International Initiative For Impact Evaluation (3ie)

Name

International Initiative For Impact Evaluation (3ie)

Legal name

International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie)

Website

https://3ieimpact.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Development Research and Evidence Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Research, Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) Partnerships (EDADALAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Monitoring, Evaluation, Reporting & Compliance (Grant Oversight) (HLAJALAN), Due Diligence & Investigative Research (BPAHALAI)

Keywords

• Impact evaluation research
• Evidence synthesis services
• Systematic review production
• Development evidence portal
• Replication studies program

Headquarters

HQ city

New Delhi

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: 3ie is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that relies on donations and charitable contributions from foundations, governments, and individuals. They receive support from organizations like the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, MacKenzie Scott, and others.
2. Grants and Funding Agreements: 3ie receives grants and funding from bilateral aid agencies (FCDO, Norad, GIZ, DFAT, USAID), multilateral organizations (World Bank, Asian Development Bank), and foundations (Gates Foundation, Hewlett Foundation). They administer research programs and commissioning centers.
3. Development Evidence Portal Support: Contributions specifically directed to support the Development Evidence Portal, offsetting costs to keep the portal up to date and responsive to evidence needs

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

3ie produces rigorous evidence on what works in international development through impact evaluations, systematic reviews, and evidence gap maps. It operates the Development Evidence Portal (over 24,000 studies) and the RIDIE prospective study registry, publishes the Journal of Development Effectiveness, and runs the Replication Programme and TREE Initiative to validate and transparently track research. It also commissions research and provides tailored evidence advisory services to governments, multilaterals, foundations, and NGOs working in low- and middle-income countries.

Product overview

3ie offers a comprehensive suite of products and services designed to generate, synthesize, and facilitate the use of high-quality evidence in international development. The core offerings include the Development Evidence Portal (DEP), a searchable repository of over 24,000 studies; the Registry for International Development Impact Evaluations (RIDIE) for prospective study registration; the Journal of Development Effectiveness for peer-reviewed publications; Evidence Gap Maps for visualizing research landscapes; and Evidence Impact Summaries documenting evidence use. Supporting services include the Replication Programme for research validation, the Transparent Reproducible and Ethical Evidence (TREE) initiative for research quality, the Impact Stories Dashboard for visualizing evidence influence, and the Evidence Dialogues webinar series. Together, these products form an integrated evidence ecosystem supporting the full research program cycle from study registration through publication, replication, and impact documentation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Development Evidence Portal (DEP): Growing repository of rigorous evidence on what works in international development
• Journal of Development Effectiveness (JDEff)
• Registry for International Development Impact Evaluations (RIDIE)
• Evidence Gap Maps
• Evidence Impact Summaries

Products and services

• Development Evidence Portal (DEP) A free, searchable online repository of impact evaluations, systematic reviews, and evidence gap maps focused on low- and middle-income countries. Used by researchers, policymakers, and development practitioners to find rigorous evidence on what works in international development.
• Registry for International Development Impact Evaluations (RIDIE) A prospective registry that allows researchers to pre-register impact evaluations of development policies and programs in low- and middle-income countries before analysis, update study status as they proceed, and post findings upon completion. Includes a Study Search API for programmatic access.
• Evidence Gap Maps Interactive visual tools that plot existing impact evaluations and systematic reviews against specific interventions and outcomes within a development topic, identifying where evidence is strong and where gaps remain. Produced across domains such as gender equality, rule of law, and humanitarian assistance.
• Journal of Development Effectiveness A peer-reviewed journal publishing papers reporting evidence of the impact of development interventions, with a preference for rigorous, well-contextualized mixed-methods studies. Published in partnership with Taylor & Francis.
• Replication Programme A grant-funded program that supports independent replication of influential impact evaluations in international development. Has funded 23 replication studies across four funding rounds and maintains public status tracking of replication plans, awarded studies, completed replications, and results.
• Transparent, Reproducible, and Ethical Evidence (TREE) Initiative An initiative championing research transparency and reproducibility in social science, including the TREE Review Framework Questionnaire used to evaluate the quality and trustworthiness of research designs, data, and reporting.
• Impact Stories Dashboard An interactive online dashboard documenting over 100 cases that map how 3ie-supported evidence has shaped policies, programs, and communities, organized by level of impact (program, institutional, field-level).
• Evidence Impact Summaries Brief published descriptions of how 3ie-supported evidence has informed and influenced decision-makers, covering 66 verified instances of evidence impact across policy, program, and institutional decisions.

Quantifiable outcome

• 66 documented evidence impact summaries showing how 3ie-supported evidence has informed policy and program decisions
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration11 records

AI capability1 record

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic and operational.

• World Health Organization (WHO)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner3ie and WHO signed an MoU to strengthen evidence-informed policy-making in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, collaborating to enhance the use of high-quality evidence in health policy decisions.
• Evidence Consortium on Women's GroupsstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerSeven-member consortium co-led by American Institutes of Research and Population Council, using 3ie's evidence gap map to drive their learning agenda.
• Results for DevelopmentoperationalStrategic or Co-development PartnerHosts 3ie's Washington, DC office location, working together on development evidence initiatives.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Campbell Collaboration: Produces systematic reviews of social and economic interventions, closely aligned with 3ie's synthesis and reviews program, though broader than development-only.
• Itad: UK-based consultancy delivering evaluation, monitoring, and learning services across international development; directly comparable in client base (DFIs, foundations) and evidence-synthesis services.
• J-PAL (Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab): MIT-based global research center conducting randomized impact evaluations in poverty reduction; directly comparable to 3ie in producing and disseminating rigorous development evidence, with overlapping funder and academic networks.
• Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA): UC Berkeley-based research network generating evidence on poverty alleviation and economic development; comparable scale, academic anchor, and evidence-to-policy mission.
• Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA): Connects researchers with implementing partners to generate evidence on poverty programs; operates at the same intersection of rigorous impact evaluation and evidence-to-policy translation as 3ie.

Broad incumbents

• Mathematica Policy Research: Major US-based research and evaluation firm working across health, education, and social policy; comparable evidentiary rigor and policy translation focus, but with broader sectoral remit.
• World Bank Independent Evaluation Group: World Bank's evaluation arm producing project, sector, and corporate evaluations globally; a larger, better-funded incumbent doing development M&E at greater scale than 3ie.

Others

• Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Research and Evidence Division: UK government's development arm and 3ie's largest commissioning funder through the Research Commissioning Centre; comparable in evidence-demand profile though as a funder rather than producer.

Regional players

• DEval (German Institute for Development Evaluation): BMZ-affiliated institute evaluating German development cooperation; comparable mission in development M&E though rooted in a single donor-government context.
• Norad Evaluation Department: Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation's evaluation function, led historically by 3ie's current Executive Director; performs commissioned evaluations for a single bilateral donor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/3ieimpact
• YouTubeyoutube.com/playlist?list=PLMdLqa33jxDnM0Vu8rfydUTyUkMKSMqKg
• Facebookfacebook.com/3ieimpact
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/international-initiative-for-impact-evaluation-3ie

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about International Initiative For Impact Evaluation (3ie)