Understanding and advancing how evidence can be used to inform decisions to improve people’s lives is a crucial priority for IDS.
IDS works to link inclusive research, learning and practices with the demand for evidence from governments, donors, international development agencies and civil society. Our research for stronger and more equitable knowledge systems as well as our work to improve the evaluation of impact in ways that are equity oriented and complexity aware is helping to increase understanding of how change really happens.
We pay close attention to the political, economic and social determinants of evidence use and work closely with our partners to mobilise knowledge for relevant and timely action.
Four essential tools (and skills) to use evidence effectively
28 April 2025
Centre for Development Impact
A community of practice that works to broaden the range of evaluation designs and methods and ways of assessing what quality and rigour means when working in conditions of complexity.
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Knowledge, Evidence and Learning for Development and Diplomacy
Supporting the use of learning and evidence to improve the impact of development and diplomacy policy and programmes.
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ACET – Learning Partnerships for increased policy uptake
Working with the African Center for Economic Transformation (ACET) to integrate an accompanied learning partnership as part of their GIZ-funded “Country Economic Transformation Outlook” (CETO) pilot in Ghana, Kenya and Zambia.
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Clean Energy for Development: Knowledge Translation and Support
Providing 12 clean energy research projects, funded through IDRC’s Clean Energy for Development: A Call to Action (“CEDCA”) initiative, with knowledge translation and communications support.
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Covid-19 Responses for Equity (CORE) Translation Support
A three-year initiative to understand the socioeconomic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, improve existing responses, and generate better policy options for recovery.
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Pathways to impactful and equitable partnerships in Research for Development
A project seeking to contribute to the reform of the research for development system through a co-produced process of articulating an agenda for change and fostering a community of open dialogue amongst key actors.
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Education Out Loud
IDS is a Global Learning Partner for Education Out Loud (EOL), a fund that supports civil society to influence education policy and hold governments accountable.
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HeatNexus: Advancing Global Research in Heat Adaptation Interventions
Support to nine Wellcome-funded research projects on heat adaptation in low- or middle-income countries, assisting on knowledge translation, research synthesis and learning.
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Explore our research
Find out more about our work in evidence into use.
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This is the second blog in our reflective series. In our first blog we introduced the Full Spectrum Coalition (FSC) evidence and learning group, the challenge it responds to and the need to move beyond…
April 2025
How might evaluation research respond to the complex and emergent nature of holistic community-led development? What does an equitable living partnership between evaluators and researchers, funders and programme implementers look and feel like? What are…
April 2025
Following on our previous blog which reported on the perspectives to emerge from a meeting of researchers and funders from the global South and North on visioning equitable research partnerships, we now share the subsequent…
March 2025
Perspectives from Trivandrum, India and Brighton, UK on research equity: In the two jointly authored blogs, two very differently positioned members of the global development research community share their combined challenges in the promotion of…
March 2025