This article is part of The Future of Global Development, a series for Devex Executive Members that explores what development leaders think of the industry’s top issues.
Randomized controlled trials, an impact evaluation method, have been a contentious development issue of late, with as many advocates as critics.
A Devex survey of senior development executives across six continents and varied organizations revealed that nearly half aren’t familiar with the debate or have no opinion at all. This indicates that while RCTs remain a hot topic among academics and practitioners, the issue is not yet relevant to many senior managers. Another sizable group — 37 percent of executives surveyed — responded that RCTs are “somewhat overhyped.”