World Bank Africa Gender Innovation Lab (GIL) : mid-term review

This mid-term review of the World Bank Africa Gender Innovation Lab (GIL) used relevant gender and development and impact evaluation literature, results of two GIL-administered short surveys, and 30 individual interviews plus a team group interview to examine GIL’s main outputs and assess how well GIL’s processes and activities are structured to facilitate research uptake and influence policy regarding gender issues in Africa. Main findings include: (1) the quality of GIL’s evaluation research is very high, and generating rigorous evidence on what works to increase women’s productivity and incomes is a major value-added of GIL’s work. (2) fostering commitment to evidence-based policymaking is done through in-country evaluation workshops and the fellows program. The workshops are rated highly but can be fined tuned, and the fellows program needs better organization and expanded recruitment. (3) there is clear evidence that GIL’s research has been used to modify policies, scale-up (or down) innovations, and influence policies indirectly. A conservative staff calculation based on 29 projects is that for every GIL dollar spent, 46 project dollars are being directly influenced. (4) the ‘leveling the field’ synthesis report combined all the features of good evidence for policymaking, which helps explain its success in research uptake. Further promotion of research uptake awaits a critical mass of results which is not yet available.