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For Funders

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CEGA works with philanthropists, foundations, and other funders to identify the most impactful, cost-effective solutions to complex economic and social challenges—and shape investment strategies.

Every day, philanthropists, foundations, and investors make hard choices about how to allocate finite resources. Too often, they must make important choices without fully understanding the realities of people’s lives or how to design approaches for maximum impact. CEGA partners with philanthropic organizations, individuals, and other funders to identify the most cost-effective solutions to boost equitable growth and reduce poverty. We generate high quality data, detail about cost and impacts, information about what’s worked elsewhere, and robust forecasts to inform critical investment decisions.

How we support

  • Partner on learning agendas. We are always looking for partners to help us define where rigorous research about social and economic development programs is needed. Our philanthropic partners help us identify areas that are ripe for innovation and where new research, analytics, and tools can unlock new insights.
  • Assess the cost-effectiveness and impact of global programs. We lead high-quality, policy relevant research that combines rigorous evaluations, novel analytical tools, and new, and better data sources to identify the most effective anti-poverty programs and help philanthropic partners (and others) do the most good with scarce resources.
  • Shape investment strategies. CEGA research produces valuable lessons that influence laws, change policies, shift budgets, and inspire expansion and financing. Our work has shaped how diverse philanthropic stakeholders identify the most promising ventures, direct their resources, and catalyze new investment to scale impactful approaches.
  • Connect people and ideas. Our network includes scholars from across academic disciplines—including economics, psychology, public health, business, and computer science—and across the globe. We facilitate matchmaking between researchers, policymakers, and philanthropists—including private foundations, investors, individual donors, and others—to support the free flow of ideas and build synergistic teams that can solve long-standing problems.
  • Generate guidelines, reports, and tools. Our team draws on a deep skillset and strong project management capabilities to build funder monitoring and evaluation capacity. From producing evidence syntheses and formalizing standards for transparent, reproducible and research ethical practices to organizing topical trainings and institutionalizing new cost-effectiveness tools, CEGA collaborates with a range of philanthropic organizations to inform strategies.

Featured Impacts

Learn more about how we’ve collaborated with philanthropic organizations to shape their investments and support evidence-backed solutions.

Join us

CEGA has inspired a global increase in demand from investors, policymakers, legislators, program implementers, advocates, and communities for more rigorous evidence about economic development and social programs. Meanwhile, the world confronts overlapping crises and shrinking government budgets—there is both greater urgency and less resources to address unprecedented challenges. This creates even greater pressure to make smart decisions, maximize value for money, and discover new tools that drive effectiveness. It’s at this nexus where CEGA generates the most return. After 15 years, CEGA has carved out an invaluable niche, built trusted philanthropic, practitioner, policy, and community partnerships, and turned research into improved health and wellbeing for real people. Our approach holds important lessons for the global development community and we’re just getting started—join us in doing development differently.

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