Paul Thissen

Paul-Thissen
Designation: Senior Evaluation and Communication Specialist
Paul provides technical and management leadership of and support for impact evaluations, synthesis, and other evidence programs. He is the lead author for 3ie’s 2020 Hindsight campaign blogs. Paul also supports the production of communication materials to effectively convey research findings and 3ie accomplishments to a wide variety of audiences.
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Blogs by author

How should evaluators respond to a changing global landscape? Ideas from the World Bank IEG's expert panel

Paul Thissen, Marie Gaarder 15 April 2024 blog  
To respond to a rapidly-changing global context, the evaluation community needs to adapt its methods and approaches, according to an expert panel assembled by the World Bank’s Independent Evaluation Group (IEG).

Strengthening Cote d'Ivoire's nutrition strategy with rapid evidence

Annie Vincent, Paul Thissen 08 February 2024 blog  
Côte d'Ivoire faces substantial nutritional challenges, with 17 percent of children under five experiencing stunting and over six percent exhibiting wasting in 2021. Overall, 18 percent of the population grapples with the imminent threat of acute food insecurity. In addition, many communities lack access to safe drinking water and sanitation, which can transmit diseases such as cholera, dysentery and polio. Recurrent infections can also be a major cause of malnutrition and child stunting. 3ie’s WACIE Helpdesk supported the government’s response to the crisis by providing up-to-date evidence to inform and improve its strategy.

Seven ideas for rapid evidence that is both rigorous and actionable

Anca Dumitrescu, Paul Thissen 20 September 2023 blog  
When policymakers come to us for rapid response evidence, they want it to be immediate, actionable, and reliable, drawing on findings from high-quality evaluations. These requirements can sometimes seem to be at odds – often there are details of a specific policy situation that have not yet been addressed by rigorous research. So how do we balance the competing needs to be both actionable and rigorous?

15 years of 3ie: "We need an effectiveness culture," panelists say

Paul Thissen 31 May 2023 blog  
Opening the expert panel which convened last week in Washington to mark 3ie's 15th birthday, Inter-American Development Bank President Ilan Goldfajn made a pitch that would be echoed throughout the morning.

New resilience Evidence Gap Map shows some key evidence, many gaps

Paul Thissen 19 May 2023 blog  

Interventions that aim to improve resilience, either for households or communities, have become increasingly common in recent years. Yet there are big knowledge gaps regarding what works, as shown on 3ie's new evidence gap map on building resilient societies.