The natural resource extractives sector is under-researched, and programmes in it are under-evaluated. 3ie supports seven impact evaluations that will help fill critical knowledge gaps on what works to improve governance in the extractives sector in low- and middle-income countries. Each of them is testing interventions that improve outcomes by providing relevant information to citizens through deliberative forums and online platforms.
3ie, in partnership with the Uganda Office of the Prime Minister (OPM Uganda), is implementing a multi-year programme to strengthen the production and use of evaluation evidence with selected ministries. The Ugandan government has identified key development issues in which quality evidence about programme effectiveness is lacking. 3ie is supporting a range of evaluations to help fill those evidence gaps. Moreover, 3ie is working with the ministries to strengthen evidence use in their work. OPM Uganda is a member of 3ie, and we have been working with them for many years to build a culture of evidence use and strengthen the national monitoring and evaluation system.
Over 24 million people in the African Sahel need emergency food assistance as the nutrition and food security situation continues to deteriorate. Watch this short animated film on the findings from the 3ie working paper to understand what works to improve malnutrition in the region.
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. 3ie’s new report synthesises the findings and lessons from 3ie-supported impact evaluations of World Food Programme’s interventions to improve nutrition and food security outcomes in Chad, Mali, Niger and Sudan. It offers new, rigorous evidence on the interrelationship between programmes for preventing and treating malnutrition in emergency and post-emergency contexts. ? Read the synthesis report: http://bit.ly/3ieWFPSahel
The International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie) carried out a synthesis study to assess how CDD programmes have evolved over the years and what their impact has been. The authors synthesised evidence from 25 impact evaluations, covering 23 programmes in 21 low- and middle-income countries. They also drew on process evaluations and qualitative research to examine the factors influencing success and failure.
Agricultural extension can play a crucial role in relieving farmers’ information constraints and encourage adoption of improved agricultural technologies, thereby potentially increasing yields and income. Promoting cost-effective agricultural extension systems is especially important in developing country economies that are highly dependent on agriculture. Agricultural extension systems tend to rely primarily on two models for disseminating information about new technologies: farmer field days and farmer-led demonstration plots. In this interview, 3ie grantee Annemie Maertens talks about early findings from a 3ie-funded impact evaluation in Malawi on the effects of these two primary models on farmer learning and adoption of integrated soil fertility management practices. Annemie Maertens is an agricultural economist and studies poverty in rural communities.
Hugh Waddington, senior evaluation specialist at 3ie, provides an overview of the state of evidence in the WASH sector. Watch this short video to understand what evidence exists, where are the important gaps and how 3ie in partnership with other organisations is working to make a meaningful contribution to evaluation and evidence in the WASH sector.
Simrin Makhija is working on a impact evaluation of a soil fertility training programme in the Volta region of Ghana. This study evaluated the impact of the scale-up of integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) practices in Ghana on changes in awareness, learning, uptake, adoption, productivity and welfare of farmers.
In this interview with 3ie, Olivier Cossee, senior evaluation officer at FAO discussed some key questions pertaining to impact evaluations of agricultural programs. He also stresses the importance of qualitative research and policy relevance of impact evaluations.
Juan Bonilla, senior researcher at American Institutes of Research talks about a 3ie-funded impact evaluation of small dairy commercialisation programme in Kenya. This programme was funded by IFAD under the rural development projects.
3ie organized its first education policy dialogue event in Uganda, on the sidelines of the AfrEA conference on 28 March 2017. This day-long event which we co-hosted with the office of the prime minister (OPM), Uganda. Thirty people participated in the event which included a significant number from Uganda’s ministry of education and sports, the office of the prime minister, and a few from the World Bank, RTI-USAID, Uganda National Teachers Union, UNICEF, Measure Africa and Twaweza.
On International Women’s Day 2017, watch 3ie’s Beryl Leach talk about the importance of rigorous evidence for telling us about what is working or not, for whom, how and why
Adolescence (10–19 years old) is a critical period in life, during which people undergo extensive biological, psychological and social changes. During this time, sexual and reproductive health can pose serious challenges for adolescents and programming needs to be effective in addressing this important health area. This video discusses the state of evidence around adolescent sexual and reproductive health (ASRH), exploring the supply of and demand for evidence on the impact of ASRH programming in low- and middle-income countries.
3ie interviewed Shantanu Pramanik, principal investigator for the new 3ie-funded impact evaluation of the SALT (Stimulate, Appreciate, Learn, and Transfer) project. In this video, he explains why the impact evaluation of the SALT- an approach of community engagement to increase immunization coverage through ownership - a mixed-methods study in Assam, India- is important for generating evidence on community engagement to increase immunization coverage.
How can impact evaluations test innovative ideas to increase demand generation for voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC)? We highlight one 3ie-funded study in South Africa that used financial incentives with compelling results.
Transferable skills, often referred to as soft, non-cognitive or life skills, provide youth with the tools and confidence to succeed in term of employment, health and personal well-being. 3ie has developed an evidence gap map (EGM) of impact evaluations of youth and transferable skills interventions in low- and middle-income countries. This video provides a brief description of the evidence gap map and shows how donors and other stakeholders can use its findings in their work.
Transferable skills, often referred to as soft, non-cognitive or life skills, provide youth with the tools and confidence to succeed in term of employment, health and personal well-being. 3ie hosted a roundtable for experts involved in transferable skills research and interventions in low- and middle-income countries to facilitate the setting of an agenda for future innovation and research. Participants shared research and experiences from their work in the field and provided feedback on 3ie’s evidence gap map on youth and transferable skills. This video presents some of the main highlights from presentations throughout the two-day event and key takeaways that stakeholders will use to enhance their work.
