Evidence Generation
Asia
Evidence Generation
Asia
Strategic Impact Evaluation and Learning (SIEL)
The SIEL program is a six-year learning partnership between the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s (FCDO) Evaluation Unit, Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), and the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL). Running from 2024 to 2030, SIEL provides funding, resources, and technical capacity to help make FCDO's global programs and policies more effective by generating evidence-based insights through impact evaluations.
SIEL will generate evidence in four strategic areas: Growth, Humanitarian Assistance, Climate and Nature, and Conflict and Fragility, with cross-cutting themes on women and girls, technology and innovation, and migration.
SIEL's learning agendas were developed in consultation with FCDO staff and thematic experts to outline critical evidence gaps in SIEL's four strategic areas to spark robust impact evaluations of FCDO interventions through a centralized process. This is intended to guide future evaluation of FCDO interventions and to target research to understudied areas with high potential to inform FCDO’s work moving forward.
 | Humanitarian Learning AgendaGiven the rising need for effective humanitarian programs, it is important that existing evidence gaps are filled to best deliver on the core objectives of the UK’s Humanitarian Framework: 1) prioritizing humanitarian assistance to people in greatest need, 2) protecting the people most at risk, and 3) preventing and anticipating future shocks and building resilience. |
 | Growth Learning AgendaDespite significant investments in promoting economic growth, large evidence gaps persist across key areas that hinder effective policymaking and program implementation. These gaps span five key categories: 1) trade and market access for firms and workers; 2) government, regulation, and political economy; 3) access to capital; 4) entrepreneurship, business, and workforce development; and 5) green and sustainable growth. |
 | Conflict & Fragility Learning AgendaWhile the body of impact evaluations on effective strategies for preventing and responding to conflict and the drivers of instability has grown in recent years, important evidence gaps remain. These gaps are organized around four key categories: 1) anticipating and preventing conflict before it erupts; 2) ending conflict and building peace; 3) increasing stability in fragile settings; and 4) responding to emerging state security threats, including transnational and organized crime and violent and religious extremism. |
 | Climate & Nature Learning AgendaAs underscored in the UK’s 2030 Strategic Framework for International Climate and Nature Action, transformative global action is needed to address the interlinked and existential challenges of climate and nature. Impact evaluations can help identify the most effective interventions, ensuring that climate and nature strategies are grounded in robust evidence. Nearly all areas of FCDO’s work can incorporate a climate or environmental perspective, underscoring the need for targeted evidence to advance this agenda. This learning agenda organizes sample research questions into three key themes: adaptation, mitigation, and nature. |
SIEL provides funding for a range of evaluation methods to assess FCDO’s programs and policies. FCDO staff are invited to apply for SIEL-funded research through a process coordinated by IPA, in consultation with FCDO’s Evaluation Unit.
FCDO teams can get tailored support from IPA and J-PAL staff as well as academic researchers to identify promising opportunities for evaluations.
SIEL specializes in evaluations that use experimental or quasi-experimental methods to assess causal impact. Proposals are solicited through an Expression of Interest process for four research types:
 | Quantitative Impact Evaluations These determine the causal impact and cost-effectiveness of interventions by comparing randomly assigned groups, generating high-confidence insights. Impact evaluations can answer questions such as: How effective was this program? Who benefited most? Which components of the program worked or did not? |
 | Long-Term Follow-Ups To capture the sustained impact of FCDO-funded interventions, and potential unintended consequences (positive or negative) of an intervention that may only become apparent over time, long-term follow-ups provide insights into the enduring effects of a program beyond initial outcomes. |
 | Nimble Evaluations Quick, cost-effective randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that generally focus on outputs and shorter-term outcomes, nimble evaluations typically address operational questions (e.g. take-up, enrollment) and can leverage administrative data to reduce time and cost. For example, what is the most effective method for enrolling people in a training program? Which product features encourage farmers to buy rainfall insurance? |
 | Pilot Studies Pilot studies are small-scale, exploratory studies focused on answering specific learning questions. These studies require substantial upfront design and implementation investments to refine interventions before scaling to a full impact evaluation. This stage may involve trial-and-error piloting, A/B testing, and qualitative or quantitative data collection to shape the intervention or refine learning questions. |
Applicants will also have access to adaptive management support from the SIEL program. This support focuses on helping teams use data and learning to refine program design and delivery in real time, largely through technical assistance for right-fit MEL activities, short learning cycles, or decision-focused workshops, and can sit alongside other evaluation activities where appropriate.
Please note that we are only able to support evaluations which fit one or more of the above types through SIEL. Such evaluations require the beneficiaries of an intervention to be clearly identifiable, and a comparison or ‘control’ group to be identified, which would not be affected by the intervention.
Evaluations are ideally designed during the program design phase to make sure the evaluation is fully integrated into program planning from the start. However, ongoing or recently launched programs can potentially be evaluated if it remains feasible to establish a valid counterfactual or comparison group. For programs in their final stages (ending within 6 months), opportunities may be limited since comparison groups are typically easier to establish from the outset.
Generating high-quality evidence is only part of the equation—making sure that evidence is effectively used is just as crucial. SIEL will work closely with FCDO teams to help them interpret and apply the evidence in their work, and support the dissemination of findings across FCDO and beyond. This will strengthen knowledge management and organizational learning within FCDO and help deliver more impactful and sustainable programs and policies.
We recommend the ‘Evidence snapshots’ in SIEL’s learning agendas, which summarize lessons from recent impact evaluations. Other options are IPA's Impact Highlights, J-PAL’s policy publications, and the 3ie Development Evidence Portal.
SIEL Funded ProjectsCREST Kenya
Photo credit: Grade 3 learners of Kalemchuch Primary School in Kakuma actively participate in a classroom lesson. © Steve Kiza / Film Aid Kenya This project is an impact evaluation of Climate Resilient Education Systems Trial (CREST), led by a team of researchers at the University of Oxford (Noam Angrist, Stefan Dercon, Rocco Zizzamia, and Nithya Srinivasan) as well as the International Rescue Committee in collaboration with ARC Ltd and the Centre for Disaster Protection. Extreme climate crises such as droughts have negative effects on learning outcomes and on long-term cognitive development. Minimizing disruption to education and protecting learners from food insecurity may have long-term benefits, but need to be delivered before damage is done. CREST is a parametric insurance-backed model which leverages pre-arranged financing to deliver cash, child protection, and remote education support during climate-induced school closures with the aim of mitigating drought-induced disruptions. This is the first evaluation of its kind in the education sector, shifting anticipatory action and disaster risk financing from agriculture into basic service delivery. The CREST model will be independently evaluated through a field experiment that will generate evidence on the feasibility, cost-efficiency, and effectiveness of delivering remote and timely phone-based learning and cash transfers on learning continuity and child well-being during climate crises. The study will contribute vital evidence to shape scalable and timely education responses aligned with FCDO’s education in emergencies, disaster risk financing, and climate resilience priorities. |
Participate in one of our Impact Evaluation methodology training opportunities |
SIEL isn’t just about producing evidence; it’s about supporting FCDO staff to use that evidence effectively. SIEL provides tailored training sessions that are open to all FCDO staff and cater to different levels of experience with impact evaluations. From beginner to advanced sessions on managing complex evaluations, these training sessions are designed to build capacity to commission, understand, and use evaluation results in decision-making. If you are FCDO staff and interested in participating in a training, you can fill in this MS Forms to be added to the SIEL mailing list, where we announce any upcoming training opportunities and other SIEL-related news. Training opportunities will also be communicated by the Evaluation Unit, as well as announced on this website. |
If you are FCDO staff and are looking to enhance your evaluation skills, use evidence for program design, fund a new research project, or collaborate with top researchers, SIEL offers the tools and support you need to drive impactful change.
For more information about SIEL, please email the SIEL team at siel@poverty-action.org. If you'd like to stay up-to-date on the SIEL program, including notifications about new calls for EOIs, upcoming training opportunities, and information sessions, fill out this MS form and we’ll add you to our mailing list.
Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)
Evaluations, support, and overall program management
Research uptake and dissemination
Adaptive management support
The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL)
Capacity strengthening
Learning agendas
Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)
