Designing and implementing programs that work requires a broad and actionable evidence base. At Environmental Incentives, we partner with clients to bridge the gap between evidence and action so they can apply learning to sustain lasting change. We’re pleased to share that our technical teams recently added to that rich evidence base with two journal articles focused on using systematic tools to find clarity in complex systems.
EI’s Katie Safford, Lexine Hansen, and Aradhana Roberts, along with former colleague Natalie Dubois and USAID’s Sara Carlson, coauthored “Using technical assistance to bridge evidence-to-action gaps in biodiversity conservation,” published in Conservation Science and Practice. The paper investigates how technical assistance supports evidence use in USAID biodiversity programming, finding that such support is often varied in design and efficacy. To bridge that gap, the authors suggest the need for more collaborative spaces at the boundary of research and practice to facilitate high-quality evidence use to achieve conservation impact.
To address an evidence gap around better understanding what drives smallholder farmers to convert natural lands to agricultural spaces, USAID commissioned “Mapping Drivers of Land Conversion Among Smallholders: A Global Systems Perspective,” published in Agricultural Systems. Coauthors Nicholas Valcourt, Jeffery Walters, Sara Carlson, Katie Safford, Lexine Hansen, Diane Russell, Kristi Tabaj, and Rachel Golden Kroner built a systems map illustrating factors that contribute to land conversion, informed by expert interviews and literature reviews and vetted by local stakeholders. The results highlight land tenure systems, technical support, improving market access, and prioritizing smallholder livelihoods, as key factors driving land conversion. To support putting this evidence into practice, the team developed an evidence brief that translates the findings into practical recommendations that can guide USAID decision makers.
In deepening our understanding of how evidence is connected to practice and how different factors drive land conversion, these two publications fill a critical need in the conservation evidence space—setting the stage to further bridge the gap between evidence and implementation.
Lead photo from USAID Measuring Impact Conservation Enterprise Retrospective (Nepal; National Trust for Nature Conservation) by Jason Houston for USAID.
