Topic Guides & Curricula

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....

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....

The Charter of the United Nations identifies mediation as an important means for the peaceful settlement of disputes and conflicts, and it has proven to be an effective instrument to address both inter-State and intra-State conflicts. The United Nations Handbook on the Peaceful Settlement of Disputes between States (1992) further developed understanding of mediation of disputes between States and remains a useful resource.  The report of the Secretary-General on Enhancing mediation and its support activities (S/2009/189) examined the mediation challenges faced by the United Nations and its partners and outlined some considerations for strengthening mediation processes....

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”. ...

A security and justice reform (SSR) process will at times lead to a discussion on the need to change the roles and responsibilities of different actors and institutions involved in the provision, management or oversight of security and justice services....

This is the fourth OGN in the assessment series. It covers the process of finalising and integrating the recommendations of the assessment and serves to a) provide the link between the assessment and subsequent justice and security donor support activities, and b) ensure that the lessons learned during the assessment process can be used constructively in the future....

This is the third OGN in the assessment series. It covers issues to be taken into account when conducting an assessment. The approach should not be prescribed, but developed in line with the specific context and purpose of each assessment....

This manual complements ISSAT’s Introductory Level 1 Security Sector Reform Training Course. It aims to provide a basic overview of Security Sector Reform (SSR) policy and practice based on collective experience in supporting security  and justice reform efforts.  This manual provides an overview of the theoretical background and key practical insights needed to engage in SSR programming, setting out the main principles but also highlighting various challenges that could arise when engaging in SSR....

This thesis aims to provide a coherent theoretical framework to guide the development of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) information systems within international aid agencies. The thesis applies soft systems methodologies (SSM) to explore the research question and to develop conceptual models. ...

This thesis aims to provide a coherent theoretical framework to guide the development of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) information systems within international aid agencies. The thesis applies soft systems methodologies (SSM) to explore the research question and to develop conceptual models. ...

This document is a companion piece to an earlier paper on quantitative approaches to measuring social capital (Grootaert et al. 2004). It provides a complementary set of qualitative tools and strategies for gauging the nature and extent of people’s interactions with each other and with key private, public, and civic institutions....

This article proposes a short list of internationally-comparable indicators of individual agency and empowerment (and the corresponding survey questions). Data from these inidicators would enable researchers to explore research and policy issues such as the interconnections between empowerment and economic or human development....

This document walks through exercises to reflect on thought processes around ambiguity, turbulent environments, and adaptive strategies. ...

The need for improved evaluation feedback is widely recognised by development agencies, both on grounds of accountability and learning. Greater accountability is seen as a prerequisite for continued support for development assistance within donor countries, while also being a vital component in creating robust and meaningful partnerships with countries and organisations that are recipients of aid....

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....

This Guide describes the steps that are taken to initiate an evaluation after management makes the decision to proceed. First, terms of reference (TORs) are prepared by CIDA’s evaluation manager and then an evaluator is selected. ...

This publication, Guidelines for Evaluators, is the first in the companion series to the Handbook on monitoring and Evaluating for Results. The Handbook provides an overall context for results-based monitoring and evaluation and reviews tools and techniques for planning and managing monitoring and evaluation activities....

Preparation pages Introductory sections have been included to provide a framework to the planning and preparation process involved prior to carrying out an evaluation. These aim to encourage you to think, in more detail, about who the evaluation is for, what you are going to be evaluating and how best youmight carry out such an evaluation study. Recipe pages Each recipe comprises a summary of the main uses of that particular method, a step by step guide to the time, resources and process likely to be involved, as well as a set of cook's hints relating to each stage of the process....

We need good theories of social change for building the thinking of all involved in processes of development, as individuals, as communities, organisations, social movements and donors. The conventional division in the world today between policy-makers (and their theorising) and practitioners is deeply dysfunctional, leaving the former ungrounded and the latter unthinking. Good concepts help us to grasp what is really happening beneath the surface....

This document aims to be a guide to help to direct the design of a Theory of Change applied to social change processes. However, it is an initial approach that must be furthered based on new experiences and practical applications. ...