Mapping the effects of food systems interventions on food security and nutrition: Launch of the 3ie Food Systems Evidence Gap Map

Panelists:

Martin Hoppe, Head of division, Food and Nutrition Security, Global Food Policy, Fisheries, BMZ;
Christoph Langenkamp, Programme Director, Knowledge for Nutrition (K4N);
Thalia Sparling, Postdoctoral Fellow, Innovative Metrics and Methods for Agriculture and Nutrition Actions (IMMANA);
Marie Ruel, Director of Poverty, Health, and Nutrition Division, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI); and
Charlotte Lane, Evaluation Specialist, 3ie

Chair:
Josh Furgeson, Senior Research Fellow, 3ie

1,838 impact evaluations and 178 systematic reviews were identified for this study. In this presentation, we will discuss the main findings of the 3ie food systems evidence gap map, its potential uses, and the implications of this effort for future policy and research.

This event is a part of a series of events that 3ie is hosting on nutrition in January 2021.

About speakers

Martin Hoppe, Head of division, Food and Nutrition Security, Global Food Policy, Fisheries, BMZ

Martin Hoppe is Head of Division Food and Nutrition Security, Global Food Policy, Fisheries at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). After studying law, he became legal counsel at the German Patent and Trademark Office and later joined the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in 2002. In BMZ he held various positions, as a policy advisor on environmental protection in China, on principles and procedures, as a chief speechwriter and as the head of Division for Peace and Security, Disaster Risk Management. He was also posted to the German Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York and as the head of Economic Cooperation and Development at the German Embassy in Hanoi.

Marie Ruel, Director of Poverty, Health, and Nutrition Division, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Marie T. Ruel is Director of the Poverty, Health and Nutrition Division at the International Food Policy Research Institute. Dr. Ruel has worked for more than 30 years on policies and programs to alleviate poverty, food insecurity and malnutrition in low- and middle-income countries. At IFPRI she has developed and led a large portfolio of research on the evaluation and strengthening of a wide range of integrated, multi-sectoral development programs in the areas of agriculture and food systems, social protection, education, gender, and health, and at building the evidence on their role in fostering improvements in maternal and child nutrition globally. Dr. Ruel holds a PhD from Cornell University. She received the American Society for Nutrition Kellogg Prize for lifetime achievement in nutrition in 2019.
 

Thalia Sparling, Postdoctoral Fellow, Innovative Metrics and Methods for Agriculture and Nutrition Actions (IMMANA)

Thalia completed her PhD at the University of Heidelberg’s Institute of Public Health in the Epidemiology and Biostatistics unit. Under the supervision of Dr. Sabine Gabrysch, Thalia worked on the Food and Agricultural Approaches to Reducing Malnutrition (FAARM), a clustered randomized field trial investigating the impact of Helen Keller International’s Homestead Food Production program in rural Bangladesh. Her dissertation examined the association of food access, diet and nutrition with depression in women of reproductive age, particularly in Bangladesh. Prior to joining the Heidelberg Public Health team, she worked for two years in South Sudan as a Technical Advisor to the South Sudan Guinea Worm Eradication Program with the Carter Center. Thalia holds a Master in Public Health from Columbia University, focusing on forced migration and humanitarian assistance, and a Bachelor of Arts from Smith College in anthropology and Spanish.

Charlotte Lane, Evaluation Specialist, 3ie

Charlotte provides technical assistance and capacity development to help increase the adoption of evidence-informed programmes and policies. Prior to joining 3ie, she worked on evaluations of interventions to support infant health in eastern Africa. She also supported community health capacity development in Burkina Faso. She was a research assistant with MEASURE Evaluation and RTI International.

Charlotte is a PhD candidate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; she has submitted her thesis on Nutritional Epidemiology. Before her PhD, Charlotte received a bachelor’s degree in Human Evolutionary Biology from Harvard University.

Josh Furgeson, Senior Research Fellow, 3ie

Josh Furgeson is a 3ie senior research fellow with more than 15 years of experience in program evaluation and systematic reviews. His work focuses on impact evaluations, qualitative implementation analyses, and systematic reviews.

He is currently an independent consultant, working on evaluation and systematic review projects with non-profit organizations, start-ups, and governments. As a senior research at Mathematica and a consultant, Josh has conducted both experimental and quasi-experimental impact analyses. He has also worked on the US Department of Education’s What Works Clearinghouse, where he led the development of several practice guides and was the lead methodologist for the special education systematic reviews.

Josh holds a PhD in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University, and is the author of reports, book chapters, and several peer-reviewed journal articles. His work has been featured in The Wall Street Journal and NPR.

Christoph Langenkamp, Programme Director, GIZ-implemented “Knowledge for Nutrition (K4N)” Programme

Christoph Langenkamp is Programme Director of the GIZ-implemented “Knowledge for Nutrition (K4N)” Programme. He is an agronomist with extensive policy and programming experience and has worked for the past 30 years in global rural development and food security in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Prior to leading K4N, he supported programme development at GIZ’s sectoral department, led the secretariat of the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development, and managed regional programmes in addition to rural development/food security programmes for the EC in Brussels and Somalia. He also managed the International Committee of the Red Cross’s (ICRC) food security programme in Somalia  and advised agricultural projects for DANIDA and the German Development Service in Kenya.