Our Focus

To get to sustainable development, we need well-designed, inclusive green growth policies that can improve social welfare for all, promote careful stewardship of natural resources, and respect the delicate balance of the planet.  Green growth can be thought of as economic growth that is environmentally sustainable. More specifically, it aims to operationalize sustainable development by enabling developing countries to achieve robust growth without locking themselves into unsustainable patterns.

GIDE works with low income countries in Africa and Asia to assist them with mainstreaming environmental sustainability into their currently impressive economic growth through impact evaluation to achieve their goal of poverty reduction, agricultural productivity, employment, entrepreneurship, income and gender equalities (social inclusion), and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

GIDE's focus is therefore influencing decision making in inclusive green growth through impact evaluation to:

a)          generate high quality evidence of what works for effective policies;

b)         generate performance outcomes of projects, programs and policies;

c)         predict positive and negative environmental impacts of development interventions;  and  

d)         enhance national capacity to undertake these impact evaluation systems.

Accordingly, GIDE's program is based on the following three impact evaluation systems; as well as enhance national capacity to undertake and use their outcomes of these evaluation systems:

• Systematic reviews of multiple previous studies 

• Performance evaluation of projects, programs and policies; and

• Environmental Impact Assessment & Environmental Audit of actions

GIDE has made it a strategic priority to underpin all its work with: evidence; performance outcomes and environmental impacts. Our interest in promoting systematic impact evaluation including evidence-based decision making is consistent not only with policy makers’ growing demand for proof of what works, but also with the commitment of governments to increase the role of systematic inquiry in all aspects of policy making. Besides, citizen demands for evidence and greater accountability from governments are growing in movements world-wide.  Our impact evaluation therefore generates information on what works for effective decision making and policies to improve lives in three thematic areas:

• Social and Economic Development: poverty reduction; gender & income equality; entrepreneurship; regional integration & trade

•  Increasing Agricultural productivity for food security

• Environment & Natural Resource Management: enhancing resilience of livelihoods and agricultural production systems to climate change and related hazards; climate responsive budgeting/Public Expenditure Reviews (PERs)/Medium-Term Economic Frameworks (MTEFs) for "Green Growth/Climate Resilient Green Economy"; environmental impact assessment/environmental audit