Impact evaluation

These briefs provide plain-language summaries of the intervention, impact evaluation, main findings and recommendations from 3ie-funded studies published in our report series.

Latest impact evaluation briefs

Impact evaluation

Education for all: How to pass the 2015 grade?

Impact evaluation Brief 3ie PDF icon 2010  
Conditional cash transfers, exemption of school fees and school feeding programmes have generally been found to have a positive impact on primary school enrolment rates. But these programmes have had a limited and a varied effect in different contexts on keeping children in education.

Fair and Square: Better market share, more benefits through Fairtrade

Impact evaluation Brief 3ie PDF icon 2010  
Fairtrade can have positive impacts on producers in developing countries, increasing income and employment opportunities, reducing vulnerability to price fluctuations and giving producers a better access to larger foreign markets and attract higher value.

Climate change: Effective ways of cutting greenhouse gas emissions

Impact evaluation Brief 3ie PDF icon 2009  
There are few rigorous impact evaluations of climate change interventions. But some examples in the field of conservation stand out. A number of recent studies evaluate the impact of protected areas, payment for environmental services and decentralized forest management.

Health insurance for the poor: myth or reality

Impact evaluation Brief 3ie PDF icon 2009  
A growing evidence base suggests that health insurance in poor areas can improve people’s access to health care. But the poorest in these areas do not seem to benefit much. Health insurance programs, generally, have not helped in reaching out to the poorest or improving their health care use.

Financing better health care for all

Impact evaluation Brief 3ie PDF icon 2009  
A growing evidence base suggests that health insurance in poor areas can improve people’s access to health care. But the poorest in these areas do not seem to benefit much. Health insurance programs, generally, have not helped in reaching out to the poorest or improving their health care use

Running water, working toilets and safe hygiene practices

Impact evaluation Brief 3ie PDF icon 2009  
The world is falling behind its targets to improve people’s access to sanitation, with major health costs. There is strong evidence that both sanitation and hygiene interventions are highly effective in reducing risks of diarrhoea, however public health promotion appears more cost-effective.

Getting girls into school: a development benefit for all

Impact evaluation Brief 3ie PDF icon 2009  
A disproportionate number of girls remain out of schools in many developing countries. Evidence shows there is a need for ‘gender-targeted’ programs. Such targeted programs may be financial incentives - which a number have studies have found to be effective - or female-friendly schools, for which the evidence base is weak

Water to save lives

Impact evaluation Brief 3ie PDF icon 2009  
Contaminated water is bad for health, resulting in thousands of premature deaths around the world each year. There is strong evidence that household water treatment has the biggest impact and is the most costeffective method in reducing risks of diarrhoea.

Public works: An effective safety net for the poor?

Impact evaluation Brief 3ie PDF icon 2009  
Most assessments have found that public works programmes have significant impact in terms of temporary employment creation and increases in participants’ current incomes. However, evidence of impact on enhanced employability, sustainable income gains, and the benefits to poor people from the physical assets created is limited.

Special needs education: Towards more inclusive

Impact evaluation Brief 3ie PDF icon 2009  
There is a lack of credible data on children with disabilities in developing nations, presenting an obstacle for rigorous research evaluation of policy interventions.