Paul Thissen

Paul-Thissen
Designation: Senior Evaluation and Communication Specialist
Paul provides technical and management leadership of and support for impact evaluations, synthesis, and other evidence programs. He is the lead author for 3ie’s 2020 Hindsight campaign blogs. Paul also supports the production of communication materials to effectively convey research findings and 3ie accomplishments to a wide variety of audiences.

Blogs by author

Evidence Dialogues: Building connections between researchers and policymakers to eliminate hunger

Sustainable Development Goal 2 – eliminating hunger – is breathtaking in both its simplicity and its scope. We all know how to avoid hunger in our own lives, but on a global scale, the task brings together a dizzying array of potential policies: agricultural support, cash transfers, school lunches, or taxes on sugary sodas, to name just a handful.

Evidence Dialogues: How community engagement interventions can increase routine immunization

Although the COVID-19 pandemic drew plenty of attention to the need for one specific vaccine, the disruptions it caused also exacerbated existing challenges in ensuring all the world's children receive their shots.

Evidence Dialogues: How to set up development institutions so evidence informs policy

One year ago, a group of experts on a 3ie panel agreed that simply producing evidence and data was not sufficient for learning. On Friday, 3ie’s Executive Director, Marie Gaarder, invited those experts back to her virtual table to share what they've learned about how to set up processes within development institutions so that good evidence is not just generated but incorporated into the project planning cycle.

Evidence impact: Research showed unconditional cash transfers work. Now they're everywhere

Across the world, governments used cash transfers, including unconditional transfers, to shield vulnerable people from the economic hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic. As of December 2020, cash transfer schemes made up more than a third of the estimated 1400 social protection responses to the pandemic across 215 countries and territories.

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

In March of this year, UNAIDS launched the In Your Hands HIV self-testing campaign in the Caribbean, aiming to increase the proportion of HIV-positive individuals who know their status. In January, Senegal's government approved its new HIV self-testing strategy, working with a donor-funded program to promote and distribute the HIV self-tests in West Africa. These efforts join others around the world, with a push from the World Health Organization for countries to fast-track HIV self-testing.