Read the latest blogs from the IGL network.
The problem with the external validity of impact evaluations has not gone away. Quite the opposite, policymakers in many different sectors have access to an increasing amount of evidence of “what works in a particular context” and policymakers are often left to believe that policy design can be based on evidence of what worked in other contexts.
Small businesses face significant challenges and constraints. Managerial and business skills are crucial elements that affect whether a firm survives and increases their profits. Given this, many business training programmes have been developed and implemented across the globe. But how successful are these programmes?
Whether discussing entrepreneurship, innovation or business growth, a policy tool that often comes up in conversations with policymakers is mentoring. This blog, one of two on the topic, outlines the current research in the field and identifies some gaps in the evidence base.
On International Women’s Day, we invite you to join us in celebrating female scientists, inventors and entrepreneurs, whose work radically transformed all areas of our lives.
Do you have ideas for how to drive innovation diffusion amongst SMEs? Are you willing to put these to the test? The UK Business Department (BEIS) has launched the second round of the Business Basics Fund.
IGL is delighted to partner with BEIS and Innovate UK to run the Business Basics Fund - James Phipps explains why this new fund is such an important step forward for experimental policymaking.
As part of Nesta's annual prediction series, IGL's Teo Firpo, together with Laurie Smith, predict that in 2019, innovation funding will be increasingly randomised.
What is the best way to support SMEs adopt Artificial Intelligence technologies? Which nudges encourage employees to develop new ideas within their organisations? Can algorithms improve labour matching platforms? In the 21st century, policymakers face tough challenges, but they also count with a new set of tools from digital to behavioural to tackle them. However, it’s important to test these new projects and gather enough evidence to support policymakers to make more informed decisions.
The IGL Winter Research Meeting, held on 13th December in London this year, brought together a group of researchers to discuss experimental research aimed at improving our understanding of the drivers of innovation, entrepreneurship and growth, and some potential interventions to accelerate these.
Evidence-based policy is only as good as the quality of the evidence it is based on. But is most evidence of high quality? And what (and whom) even measures the quality of evidence?
Michael Menietti, Research Scientist of the Crowd Innovation Lab at Harvard University looks at the gender gap in crowdsourcing following his presentation at the Research Meeting IGL2018.
In a guest blog, Dan Hodges of Innovate UK explores how experiments are improving the way we work.
