Working papers

These papers cover a range of content. They may focus on current issues, debates and enduring challenges. Policy-relevant papers in this series synthesise or draw on relevant 3ie-funded studies and reviews, as well as other rigorous evidence, to offer new analyses, findings, insights and recommendations. Methods papers and technical guides help advance understanding, design, and use of rigorous and appropriate evaluations and reviews. 3ie also uses this series to publish lessons learned from 3ie grant-making.

Latest working papers

Working papers

The policies that empower women: empirical evidence from India’s National Rural Livelihoods Project

Working paper 3ie PDF icon 2021  
Authors of this working paper provide empirical evidence in support of the hypothesis that providing women with access to large loans enhances their decision-making ability within the household.

Assessing bottlenecks within Iron and Folic Acid Supplementation Delivery in Kenya

Working paper 3ie PDF icon 2021  

This paper a stakeholder-identified inventory of bottlenecks within iron folic acid supplementation delivery systems in Kenya.

Mapping implementation research on nutrition-specific interventions in India

Working paper 3ie PDF icon 2020  
Authors of this working paper consolidate and map implementation evidence available on nutrition-specific interventions aimed at improving maternal and child health in India.

The impact of development aid on organised violence: a systematic assessment

Working paper 3ie PDF icon 2020  
The author of this paper reviews existing literature about the impact of development aid on violence in fragile and conflict affected states.

The current and potential role of self-help group federations in India

Working paper 3ie PDF icon 2020  
Authors of this paper summarise the findings of a rapid field study of select federations in Kerala and Karnataka to understand the current and potential role of these federations to promote high-value livelihood activities for women.

How effective are group-based livelihoods programmes in improving the lives of poor people? A synthesis of recent evidence

Working paper 3ie PDF icon 2020  
Authors of this paper synthesise evidence on how group-based livelihoods’ programmes – which include financial, human or social capital interventions – can have an impact on a range of economic, human development and social cohesion outcomes.

Social protection: a synthesis of evidence and lessons from 3ie- supported impact evaluations

Working paper 3ie PDF icon 2019  
This paper synthesises the evidence on the impact of transfer modalities and large-scale, government-implemented social protection programmes.

Transparency and accountability in the extractives sector: a synthesis of what works and what does not

Working paper 3ie PDF icon 2019  
This paper synthesises key lessons from seven impact evaluations of these initiatives in the extractives sector. The synthesis shows that providing information alone may not be sufficient. Instead, information combined with deliberations positively affect knowledge, trust and demand for accountability.

Integrating impact evaluation and implementation research to accelerate evidence-informed action

Working paper 3ie PDF icon 2018  
The authors of this paper use three case studies in which researchers and implementers integrated implementation research and impact evaluation, highlighting what worked or what was missed and provide practical recommendations.

Synthesis of impact evaluations of the World Food Programme’s nutrition interventions in humanitarian settings in the Sahel

Working paper 3ie PDF icon 2018  

Acute malnutrition in the Sahel region affects an estimated 6 million children under the age of 5, of whom approximately 1.4 million require treatment for severe acute malnutrition.