Discuss

A clear, concise and well-thought out Terms of Reference (TOR) is critical for both a successful and useful evaluation (i.e., it demonstrates accountability to the donor and at the same time provides key feedback and lessons learned on project design and implementation).  “It defines the objectives and the scope of the evaluation, outlines the responsibilities of the consultant or team, and provides a clear description of the resources available to conduct the study.”1 It is also sometimes referred to as a Scope of Work.

Hot Resource! Writing Terms of Reference for an Evaluation: A How-to Guide by the World Bank

A ‘good’ TOR will provide clearly detailed parameters for the evaluator on:

1. Why and for whom the evaluation is being done
2. What it intends to accomplish
3. How it will be accomplished
4. Who will be involved in the evaluation
5. When milestones will be reached and when the evaluation will be completed
6. What resources are available to conduct the evaluation

Hot Resource! UNEG Quality Checklist for Evaluation Terms of Reference and Inception Reports by the United Nations Evaluation Group

One of the many problems with the evaluation of peacebuilding (and there are many problems) is that the evaluation purpose is not clearly thought-out by the commissioners of the evaluation (i.e., the evaluand, in evaluation terminology). What purpose, other than accountability, will this evaluation serve? Is it for learning, and if so, on what and for whom?

Hot Resource! Evaluating Peacebuilding: Not Yet All It Could Be by Cheyanne Scharbatke-Church

Designing an evaluation for upwards accountability to donors is, generally, a straight-forward task: the evaluation will assess the extent to which the project was implemented and achieved the results as laid out in the project design. In which case the terms of reference will largely be based on the project design: were the desired outputs and outcomes achieved?

Designing evaluation for learning, on the other hand, gets a little trickier. First, what do we want to learn and why? Keep in mind that evaluations should inform evidence-based decision-making, and your learning goals and objectives should be aligned with key decisions that will need to be made relating to either the program or project being evaluated or for future or similar programs. Second, does the amount allocated for evaluation in project design sufficiently support such learning objectives?

In line with learning, then, the first two points in the above numerical list would be the most critical in ensuring a learning agenda is included in the evaluation design.

Hot Resource! NZAID Guideline on Developing Terms of Reference for Reviews and Evaluations by the New Zealand International Aid and Development Agency

Rationale, Purpose and Scope of Evaluation

The rationale, purpose and scope of the evaluation describe the context in which the evaluation is taking place: why evaluate at this particular point in time? What purpose will the evaluation serve and achieve? What, specifically, is the evaluation seeking to assess?

To develop these sections, you might ask yourself:

• Who are the stakeholders for this evaluation?
• Who will be the primary users of the evaluation and what are their interests that this evaluation can or will inform?
• Who will be the primary users of the evaluation and what are their decision-making needs that this evaluation can or will inform?
• Based on the above considerations, are there specific issues or constraints that need to be addressed in the evaluation purpose, scope or final report?
• What are your organization’s learning needs and how do these relate to the current evaluation?
• What are the donor’s learning needs and how do these relate to the current evaluation?
• Does the developed evaluation purpose and rationale align with that which was stated in the project design documents?
• What can I realistically accomplish with the funds I have allocated for the evaluation?

Here we have separated interests from decision-making needs to highlight the importance of clearly identifying potential uses of the evaluation by the key stakeholders.

Also keep in mind that data overload is not useful. Only collect information that you need. Constantly ask yourself: how will I use this information? Will it contribute to a better program, or would it just be ‘nice to know’? Keep in mind that adding additional questions may increase the cost and time of the evaluation, potentially making it infeasible with the given budget.

Hot Resources!

NZAID Guideline on Developing Terms of Reference for Reviews and Evaluations by the New Zealand International Aid and Development Agency

Evaluating Peacebuilding: Not Yet All It Could Be by Cheyanne Scharbatke-Church

UNEG Quality Checklist for Evaluation Terms of Reference and Inception Reports by the United Nations Evaluation Group

Writing Terms of Reference for an Evaluation: A How-to Guide by the World Bank

• 1. World Bank, Writing Terms of Reference: A How-to Guide, 2011, p. 1, accessed 12 October 2012, http://www.dmeforpeace.org/learn/writing-terms-reference-evaluation-how-guide.