Why It Matters

Sometimes the right evidence reaches the right people at the right time. Sometimes it doesn’t, with dire consequences. The pandemic heightened the need to inject best evidence into the social impact response. And there’s never been a more pressing time to learn from what worked and what didn’t in getting best evidence to those who need it so we can better prepare for catastrophes of all kinds. From public health crises to natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies, relying on the best local and global evidence is crucially important, but it shouldn’t take an active crisis to invest in the infrastructure needed for reliable and decision-relevant data and evidence.