The evidence-to-policy conundrum and how to solve it

Does better evidence lead to better policies and programs? Massive amounts of reliable evidence, drawing on scientifically strong methods, including randomized controlled trials, mixed-methods approaches, and more, have been generated and disseminated in recent decades. A Nobel Prize has been awarded for that pathbreaking work. Yet the impact of that evidence – on what policymakers and program implementers think and do – has been far below expectations, even pitifully tiny according to some accounts. billion people.

Insights from the Development Evidence Portal – the Middle East and North Africa

Our latest piece in the ‘state of the evidence’ series – which interprets data by unpacking the studies in our Development Evidence Portal (DEP) – focuses on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. . The DEP currently includes 740 impact evaluations (IE) and 352 systematic reviews (SR) from the region, which is the second smallest amongst regions containing low- and middle-income countries (L&MICs). Interested readers are encouraged to further explore the DEP for additional data not covered in this blog.

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Latest blogs

What works for addressing root cause and drivers of irregular migration? There are few answers to pressing policy questions.

Carolyn Huang, Maria Daniela Anda Leon, Miriam Berretta 20 December 2023 blog

Mass irregular migration is a pressing global issue, especially for low- and middle-income countries. In 2018, there were over 100 million irregular migrants estimated worldwide (Yayboke and Gallego 2019) and the number continues to increase as more individuals seek better lives, conditions, or livelihoods, or escape from violence, persecution, or repression.

Measuring and Improving the Impact of US Foreign Aid—A Look at Two Key Statutes

Erin Collinson, Thomas Kelly 30 November 2023 blog

Over the years, US lawmakers of many stripes have embraced the value proposition of foreign assistance. While their precise motivations have varied, ensuring US international aid is transparent, accountable, and effective has been vital to this long-running bipartisan support.

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.

Evolution or revolution? What MDB course corrections mean for evaluators

Emmanuel Jimenez 14 November 2023 blog

“Hard a starboard!” These were the orders of First Officer William Murdoch aboard RMS Titanic on the night of 14 April 1912 immediately after lookouts signaled a rather large obstacle ahead. Though still half a kilometer away, the gigantic ship nonetheless struck the iceberg that was in its way.

Major bilateral and multilateral organizations sign 3ie-led Global Evidence Commitment

Marie Gaarder, Daniel Handel 02 November 2023 blog

Last week, during the high-profile IDB Knowledge Week, 3ie launched the Global Evidence Commitment, an opportunity for leading international development institutions – bilaterals, multilateral development banks, international NGOs, philanthropies – to come together to improve the culture and practice of evidence use in their institutions.

Unveiling trends in impact evaluations across Latin America and the Caribbean

Cem Yavuz, Mark Engelbert, M Zahin Shafiq 11 October 2023 blog

3ie’s Development Evidence Portal (DEP) team is writing a series of blogs designed to provide insights and explore regional trends from the data housed within the world’s largest repository for rigorous international development evaluations. Our first destination in this series is Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), a region ranking third in terms of the number of impact evaluations (IEs) with 1910. Here we provide a brief overview of the region, and we encourage interested users to utilize the DEP to do your own explorations.

Adolescents not a monolith, empowerment interventions need to have life-cycle approach

Tanvi, Annie Vincent 06 October 2023 blog

Over the last few months, 3ie has been working with Co-Impact to create a researcher-practitioner partnership to inform a holistic, evidence-informed approach to adolescent empowerment in India. A few weeks ago, we held a workshop to bring together stakeholders from the government, academia, research and grassroots organizations and donors to collaboratively inform a long-term research agenda. This blog includes a few reflections from those conversations.

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)

Stakeholders discussion in WACIE countries

Seven ideas for rapid evidence that is both rigorous and actionable

Anca Dumitrescu, Paul Thissen 20 September 2023 blog

When policymakers come to us for rapid response evidence, they want it to be immediate, actionable, and reliable, drawing on findings from high-quality evaluations. These requirements can sometimes seem to be at odds – often there are details of a specific policy situation that have not yet been addressed by rigorous research. So how do we balance the competing needs to be both actionable and rigorous?

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Evidence Matters is 3ie’s blog. It primarily features contributions from staff and board members. Guest blogs are by invitation.

3ie publishes blogs in the form received from the authors. Any errors or omissions are the sole responsibility of the authors. Views expressed are their own and do not represent the opinions of 3ie, its board of commissioners or supporters.