Enhancing Impact with SPIA’s Evidence-Driven Approach for CGIAR
Use of Evidence is the third — and most recently established — pillar of SPIA's workplan. Country Studies and Causal Impact Assessment work pillars generate independent, rigorous, ex-post evidence on the reach and impact of CGIAR innovations. Use of Evidence builds the pathways through which that evidence reaches priority setting, strategic planning, learning and accountability across CGIAR.
SPIA's value to CGIAR is realized at the point where its rigorous evidence informs strategic decisions and priorities and contributes to system-wide learning.
Read the Strategy: The SPIA Approach to Use of Evidence for CGIAR
Our Approach
The following principles guide SPIA’s ongoing Use of Evidence efforts:
1. Responsible translation without distortion
Translation of evidence entails identifying, filtering, interpreting, adapting, contextualizing and communicating evidence such that it informs decision-making. In this process, conscious choices need to be made about what information is right and for whom. SPIA views evidence translation as the practical process of delivering tailored insights to stakeholders within CGIAR in synthesized formats that maximize use, without compromising the rigor or accuracy of its evidence.
2. Propositional, not prescriptive
SPIA translates and contextualizes evidence by making implications clear, showing what has worked and what has not, and presenting findings in ways that illuminate decision options. That said, SPIA does not provide explicit recommendations with respect to funding, programmatic actions etc. SPIA makes an evidence-grounded case, and end-users determine the appropriate action.
3. Alignment with organizational incentives
SPIA aims to align its evidence products with existing decision points, based on the motivations and incentives of different stakeholders within CGIAR. This involves positioning evidence to complement the timing of governance meetings and deliver both favorable and unfavorable evidence through the right channels and at moments when it can inform decision-makers. Notably, unfavorable findings are not treated as reputational risks to be managed but as opportunities for organizational learning.
4. Meaningful influence
SPIA actively seeks opportunities to influence CGIAR decision-making processes, rather than waiting passively for evidence to be requested. This involves not just producing evidence, but strategically amplifying insights when windows of opportunity arise. It involves deliberate judgment in determining which issues, methods, and findings receive attention for framing. SPIA’s focus on specific countries, themes, and methods reflects these choices.
What does SPIA's Use of Evidence Entail?
- Translating and synthesizing evidence
Every SPIA product starts from the stakeholders and end-users: who needs to know about this evidence, what question does it answer for them, how much time do they have, and what format gives it the best chance of landing? SPIA synthesizes evidence across a range of formats including technical reports, methods notes, policy briefs, blogposts, webinars, newsletters, infographics and videos, with intentional framing and content calibration for each.
- Stakeholder engagement and dissemination
SPIA products may create opportunities for exchange, but sustained engagement ensures use. SPIA plans its engagement around decision cycles, budget processes and governance review points, and syncs it with evidence production, where possible. This implies presenting findings at CGIAR Council and SIMEC meetings, briefing CGIAR leadership, the EMD, the Office of the Chief Scientist, CGIAR Board, the GST and Center leadership, and contributing to system-wide initiatives including MELIAF. At operational level, SPIA convenes Impact Assessment Focal Points and center researchers periodically to contribute to their strengthening capacity.
- Making evidence discoverable
Evidence that cannot be easily located is harder to use. A core part of SPIA's Use of Evidence strategy therefore focuses on the backend infrastructure (including its website, GitHub pages etc.) that makes its evidence discoverable by keeping it organized, accessible, and surfaced at the right moment and in the right formats.
Get in touch
To request a briefing or discuss how SPIA evidence applies to your work, contact spia@cgiar.org.