Impact Evaluation in Developing Countries

Alaka Holla serves as Program Manager of the World Bank's Strategic Impact Evaluation Fund (SIEF), where she leads initiatives to promote evidence-based policy design in developing countries. After earning her PhD in Economics from Brown University in 2007 and completing postdoctoral work at Harvard University and Innovations for Poverty Action, she joined the World Bank as a Young Professional in 2009. Her work at SIEF oversees nearly 80 impact evaluations across four critical human development areas: early childhood nutrition and development, education, health, and water and sanitation. As a core team member of the World Development Report 2015: Mind, Society, and Behavior, she has contributed significantly to understanding behavioral aspects of development. Her research portfolio focuses on service delivery quality, discrimination in access to services, early childhood development, and education, with particular emphasis on social accountability approaches in human development sectors. She has authored influential publications on citizen engagement in service delivery and social accountability mechanisms, demonstrating how citizens can contribute to improving public services through enhanced accountability measures.