We recently published a blog about an Evidence Gap Map (EGM) of research and evaluations related to multi-sectoral nutrition in Zambia, which Khulisa and its partners created for the Scaling Up Nutrition Learning and Evaluation (SUN LE) program. When creating an EGM on a certain topic, one of the primary tasks is conducting a comprehensive review of the existing literature on that topic. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Development Experience Clearinghouse (DEC) was one of our main sources for that literature review.
The DEC is an extensive database of USAID-funded research and reports, covering 50 years of experience in the development world. The DEC is an especially good source of grey literature: information produced outside of traditional academic and commercial publishing and distribution channels. Grey literature is essential, together with peer-reviewed literature, for inclusion in EGMs.
The DEC is available online to the public, at no cost, and is straightforward to use. Simply visit the DEC search page and enter key words into the search field at the top. Visitors can also conduct advanced searches by document type and browse special collections, like this special collection of monitoring and evaluation literature.
