The objective of the causal impact assessment is to conduct a comprehensive scoping phase to identify potential innovations that may have scaled in countries where CGIAR operates. This assessment focuses on five key impact areas and aims to engage in a more systematic scoping of potential learning and accountability studies. This involves providing technical assistance and follow-up beyond initial discussions. Systematic evidence of the reach of CGIAR innovations and policy influences needs to be combined with rigorous causal estimates of their impact in the five targeted impact areas of the CGIAR Research and Innovation strategy. 

Rigorous causal estimates are particularly relevant for identifying "big-win" innovations and policies with large reach and for interventions addressing last-mile delivery problems that may limit impacts at scale. To facilitate the implementation of the most relevant independent causal impact studies, SPIA will systematically scope potential causal "learning" and "accountability" studies through hands-on technical assistance and follow-up with CGIAR researchers, and by linking them with internal and external impact assessment experts.

• Accountability Studies: Accountability studies document long-term, large-scale impacts of CGIAR research on development outcomes.
• Learning-oriented studies: Learning studies focus on innovations that have not yet experienced widespread uptake and impact. These could be recent innovations or older ones that have not gone to scale despite solid evidence that they could provide substantial (net) benefits to users. Learning studies are designed to inform future research processes and scaling strategies and are closely linked to the ToC of the specific research programs. The results of learning studies can help make stage-gating decisions.
• Methodological studies: In addition to accountability and learning studies, SPIA also supports work on methods development in areas where lack of appropriate methods make it hard to measure impacts of important areas of CGIAR research.