Research grants:
Evaluating new policy solutions

Research grants can support evaluations of the efficacy of new policy solutions, increasing the likelihood that solutions are implemented at scale. 

Recent findings indicate that research grants supporting the evaluation of the effectiveness of new interventions can increase the likelihood that successful interventions are adopted into policy and practice at scale. For example, programs supported by the US Agency for International Development’s Development Innovation Ventures unit were five times more likely to be adopted at scale by governments, large NGOs, or firms if they were backed by rigorous research evidence (Kremer et al 2021). Likewise, development projects supported by the World Bank were 50% more likely to be implemented on schedule if they were subjected to rigorous impact evaluation (Legovini et al 2015).

The Social Science Research Council works with funding partners to design and administer research grant programs that produce decision-relevant evidence about potentially beneficial policy solutions.