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Disease-fighting Data: In Sierra Leone, tracking Ebola’s economic impact
Bad information has been problematic during the Ebola outbreak. As a result, IPA has been collecting data on the economic impacts of the crisis and is working on piloting and evaluating an electronic contact-tracing system that could substantially improve efficiency and reduce Ebola transmission rates.
- Categories
- Health Care, Impact Assessment
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New Financial Inclusion Innovation in Colombia: Government approves electronic deposits through non-bank entities
Colombia has included financial inclusion as a priority in its national agenda since a very early stage. Last fall, the Colombian Congress took the latest step, passing a law creating a new type of financial institution called Specialized Electronic Deposit and Payment Institutions. The Alliance for Financial Inclusion spoke with a Colombian regulator about the new law.
- Categories
- Finance, Impact Assessment
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‘My Home, Your Business’: A New Evaluation Tool Based on Nearly 100 Cases, 25 Interviews With Firms, Experts in Affordable Housing
Ghost towns built by well-meaning developers and governments can be found in many corners of the world. But these failed projects only tell part of the story. Innovative companies and partners are learning from the past and building houses people want to live in and business models that make investors listen, according to "My Home, Your Business – A Guide to Affordable Housing Solutions for Low-Income Communities.”
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
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Finding Realistic Impact Measures for Investors, Entrepreneurs: Presenting Unitus Seed Fund’s new guide for measuring impact
Unitus Seed Fund’s guide includes a common set of metrics that can be applied to any other venture fund. These metrics are detailed with definitions and needs that apply across sectors, with output and outcome level metrics available for different types of businesses to download and use.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment
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Enter Unreasonable Labs: Trial and error on a global scale
Teju Ravilochan, CEO of the Unreasonable Institute says the social enterprise organization needs "co-conspirators" to help them forge a new system of trial and error. They’re looking for 10 teams from 10 locations around the world to run 10 Unreasonable Labs, five-day versions of Unreasonable Institute with 10 ventures each.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment, Social Enterprise
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MIT-USAID Program Releases Pioneering Evaluation of Solar Lanterns
When a person lives on less than $2 a day — as some 2.7 billion people around the world do — there isn’t room for a product like a solar lantern or a water filter to fail. It’s a challenge development agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and consumers themselves face every day: With so many products on the market, how do you choose the right one?
- Categories
- Energy, Impact Assessment
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Who Asks the Question May be as Important as the Question Itself: When the surveyed become the surveyors, monitoring and evaluation becomes localized
With Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) moving into the mainstream of the development industry, it’s time for NGOs to start documenting their programs in deeper ways. One way to do that, according to Semilla Nueva, is to localize the process.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Impact Assessment
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Assessing ROI in Educational Development: In India, assessment tools are still lacking, but change is coming
In India, there is a growing realization that quality of school education has to significantly improve in India, particularly for underprivileged students. Prachi Windlass at the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation says a wider dialogue on applying a robust assessment framework to education in India is needed.
- Categories
- Education, Impact Assessment