CMI awarded funding for new Knowledge Centre to strengthen evidence in aid

The Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI) has been awarded funding from Norad to establish a new Knowledge Centre for Development Cooperation, aimed at strengthening the use of research-based knowledge in aid decision-making.

The Centre will be led by CMI’s Development Learning Lab (DLL) in partnership with leading Norwegian and international institutions, including the University of Bergen, NHH Norwegian School of Economics, the Frisch Centre, NUPI, 3ie, and the International Rescue Committee.

The overarching goal is to improve the effectiveness of development assistance by ensuring that decisions are more systematically informed by evidence. The Centre will work primarily with civil society organisations (CSOs) supported by Norad and their partners, who play a central role in delivering Norwegian aid.

“We have a lot of knowledge today about what works in development. But this knowledge is not used systematically enough when decisions are made,” said Ottar Mæstad, Director of the Development Learning Lab at CMI.

Barriers to using knowledge
While there is strong interest among organisations to work more knowledge-based, several barriers persist. These include limited time and capacity, difficulty accessing and interpreting research, and weak routines for integrating evidence into decision-making processes.

“Much of the knowledge already exists, but it is often difficult to access, not sufficiently tailored to the context in which it will be used, or arrives too late to influence decisions,” Mæstad said.

Making knowledge accessible and actionable
The new Knowledge Centre will address these challenges by making research more accessible and actionable. Its services will include tailored knowledge reviews, helpdesk support, “Evidence-to-Action” workshops, learning networks, and expert consultations. The Centre will also support organisations in strengthening their own capacity to generate and use evidence.

Importantly, the Centre will take a demand-driven and dialogue-based approach, working closely with organisations to ensure that knowledge is delivered at the right time and tailored to real decision-making needs.

“This Centre is not primarily about producing more research, but about helping organisations use the knowledge that already exists,” Mæstad emphasised.

A timely initiative
Over time, the Centre will also contribute to generating new knowledge, particularly in areas where evidence gaps are significant and where organisations need support to assess the impact of their interventions.

Against a backdrop of increasing global needs and tightening aid budgets, the initiative comes at a critical time for development cooperation.

“The gap between needs and available resources is growing. That makes it more important than ever to use knowledge effectively, so we get the most impact possible for the money,” said Charlotte Ringdal, Deputy Director of the Development Learning Lab at CMI.

Focus on local decision-making
The Knowledge Centre will also place increasing emphasis on supporting decision-making at the country level and working with local research partners, in line with the growing focus on locally led development.

The Centre is expected to begin operations in 2026 and will run for an initial five-year period.