The Evidence Effect

Evidence for action in conflict and crisis

A man walks through arid land carrying buckets filled with small plants

The number of people in urgent need of humanitarian assistance has nearly doubled over the past five years, from almost 170 million in 2020 to more than 300 million today. Funding cuts have forced the humanitarian sector to rapidly “reset” to prioritize life-saving activities and find ways to make the most of limited resources. Encouragingly, rigorous evidence is emerging to help pinpoint promising solutions and guide investments that can save lives, protect the most vulnerable, and use humanitarian resources most effectively.

Read the seventh post in our Evidence Effect series

Evidence in action

The Evidence Effect highlights examples of life-changing programs that warrant more attention, investment, and consideration for scaling. Explore them below, drawn from more than 1,200 completed randomized evaluations led by researchers in our network.

From bias to belonging through perspective-taking

Perspective-taking—a psychological approach that encourages people to envision spending a day in another person's shoes—can foster trust, inclusion, and cooperation in communities

Act before disaster strikes

Providing quick financial support to families in advance of extreme weather events can improve their resilience and recovery. 

Giving cash in humanitarian crises

Cash and voucher assistance helps people affected by crisis meet their basic needs and improve food security. 

Targeted job training can open doors

Well-designed job training programs help people land better-paying jobs.

Finding and financing businesses that are ready to grow

Tailoring financing for small and mid-sized businesses that are most likely to grow can unlock their potential to increase sales and profits, create jobs, and strengthen the local

Soft skills training leads to success

Soft skills training can help people get and keep jobs, improve performance at work, and increase business profits—but design matters.

Making markets work for small businesses

Helping small and mid-sized businesses make connections with new buyers, and with each other, leads to growth, higher productivity, and better jobs.

Making markets work for farmers

Stronger connections between farmers and buyers enable farmers to invest and earn more.

Rethink microcredit for greater impacts

Innovations in microcredit design can improve business growth and borrower wellbeing. 

Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo joint headshot

The objectives of aid are often unclear.... Reaffirming the most basic principle would provide clarity: The goal should be to invest in projects that will have the largest impact on the quality of life of poor people around the world.

—Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo, The Financial Times, March 2025

Discover more perspectives from the J-PAL network

 


Photos: 

(1) Two farmers uproot rice seedlings for transplantation during monsoon season in India. Credit: Shutterstock.com

(2) A woman laughs as an enumerator measures her height in her home in Borong, East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. The measurement was part of an impact evaluation of an information campaign focused on preventing malnutrition. Credit: Miranda Putri, J-PAL

(3) Credit: Official, Shutterstock.com