Addressing GDN Conference, Howard White Welcomes Developing Country Research Participation in 3ie

Howard White, executive director of the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation or 3ie, told participants in the tenth annual conference of the Global Development Network here in Kuwait that he looks forward to researchers in developing countries playing a major role in 3ie impact evaluations of development interventions. "I hope that the 3ie will provide opportunities for researchers affiliated with the GDN and others in developing countries to engage much more closely in carrying out high-quality impact evaluations," he said.White said that such engagement would be facilitated by 3ie's selection of GDN as host institution, which was announced at the conference. The 3ie will initially be housed at the GDN headquarters in New Delhi, with the possibility that 3ie will also of have a presence at other GDN locations, such as Cairo, he said.Gobind Nankani, the head of the GDN, told the conference that he was delighted with the new partnership between the two organizations. The GDN provides resources and networking opportunities for developing country researchers, to improve the quality of development policy research conducted within the developing countries themselves. The 3ie grew out of CGD research on the Evaluation Gap and aims to improve the number and quality of impact evaluations, to increase the evidence base about what types of interventions work in which situations.White said that he was delighted with the number and quality of responses received in response to 3ie's first call for proposals. The 3ie has received dozens of high quality proposals seeking support for studies costing a total of more than $20 million, about three times the initial funding available, he said. Based on wide-ranging consultations to identify what the 3ie calls "enduring questions" additional calls for proposals in specific fields will be issued soon, he said.