Introducing (or reintroducing) Evidence for Development

27th November 2013

Peter Poore

Patron

“What’s the problem?” I can hear people ask. “Why do we need another organisation doing research into poverty?”

The fact is that there is a serious lack of accurate evidence about how very poor people choose to use their limited resources to survive. And without this information, it is not easy to see how aid agencies or governments can reach any rational decision on what might be required to help.

Evidence for Development can provide a detailed understanding of why people are poor and what they do about it in many different settings and conditions. We can also simulate and monitor the household-level effects of crises on the one hand and aid programmes on the other.

This is increasingly important as climate change is already having an impact on resources such as food and water. Evidence for Development has the means to predict and mitigate this impact.

As they become more widespread, Evidence for Development’s methods are revolutionising the process of making aid truly effective to those who need it most.