Implementing Development Evaluations Under Severe Resource Constraints

Most agency evaluations are very short both on resources and in duration, with no proper opportunity to assess impact in a valid manner. The methodology for these evaluations is based on interviews, a review of available programme literature and possibly a quick visit to one (often unrepresentative and usually successful) programme site. This means that the results of the evaluations are heavily dependent on the experience and judgement of the evaluator, the opinions received, and level of support from the commissioner. This CDI Practice Paper by Richard Longhurst reviews how to make the best of such a situation, drawing on lessons learned from techniques of better resourced evaluations and other techniques that have been used. A simple framework can relate the type of evaluation to the resources available and enable better planning and use of evaluations across an organisation.