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3ie News | June 2019
               
Evidence • Action • Impact>
 
 
Evidence uptake and use from 3ie-funded studies 
3ie-supported evidence informs USAID's policy on investments in the education sector

b24ed3b8-33ae-45f9-94ea-b35b2da15fc1.jpgIn November 2018, USAID launched its education policy to guide its agency-wide investments and inform the design of its education programmes across several countries. To inform the policy design and improve regional and country programming, USAID has cited evidence relevant to its education priorities. Among other pieces of evidence, several 3ie-supported studies, including working papers and systematic reviews on improving learning outcomes in primary and secondary schools, as well in technical and vocational education, have been cited. The policy also cites a 3ie-supported evidence gap map on primary and secondary education and one on youth and transferable skills.
New publications
Evidence gap map report: Improving and sustaining livelihoods through group-based interventions: mapping the evidence
Impact evaluation reports: Impacts of formal registration of businesses in Malawi; Impacts of community stakeholder engagement interventions in Ugandan oil extractives; and Increasing HIV testing demand among Kenyan truck drivers and female sex workers
Impact evaluation briefs: Using voice reminders to reinforce harvest training in Mali
Programme overview brief: West Africa Capacity-building and Impact Evaluation Programme
Systematic review report: Does incorporating participation and accountability improve development outcomes? Meta-analysis and framework synthesis
3ie blogs
A shot in the arm: why engaging with a range of stakeholders matters Ananta Seth and Radhika Menon share some of the key lessons from 3ie's immunisation evidence programme. They provide examples showcasing the importance of engaging with a range of stakeholders, and how that engagement informed intervention design, evaluation implementation and evidence uptake.
How can a rethink of lessons from field experiments inform future research in transparency, participation and accountability? Jonathan Fox (American University) draws on evidence from recent field experiments to highlight the issues involved in assessing the narrow theories of change of 'low-dose' interventions. He makes a case for a 'reality check' and for looking at diverse change strategies.
Be careful what you wish for: cautionary tales on using single studies to inform policymaking Emmanuel Jimenez provides an example of the recent political and judicial controversy in the Philippines to illustrate the danger of relying on single studies to inform policymaking. He emphasises the importance of synthesising evidence through rigorous theory-based systematic reviews, generating more evidence, and promoting research transparency and replications.
Save the date: Delhi Evidence Week, 6–7 November 2019
We will be hosting a one-and-a-half-day conference highlighting our innovative leadership and support for evidence production and use that helps reduce poverty and improve lives in Asia. We will bring together leading researchers, high-level policymakers, programme managers and donors to share evidence, explore challenges and lessons, and demonstrate the value of using high-quality evidence to inform decision-making. We will organise engaging sessions on how we are improving impact in key areas, such as nutrition, sanitation, rural livelihoods and women’s empowerment. We will also feature our annual Howard White Lecture.
Upcoming events 

Improving the delivery of direct benefit transfers in India, New Delhi, 21 June 2019

Shruti Viswanathan will present findings from recent studies that unpack the implementation and impact challenges of these transfers. She will explore three avenues where improvements to technology-aided programmes can be improved: systems design, personnel, and beneficiary awareness and grievance redressal. Register here.

What Works Global Summit, Mexico City, 14–18 October 2019

3ie will host two panel sessions at the conference, one on the future of evidence curation and translation in international development, and the other on integrating evidence into policymaking. We will be hosting four pre-conference workshops: improving evidence uptake and use, strategic communication for evidence-informed decision-making, designing and using policy briefs effectively, and rapid response and systematic reviews. Staff will also present on transparency and accountability interventions in the extractives sector, formative evaluations to help design programmes in the immunisation sector, and an evidence gap map on what evidence exists for building peaceful and inclusive societies. Emmanuel Jimenez will be participating in a plenary panel on funding research for policy impact. We look forward to seeing you at the conference!
3ie @ recent events 

gLOCAL Evaluation Week 2019

3ie organised two webinars as part of gLOCAL Evaluation Week, 3–7 June. Both webinars were in French and were led by 3ie’s West Africa Capacity-building and Impact Evaluation Programme team in Benin. The first webinar focused on how strengthening national evaluation systems can facilitate funding and implementation of impact evaluations, as well as the use of evidence in low- and middle-income countries. The second was on the evidence gap map methodology and how findings can inform impact evaluations conducted in West African Economic and Monetary Union countries. Read more here.

We also contributed to the South Asian gLOCAL Evaluation Week through our monthly Delhi seminar. The session focused on opportunities and challenges in evaluating group-based livelihoods programmes in India. Bidisha Barooah (3ie) shared lessons from our implementation of a large-scale impact evaluation of India’s National Rural Livelihoods Mission. She highlighted the importance of forming partnerships with key stakeholders for both design and implementation. She also discussed how formative evaluations involving intensive fieldwork and engagement with implementers contributed to strengthening evaluation design. Other panellists included Varun Shah (CMS), Leena Johri (Ministry of Rural Development) and Gayatri Acharya (World Bank). Approximately 65 participants, including researchers, government officials and students, attended. Click here for more details.

Campbell Collaboration⁠ – DEval conference, Bonn, 9–10 May

Marie Gaarder (3ie) delivered the opening presentation on the role of evidence synthesis for effective development policy and practice.
Hannah Chirgwin (3ie) presented findings from 3ie’s water, sanitation and hygiene evidence gap map. She highlighted the growing body of evidence in the sector, how the patterns in research have shifted over the last 10 years, and where we still need new primary impact evaluations and synthesis work. Marie presented highlights of a 3ie-supported systematic review on payments for environmental services. The focus of the event as a whole, and of the closing panel, was on strengthening evidence-informed policymaking in German development cooperation. There was a clear sense that while Germany is lagging behind, the movement for evidence-informed decision-making is gaining momentum. Over 100 participants attended from various German research institutes and ministries, as well as representatives from various international organisations, including Campbell, World Vision, AIR, Red Cross, European Banking Authority, IPA and IRC. There was substantial Twitter traffic around the event.
Job opportunities at 3ie New funding
Lead evaluation specialist, New Delhi or Washington, DC

Research associate, Washington, DC

Evaluation specialist or senior evaluation specialist, New Delhi or Washington, DC

Editorial associate, New Delhi

Policy, advocacy and impact associate, New Delhi

Bursaries available for workshop on impact evaluation of population, health and nutrition programmes
3ieNews is a bi-monthly newsletter of the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie). We promote evidence-informed equitable, inclusive and sustainable development. We support the generation and effective use of high-quality evidence to inform decision-making and improve the lives of people living in poverty in low- and middle-income countries. We provide guidance and support to produce, synthesise and assure the quality of evidence of what works, for whom, how, why and at what cost.

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