ERIE Higher Education Solutions Networks (HESN) Performance Evaluation

<p dir="ltr">At all levels, high quality education provides a foundation for economic growth, improved health, and<br>peaceful, resilient societies. It also supports countries on their journey to self-reliance (USAID 2018), as<br>higher education institutions (HEIs) play a critical role by spurring innovations to solve global development<br>problems in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). USAID launched the Higher Education Solutions<br>Network (HESN) program in 2012 to strengthen the role of HEIs in development. Since its founding,<br>HESN has invested $115 million in eight HESN Development Labs in universities throughout the United<br>States and in Africa. These funds build lasting partnerships between HEIs and diverse stakeholders in<br>LMICs, which allows them to finance workshops and learning events, produce high-quality data sets and<br>new methodologies, and carry out a broad array of research. USAID commissioned this evaluation to help<br>stakeholders understand (1) the conditions and models that generate effective partnerships with USAID<br>Missions, Bureaus, and Independent Offices (MBIOs); (2) how HESN worked to improve the use of<br>research findings; and (3) their potential LMIC policy impacts. The mixed-methods performance<br>evaluation uses survey, bibliometric, administrative, interview, and focus group data to examine the use<br>and utility of the core- and buy-in-funded activities to USAID and its development partners. The evaluation<br>shows that the eight HESN Development Labs played a vital role in achieving HESN’s goals in<br>collaboration with USAID, policymakers, and other partners. HESN-supported researchers and<br>development practitioners created more than 900 products and technologies that address poverty-related<br>challenges in communities worldwide. The HESN Development Labs developed 291 data sets or data-<br>related technologies, engaged more than 1,200 partners in 83 countries, and directly affected 7.1 million beneficiaries across 35 countries.<br></p><p dir="ltr">The evaluation results show that HESN activities funded through core investments from USAID tended to<br>generate products that were more useful to a public audience (for example, data sets shared and reused<br>by other researchers). In contrast, activities funded directly by MBIOs (“buy-in activities”) were most<br>useful in meeting the strategic goals of specific countries. Products supported using a hybrid of core and<br>buy-in funding often led to follow-on work for the HESN Development Labs. Because they served a<br>broader audience, these products also tended to be more cost-efficient. Recommendations from the<br>evaluation suggest that USAID (1) link U.S. government-funded research and innovation activities to<br>USAID country development strategies, (2) maintain flexible scopes of work that allow for cross-sectoral<br>research, (3) continue investing in technology and evidence-based research and innovation, and (4)<br>continue to use a combination of core- and buy-in-funded activities to meet the Agency’s research<br>objectives. The cost-efficiency results also suggest that investments in universities located in LMICs may<br>obtain the best value for money for research and innovation projects.</p>