Institute for Development Impact - I4DI

We're thrilled to announce the 2025 Molly Hageboeck Award for Excellence in Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL)! Created to honor Molly Hageboeck's commitment to practical, rigorous, and impactful MEL practices in international development, this year's award features two categories: ? Innovation in MEL Practice Award ($3,000) ? Advancement in MEL Training and Capacity Building Award ($5,000) We're calling for nominations from individuals, teams, and organizations worldwide who are pioneers in MEL. We also invite like-minded organizations to join us in sponsoring the prestigious Molly Hageboeck Excellence in MEL Award. This partnership is a unique opportunity to support and celebrate outstanding professionals in the field while honoring Molly's legacy and fostering a future of data-driven decision-making and continuous improvement in our communities. To learn more about the application process and key dates, please visit our website at I4DI: https://lnkd.in/e-A5tuXR #MEL #InternationalDevelopment #DataDrivenDecisionMaking #MollyMELAward

If you haven’t given DECipher a try yet, I’d love for you to check it out! We designed this tool to be your go-to partner for tackling tough development questions.?Want to know what works (and what doesn’t) in your sector? Ask a technical sector agent. Struggling to untangle the Theory of Change in a proposal or project? The methodology expert has your back. Need help refining your #MEL plan or navigating #USAID rules? DECipher’s got you covered there too. And one feature I want to highlight in this post is the #communications agent. It’s great at turning technical content into audience-specific messages—whether you’re explaining a concept to a farmer or breaking it down for leading experts in the field. Take a look at the image below—it’s a side-by-side showing how DECipher and ChatGPT tackle explaining the difference between experimental and quasi-experimental designs. You’ll see how DECipher dives right into the development-sensitive insights you need. Give it a try at www.devme.ai, test all the features, and let us know what you think. We’re constantly improving based on your feedback, and your input is what helps us make DECipher better every day! #ICT4D #innovation #Llama #Mistral #tech4good #development #sustainabledevelopment #ai Troy Wray Kemal Sokolovi? Lauren Ropp Denis Drekovi? Augustine Adah Palak Agarwal Preeti Shroff-Mehta

A month ago, we proudly launched DECipher, I4DI's cutting-edge AI tool designed to help development professionals unlock tailored insights from over 13,000 USAID documents. The response from the development community has been both humbling and eye-opening, as the high demand temporarily slowed processing. Thanks to the invaluable feedback from our earliest users and the dedication of our stellar tech team, DECipher is now even more robust, ensuring smoother and more powerful functionality for those driving change in the development sector. We’re excited to continue evolving DECipher to better serve the global community—your insights fuel our innovation! DECipher is most powerful when responding to prompts like: "How can AI be used to address specific development challenges, such as poverty reduction, climate change, or gender inequality, and what are some potential applications and benefits of AI in these areas?" "How can we utilize the cocoa sector to reduce poverty?" We look forward to helping you tackle the toughest challenges in development with data-driven insights at devme.ai #AIForDevelopment #DECipherAI #Innovation #DevelopmentChallenges #PovertyReduction #ClimateAction #TechForGood #DataForDevelopment #DigitalDevelopment #AIForGood #InternationalDevelopment #Sustainability #SocialImpact #GlobalDevelopment #SustainableDevelopment #HumanitarianAid #BuildingResilience #ImpactDriven

Earlier this month, members of our DC-based team traveled to East and North Luwu, Indonesia, to engage directly with key stakeholders of the Advancing Cocoa Agroforestry Toward Income, Value, and Environmental Sustainability (ACTIVE) program. ACTIVE, a collaboration between Institute for Development Impact - I4DI, USAID and Mars, is championing sustainable practices for cocoa cultivation and striving to improve income opportunities for farmers in Indonesia. The impact of our work extends beyond the farmers themselves, to collaborations with key actors in the cocoa value chain. One inspiring example is Rusman, a Mars cocoa collector. Farmers sell their cocoa to Rusman every 2 to 3 weeks during the off-season, and as often as every 10 days during peak season. At the height of the harvest, Rusman collects cocoa from up to 100 farmers daily, supporting around 600 farmers in the areas surrounding Bakka Village – and, remarkably, he knows the name of every single one. Indonesia’s cocoa landscape is a testament to the dedication of people like Rusman and the farmers he works with. In 2024, the country stands as the world’s sixth-largest producer of cocoa, and the scale of cocoa production in Indonesia is expanding. With global cocoa prices soaring to four times their ten-year average, demand for cocoa and sustainable farming solutions is increasing rapidly. However, this demand? presents challenges. Rising input costs for fertilizers and labor can strain farmer incomes, even amid higher cocoa prices. That’s why programs like ACTIVE are vital. By helping farmers and collectors adapt to market dynamics while promoting sustainable practices, ACTIVE is laying the groundwork for long-term resilience and prosperity. Together, we’re building a future where cocoa farming is not just a livelihood, but a pathway to environmental sustainability and community resilience. #I4DI #SustainableCocoa #Agroforestry #LivingIncome

Exciting News! I4DI is reuniting with our valued partner, SEO Amsterdam Economics, under a new contract within the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) Framework Agreement. This renewed collaboration strengthens our shared mission to support RVO’s sustainability, gender equity, and climate resilience initiatives. I4DI will bring our expertise in Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning, contributing qualitative research, capacity-building, and adaptive learning sessions that drive RVO’s goals forward. With SEO Amsterdam Economics leading project implementation, their expertise in development economics will play a vital role in producing actionable insights and ensuring impactful outcomes. Together, we’re committed to delivering robust, insightful evaluations that support RVO’s vision for a more sustainable and responsible world. #Partnership #Sustainability #Development #Evaluation #MEL #GlobalImpact #RVO

We’re excited to share a memorable moment from?our?collaboration with Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice)! Last week, our CEO,?Azra Kacapor Nurkic, led a dynamic session on data-driven storytelling, crafted specifically for leaders and teams at PhilRice and the Philippines Department of Agriculture. Azra’s talk delved deep into the transformative power of data—how to?extract meaningful insights,?weave compelling narratives, and ultimately use these stories to drive?actionable change?in agricultural innovation and beyond. Key takeaways included: The importance of context in storytelling: How understanding the bigger picture strengthens data narratives and makes them more relevant to stakeholders. Choosing the right visualizations: Tips on selecting visuals that simplify complex agricultural data and amplify its impact. Tailoring stories for diverse audiences: Strategies to adapt data stories for everyone, from researchers to policymakers, to enhance engagement and clarity. Driving insights with the right questions and frameworks: Highlighting how well-defined learning questions and robust analytical frameworks can transform quality data into insights that truly inform decisions and tell impactful stories. The session drew over 100 participants, all eager to learn how data storytelling can drive better agricultural outcomes. Feedback has been overwhelmingly positive! Thank you to Christopher Gonzales and the PhilRice team for the warm welcome and for making this collaboration a success. We’re excited to continue this journey together, using data to shape a more sustainable future in agriculture. #DataStorytelling #ContextMatters #AgricultureInnovation #PhilRice #I4DI #Sustainability #Impact #Collaboration?

Reaching living incomes for smallholder farmers takes more than replicating past successes. Real impact comes from understanding why certain strategies work and who benefits most. Our latest publication,?Pathways to Living Income: A Farmer #Segmentation Model, offers a framework to achieve this. By segmenting farmers based on resources, productivity, and empowerment, this model supports targeted, evidence-based interventions that respond to each group’s unique circumstances. Moving beyond one-size-fits-all approaches, we can develop supply chain management and agricultural development strategies that align with farmers' real needs and lived experiences. Whether it’s improving resource access, boosting productivity, or empowering women in decision-making, this model guides program development to help farmers achieve a sustainable living income. Learn more here: https://lnkd.in/ecVTu8eu #FarmerSegmentation #LivingIncome #InclusiveGrowth #SustainableAgriculture #SustainableSourcing

The day has finally come. After the hints, teasers, and treasure maps, we're excited to reveal DECipher—the AI tool that will change the way you access and use development insights forever. DECipher is powered by a diamond-shaped hierarchical model of specialized agents, each optimized for specific tasks. These agents work together to transform vast amounts of development knowledge into precise, actionable insights tailored to your needs. No more sifting through endless PDFs or embarking on a scavenger hunt for that one piece of data. With DECipher, knowledge is at your fingertips—quick, clear, and actionable. Think of it as the difference between wandering around in the dark with a flashlight and turning on the lights in the whole room. DECipher brings hidden insights into focus, making what once seemed out of reach clear. Your future of accessing knowledge starts here. devme.ai #DECipher #BigReveal #DevelopmentInsights #AIForGood #KnowledgeUnlocked #FutureOfDevelopment

We could tell you all about the thousands of reports. We could talk about the agents, the methodologies, the precision, the architecture... But let’s be honest, you just want something that works. Tomorrow, we're unveiling a tool that will turn hours of digging into seconds of clarity—no PhD in patience required. Because finding answers shouldn’t feel like a quest for the Holy Grail. Stay tuned—your next favorite AI tool for development is just around the corner. #ComingSoon #DevelopmentRevolution #AIForGood #UnlockingKnowledge #NoMorePDFDiving #FutureOfDevelopment

We could tell you all about the thousands of reports. We could talk about the agents, the methodologies, the precision, the architecture... But let’s be honest, you just want something that works. Tomorrow, we're unveiling a tool that will turn hours of digging into seconds of clarity—no PhD in patience required. Because finding answers shouldn’t feel like a quest for the Holy Grail. Stay tuned—your next favorite AI tool for development is just around the corner. #ComingSoon #DevelopmentRevolution #AIForGood #UnlockingKnowledge #NoMorePDFDiving #FutureOfDevelopment