Evaluation is a systematic and objective assessment of an ongoing or completed project, program, or policy, its design, implementation, and results (OECD).
The process of determining the worth or significance of a project to determine the relevance of objectives, the efficacy of design and implementation, the efficiency or resource use, and the sustainability of results.
An evaluation should provide information that is credible and useful, enabling the incorporation of lessons learned into the decision-making process of both recipients and donors.
An evaluation assesses the performance [fulfillment of objectives], relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, impact, and sustainability of a project.
Evaluations require an in-depth review at specific points in the life of the project, usually at the mid-point or end of a project, and verify whether project objectives have been achieved or not.
Evaluation is a management tool that can assist in evidence-based decision making, and which provides valuable lessons for implementing organizations and their partners.
Evaluation helps to answer questions such as:-
How relevant was our work in relation to the primary stakeholders and beneficiaries?
To what extent were the project objectives achieved?
What contributed to and/or hindered these achievements?
Were the available resources (human, financial) utilized as planned and used effectively?
What are the key results, including intended and unintended results?
What evidence is there that the project has changed the lives of individuals and communities?
How has the project helped to strengthen the management and institutional capacity of the organization?
What is the potential for sustainability, expansion, and replication of similar interventions?
What are the lessons learned from the intervention?
How should those lessons be utilized in future planning and decision-making?
Why Evaluate?
To measure the level of achievement of the initiative’s goals and objectives
To determine if there is value for money – accountability (i.e., allocated resources are yielding the greatest benefit for clients and stakeholders)
To identify what components of an initiative work/do not work and why
To identify areas that need improvement in order to provide the best service possible – learning
To identify the key results, including intended and unintended results
To assess the potential for sustainability, expansion, and replication of similar interventions
To strengthen the management and institutional capacity of the organization
To understand what contributed to and/or hindered the achievements
To make evidence-based organizational decisions
Why evaluate?
Evaluation examines what you set out to do, what you have accomplished, and how you accomplished it. An evaluation should provide information that is credible and useful, enabling the incorporation of lessons learned into the decision-making process of both recipients and donors.
Evaluation is a management tool that can assist in evidence-based decision making, and which provides valuable lessons for implementing organizations and their partners.
Evaluations require:
data collection at the start of a program (to provide a baseline) and again at the end, rather than at repeated intervals during program implementation;
a control or comparison group in order to measure whether the changes in outcomes can be attributed to the program; and
