The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded $75 million to a consortium of leading global institutions, including the at the University of Notre Dame鈥檚 , to enhance the effectiveness of poverty alleviation programs through research.
The partnership, led by the at the University of California, Berkeley, represents a historic investment by USAID over five years to inform its activities and programs with detailed evidence linking investments in agriculture, global health and economic growth to improvements in human lives and community well-being.
鈥淲e鈥檙e proud that the Pulte Institute has been selected to identify the most efficient and impactful programs to fight poverty and improve lives,鈥� Vice President for Research said of the award, announced this week. 鈥淭hrough PILCEE, Notre Dame looks forward to deepening our partnerships with researchers around the globe with the shared goal of providing sustainable interventions to end poverty, part of our University鈥檚 strategic framework.鈥�
Through PILCEE, a worldwide network of more than 1,500 researchers 鈥� including more than 250 from low- and middle-income countries 鈥� will collaborate to guide USAID鈥檚 work by evaluating the impact of agency-funded programs and synthesizing findings from the growing evidence base. In doing so, PILCEE will generate insights for the global development community about the most economical ways to improve lives and promote growth.
The Pulte Institute offers a unique ability to support the work of the PILCEE effort, as demonstrated by its experience synthesizing evidence for USAID in large-scale efforts, including the $40 million activity, focused on improving global education outcomes, and , a $15.5 million multi-country effort to retrospectively assess the effectiveness of aid programming in areas from food security to peacebuilding.
鈥淭he Pulte Institute鈥檚 inclusion in this groundbreaking consortium underscores the Keough 91视频鈥檚 and Notre Dame鈥檚 commitment to addressing global challenges through evidence-based solutions,鈥� said the Marilyn Keough Dean of the Keough 91视频 of Global Affairs. 鈥淭hrough this partnership, we will continue to advance research that directly informs practical solutions to poverty.鈥�
In its work on behalf of the consortium, the Pulte Institute will connect USAID requests for research, evidence synthesis, evaluations and costing analyses with appropriate engagement opportunities and academic expertise from the Global North and South through an established network of local partnerships.
鈥淐ost-effectiveness is a crucial area for USAID 鈥� and for all of us 鈥� to be investigating right now because there are limited resources that we can spend in international development and humanitarian aid,鈥� said , associate director of evidence and learning for the Pulte Institute and a lead researcher on the Expanding the Reach of Impact Evaluation project. 鈥淏eing able to make strong, rigorous comparisons between different programs or ways of doing development work provides you with an understanding of which approaches are going to lead to the most impact with your investment.鈥�
PILCEE will prioritize evidence from randomized controlled trials, an approach recognized by the Nobel Prize committee as transformational in understanding promising solutions to global poverty. The Center for Effective Global Action and other consortium partners 鈥� including the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, Innovations for Poverty Action and the Network of Impact Evaluation Researchers in Africa, among others 鈥� are experts in measuring program impact. Collectively, the consortium has produced, analyzed and translated more than 1,800 randomized controlled trials in nearly 100 countries over the past two decades, in addition to extensive research translation and dissemination work.
Originally published by at on Dec. 5.