Impact Evaluation

This Working Paper series is based upon findings regarding program review and evaluation processes from across CDA Collaborative Learning Projects (CDA) programs, all of which are concerned with issues of impact, results, assessment and learning, as well as mechanisms for obtaining feedback and being accountable for program effects....

Useful 32-page "how-to" document concerning how to carry out M&E, what to consider, what to look out for, provides templates for tools like a logical framework (log frame) and examples that demonstrate how to use provided tools. Purpose is to encourage readers to ensure that the M&E Plan and Evaluation Plan are feasible both in terms of the capacity of WFP and its partners to implement them and the budget and other resources available. Intesting aspects of document: inclusion of "Beneficiary Contact Monitoring" which aims to assess the satisfaction of people involved in the project (i.e....

The idea to initiate the formulation of a framework for assessing the cultural impact of development policies and projects came out of the INCD third annual meeting held in Cape Town (South Africa) in October 11-13, 2002. The primary objective is to outline a framework that will assist development agencies and private interests in fulfilling their obligations towards the affected communities of their policies and projects, and in so doing respect, preserve and promote cultural diversity and identity. According to the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA), impact assessment simply defined, “is the process of identifying the future consequences of a current or proposed action”. ...

This is the third guidance note in a four-part series of notes related to impact evaluation developed by InterAction with financial support from the Rockefeller Foundation. This third guidance note, Introduction to Mixed Methods in Impact Evaluation, starts by explaining what a mixed methods (MM) impact evaluation design is and what distinguishes this approach from quantitative or qualitative impact evaluation designs....

This is the second guidance note in a four-part series of notes related to impact evaluation developed by InterAction with financial support from the Rockefeller Foundation.This second guidance note, Linking Monitoring and Evaluation to Impact Evaluation, illustrates the relationship between routine M&E and impact evaluation – in particular, how both monitoring and evaluation activities can support meaningful and valid impact evaluation. M&E has a critical role to play in impact evaluation, such as: identifying when and under what circumstances it would be possible and appropriate to undertake an impact evaluation; contributing essential data to conduct an impact evaluation, such as baseline data of various forms and information about the nature of the intervention; and contributing necessary information to interpret and apply findings from impact evaluation. ...

This is the first guidance note in a four-part series of notes related to impact evaluation developed by InterAction with financial support from the Rockefeller Foundation. This first guidance note, Introduction to Impact Evaluation, provides an overview of impact evaluation, explaining how impact evaluation differs from – and complements – other types of evaluation, why impact evaluation should be done, when and by whom....

Since the 1990s, internationally-supported peacebuilding interventions have become increasingly prominent. Activities focusing on rule of law and security institutions are a key component of this agenda. Despite increasing calls for more rigorous analysis of the impact of peacebuilding interventions, conceptual advances have been limited....

This article addresses the potential use of mixed methods approaches in quantitative impact evaluation. It provides examples of how such an approach as strengthened impact evaluation work of the Independent Evaluation Group of the World Bank. ...

We examine various evaluation approaches that could potentially be suitable for small n analysis and find that a number of them share a methodological core which could provide a basis for consensus. This common core involves the specification of a theory of change together with a number of further alternative causal hypotheses....

This report covers a study commissioned by DFID entitled 'Broadening the Range of Designs and Methods for Impact Evaluations.' Up to now most investment in IE has gone into a narrow range of mainly experimental and statistical methods and designs that according to the study's Terms of Reference, DFID has found are only applicable to a small proportion of their current programme portfolio....

Accountability and transparency initiatives have taken democratisation, governance, aid and development circles by storm since the turn of the century. Many actors involved with them – as donors, funders, programme managers, implementers and researchers – are now keen to know more about what these initiatives are achieving. This paper arises from a review of the impact and effectiveness of transparency and accountability initiatives which gathered and analysed existing evidence, discussed how it could be improved, and evaluated how impact and effectiveness could be enhanced....

The focus of this paper is on assessing the impact of enterprise development policy interventions on the goal of poverty reduction. In recent years there has been a growing consensus in development thinking on a number of core ideas – the importance of policy level analysis, the need to move to a more evidence-based approach to decision making, and the adoption of poverty reduction as the fundamental goal of development policy....

Impact assessment is now an established part of development activity. There are many guidelines, tools and ' Best Practices ' in different areas of enterprise development. The main focus to date has been on accounting to donors and/or within donor agencies for particular project and programme investments in preference to others....

This paper examines the underlying principles and basic methods of assessing impact of development projects. It is often referred to in other texts on the site as the "Core Text". Many of the methods and techniques outlined in this text are examined in more detail in the Toolbox; they are also shown in application to Enterprise Development activities in the Application Guidance Notes and the Case Studies....

This report covers a study commissioned by DFID entitled ‘Broadening the Range of Designs and Methods for Impact Evaluations’. Impact Evaluation (IE) aims to demonstrate that development programmes lead todevelopment results, that the intervention as cause has an effect....

Accountability and transparency initiatives have taken democratisation, governance, aid and development circles by storm since the turn of the century. Many actors involved with them – as donors, funders, programme managers, implementers and researchers – are now keen to know more about what these initiatives are achieving....

Citizens’ capacity to express and exercise their views is a vital part of poverty reduction. States that can be held accountable for their actions are more likely to respond to the different needs and demands of the public. Citizen voice and accountability (V&A) work has emerged as a priority in the international development agenda, and is part of the broader debate about the importance of governance in improving prospects for poor people....

A core group of DAC partners1 (Evaluation Core Group/ECG) is collaborating on a joint evaluation of development aid for strengthening Citizens’ Voice & Accountability. In the first phase of this evaluation a framework has been developed. A draft version of the framework was piloted in Benin and Nicaragua....

This evaluation was commissioned by a Steering Committee of bilateral cooperation donors and aid agencies, to review conflict prevention and peacebuilding policies in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Drawing on examples from a portfolio of projects funded by Steering Committee members, the evaluation is designed to provide general conclusions relevant to all international interventions in the eastern DRC. A team of fifteen consultants representing eight nationalities was deployed to design and carry out the evaluation over a period of twelve months between 2009-2010....

This book off ers an accessible introduction to the topic of impact evaluation and its practice in development. Although the book is geared principally toward development practitioners and policy makers, we trust that it will be a valuable resource for students and others interested in impact evaluation. ...