CGD is seeking a host organization for a new international entity to promote independent impact evaluations of development programs.
Provisionally called the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3IE or "triple I E"), the new entity will work to increase knowledge about the impact of development programs on social conditions, such as health and education. CGD is acting on behalf of the founding members of the new entity and has issued a call for Letters of Interest (LOI) from organizations interested in providing an administrative home for the 3IE.
"Donors and developing countries have spent hundreds of billions of dollars to improve health and education in the developing world, yet there is surprisingly little solid evidence about what actually works," said Ruth Levine, CGD vice president for programs and operations. "The 3IE is designed to address this gap."
The new organization will have a role in coordinating, technical review, and funding design, implementation and dissemination of impact evaluation studies, she said.
CGD is serving as the pro tem convener of a group of founding members that currently includes the Mexican Ministries of Health and Education, Ugandan Ministry of Finance, UK Department for International Development, Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Canadian International Development Agency, African Development Bank, CARE, International Rescue Committee, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Google.org, and the UN Foundation.
In addition to identifying potential host institutions, over the next several months the founding group will confirm membership commitments, and recruit additional member institutions, and hire an executive director.
Letters of interest, which are due by July 15, should explain why the interested organization is an appropriate match for 3IE. The information gained from this LOI process will be used to provide 3IE member institutions and the executive director with a list of suitable potential host institutions to begin a selection process.
The main activities of 3IE will include:
- Encouraging clustering of impact evaluations around important policy questions of common interest through a broad consultative process;
- Adopting quality standards through periodic technical consultations;
- Financing the design and implementation of impact evaluations that address questions of enduring importance to policymaking in low- and middle-income countries;
- Preparing or commission syntheses of impact evaluations, linked with broader policy questions;
- Advocating for the generation and use of impact evaluations;
- Sharing and disseminating information among members regarding planned studies, designs, methods, and findings; and
- Promoting the mutual development of capacity around the world to conduct rigorous impact evaluations and to use evidence in policymaking.
For further information, see the CGD initiative When Will We Ever Learn? Closing the Evaluation Gap