse democratic backsliding? It’s complicated

Etienne Lwamba, Ashiqun Nabi, Pierre Marion, Mark Engelbert
04 October 2023 blog  
Many countries have faced democratic backsliding or autocratization, especially in the past 30 years. With a staggering 72 percent of the world population living in autocracies (according to the V-Dem 2023 report), we need more evidence to better understand what works to support democracy and freedom in backsliding contexts to reverse this trend. To support this effort towards evidence-informed decision-making in democracy programming, 3ie has gathered existing findings in an evidence gap map and rapid evidence assessment (REA), with support from the UK government's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).

Evidence base of sexual and reproductive health and rights interventions growing, but gaps remain

Tomasz Kozakiewicz, Marcellina Schmidt, Birte Snilstveit, Lina Khan, Shannon Shisler, Megha Bhattacharyya
28 September 2023 blog  
Ahead of World Contraception Day (26 September) and International Safe Abortion Day (28 September), UN experts called for states, especially those in emergency, humanitarian and crisis situations, to promote, protect and respect sexual and reproductive health and all related rights. To do this, the experts underscored the need to establish inclusive policies, evidence-informed services, and leadership rooted in international human rights conventions. In our latest evidence gap map (EGM) on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR)

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