Expanding the frontiers of heterogeneity analysis: application of a machine learning method to a gender attitude change program

At 3ie, we recently tested a machine learning technique on a previously completed randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a school-based gender attitude change program in Haryana, India to answer this question. We share a few key findings and benefits of employing this method.

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

Martin Ravallion, poverty researcher and impact evaluation pioneer: 1952-2022

Howard White 20 February 2023 blog

Martin, regularly ranked amongst the world’s leading development economists, played a central role in the mainstreaming of poverty in the development agenda. In these days of the SDGs, younger people may not be aware that there was a time when poverty was at best a marginal concern in most development discourse. Modernization and growth held sway.

3ie Living Evidence Gap Map: New food systems evaluations focus on the big picture

Charlotte Lane, Ingunn Storhaug 20 January 2023 blog

Food systems transformation is a global problem, and increasingly evaluations of food systems interventions are considering national and transnational solutions. The world's food system is under threat from the “three Cs” – COVID, climate, and conflict. As the Food and Agriculture Organization notes, the war in Ukraine brought these threats into sharp focus in 2022, pushing the already high global food prices even higher. To mitigate the effects of, and eventually recover from, these shocks, we need to know what interventions are effective at improving food security and nutrition, who they work for, and what they cost. In our newest update to our living Evidence Gap Map we've added 72 new studies, some of which show positive effects of nation-wide plans to shift land ownership policies.

One small step for Norway, one giant leap for evidence-informed decision-making in Norwegian aid

Marie Gaarder, Amanda Glassman, Ruth Levine 21 December 2022 blog

If economists are the ‘dismal scientists’ always harping on about limited resources, evaluators are often considered the ‘pessimist scientists’ who only see the half-empty glass, rather than the half-full one. The end of the year is, however, a perfect time to break with that tradition. It is a time to reflect and appreciate progress, promising initiatives, and flickers of hope. Evidence suggests that positive reinforcement can be effective in ensuring that positive developments or behaviors are maintained.

Best practices for working with survey partners and monitoring data quality

Saumya Mathur, Chandan Jain 30 November 2022 blog

Collecting primary data for impact evaluations can be both costly and time-intensive, especially in terms of planning, designing survey instruments, setting up field protocols, training enumerators, data collection, supervision, quality assurance, and handling field-level challenges. Evaluators and researchers often partner with survey firms to implement and manage field operations for data collection.

Five ways process evaluation is helping us evaluate an aquaculture project in Bangladesh

Aminul Karim, Pooja Sengupta 22 November 2022 blog

Integrating mixed-methods approaches with impact evaluations like process evaluations and implementation studies has been in practice for a while, and for very good reasons. In this blog, we share how embedding a process evaluation within an ongoing evaluation of an aquaculture intervention in Bangladesh is adding value to evaluation findings.

How sanitation collectives in India help the marginalized earn livelihood and respect

Aastha Dang, Indira Patil 18 November 2022 blog

Deepa (name changed), a 36-year-old transgender woman, had to flee her home in southern India when she was 18. She came to Delhi and subsequently underwent sex reassignment surgery. Recalling her days in the capital, she says, “I used to beg in trains and at traffic signal junctions for survival. During marriages or other celebrations, I would go to people’s houses demanding money”. She further adds, “Society treats us with disdain because of who we are and what we do. However, lack of viable job opportunities forces us to resort to these methods of earning a living”.

Mapping evidence of what works to strengthen resilience to shocks and stressors

Miriam Berretta 10 November 2022 blog

Wars, droughts, floods and other effects of climate change are leading to pervasive and complex emergencies globally, causing displacement, famine and crop failure, among many other adversities. As several of these events occur in tandem, there is a need to have a multi-dimensional understanding of how things such as climate change, conflict and intersectional identities intertwine. One of the key pillars to mitigate their impacts is resilience — as highlighted by the ongoing 27th Conference of Parties (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt — and in this blog, we share how some of 3ie’s ongoing work will help inform future policy on how people, communities and institutions can better prepare and respond to shocks in the future.

Six learnings from Swashakt program's complexity-aware monitoring

Morchan Karthick 01 November 2022 blog

Monitoring, Learning and Evaluation (MLE) approaches for development interventions have been constantly evolving over time. It started as a country-level focus in the 1960s and expanded to individual program-level MLE approaches, methods and standards in the 1990s and newer and innovative approaches have been developed since then.

Sanitation-linked livelihoods project: Six key insights from a learning study

Indira Patil, Aastha Dang 15 September 2022 blog

In this blog, we discuss the key findings emerging from our study—supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and conducted in partnership with the Technical Support Units (TSUs) of the states.

Standards of care in policy research

Douglas MacKay, Anna Marion 12 September 2022 blog

This blog post expands on ideas discussed in an earlier series of blog posts on ethics in social science research. Read the introduction to that series here and read about 3ie's Transparent, Reproducible, and Ethical Evidence framework here.

About

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.