Policy Context

Despite an ever-growing evidence base, the adoption of “Smart Buys”—development interventions that have demonstrated exceptional cost-effectiveness and impact through rigorous evaluation—holds significant untapped potential. As development budgets face growing scrutiny, there is increasing pressure to break down silos and collaborate to advance the adoption of programs we already know work well. 

Along with Coopération Globale, J-PAL, IPA, GPRL, and CGD, CEGA is proud to co-host the Smart Buys Alliance—a consortium of leading research institutions, evidence-minded funders, and savvy implementing partners working together to identify, prioritize, and promote the most cost-effective solutions to persistent development challenges. The Alliance is currently piloting a collaborative approach to prioritizing and developing Smart Buys lists using rigorous, fit-for-purpose evidence aggregation methods and tools. Through consultancies, academic members of the consortium work closely with bilateral donors to successfully implement the resulting policy recommendations. 

By joining forces, we can increase our collective influence and impact—shifting more bilateral aid and philanthropic funding toward the most effective and cost-effective development programs. CEGA is excited to leverage the expertise of our partners to draw greater attention to Smart Buys while creating a more efficient platform for delivering them to donors and policymakers. Furthermore, by increasing open access to harmonized impact and cost data, we can catalyze further analysis, evidence syntheses, and cost-effectiveness work within and outside of our consortium—ultimately helping more decision-makers invest in the most cost-effective approaches.

Study Design

CEGA is leading four core work-streams to support the Alliance’s mission:

• Infrastructure development: CEGA will build standardized templates and a data extraction protocol for the DEVIDENCE library to harmonize cost data across disparate studies.
• Predictive cost modeling: CEGA will contribute tools to predict a total cost per participant at the program level, even in cases where the cost data are sparsely reported. 
• Complete data sets: CEGA will create a complete, standardized cost data set for studies included in the inaugural Smart Buys List.
• Capacity building: CEGA will create guidance and training modules to help bilateral agencies and donors to (1) enact smart buys (i.e. how to write RFPs, request cost information, reporting templates, etc.); (2) better interpret and use the CEA evidence presented in Smart Buys; and (3) generate cost evidence for future projects (i.e. use of evidence from implementation partners and funded entities).

Results and Policy Lessons

Results forthcoming.