This book offers an accessible introduction to the topic of impact
evaluation and its practice in development. While the book is geared
principally towards development practitioners and policymakers
designing prospective impact evaluations, we trust that it will be a
valuable resource for students and others interested in using impact
evaluation. Prospective impact evaluations should be used selectively
to assess whether or not a program has achieved its intended results,
or to test alternatives for achieving those results. We consider that
more and better impact evaluation will help strengthen the evidence
base for development policies and programs around the world. If
governments and development practitioners can make policy decisions
based on evidence - including evidence generated through impact
evaluation - our hope is that development resources will be spent more
effectively, and ultimately have a greater impact on reducing poverty
and improving people’s lives. The three chapters in this handbook
provide a non-technical introduction to impact evaluations, including
“Why Evaluate” in Chapter 1, “How to Evaluate”
in Chapter 2 and “How to Implement Impact Evaluations” in
Chapter 3. These elements are the basic ‘tools’ needed in
order to successfully carry out an impact evaluation.
From a methodological standpoint our approach to impact evaluation
is largely pragmatic: we think that the most appropriate methods should
be identified to fit the operational context, and not the other way
around. This is best achieved at the outset of the program, through the
design of prospective impact evaluation that can be built into the
project’s implementation. We argue that gaining consensus between
key stakeholders and identifying an evaluation design that fits the
political and operational context is as important as the method itself.
We also believe strongly that impact evaluations should be upfront
about their limitations and caveats. Finally, we strongly encourage
policymakers and program managers to consider impact evaluations in a
logical framework that clearly sets out the causal pathways by which
the program works to produce outputs and influence final outcomes, and
to combine impact evaluations with monitoring and selected
complementary evaluation approach to gain a full picture of
performance.
This book builds on a core set of teaching materials developed for
the “Turning Promises to Evidence” workshops organized by
the office of the Chief Economist for Human Development (HDNCE) in
partnership with regional units and the Development Economics Research
Group (DECRG) at the World Bank.
"The aim of this book is to provide an accessible,
comprehensive, and clear guide to impact evaluation. The material,
ranging from motivating impact evaluation, to the advantages of
different methodologies, to power calculations and costs, is explained
very clearly and the coverage is impressive. This book will become a
much consulted and used guide and will affect policy making for years
to come."
— Orazio Attanasio , Professor of
Economics, University College London; Director, Centre for the
Evaluation of Development Policies, Institute for Fiscal Studies,
United Kingdom.
"This is a valuable resource for those seeking to conduct
impact evaluations in the developing world, covering both the
conceptual and practical issues involved, and illustrated with examples
from recent practice."
— Michael Kremer , Gates Professor of
Developing Societies, Department of Economics, Harvard University,
United States.
"The main ingredients for good public evaluations are (a)
appropriate methodologies; (b) the ability to solve practical problems
such as collecting data, working within low budgets, and writing the
final report; and (c) accountable governments. This book not only
describes solid technical methodologies for measuring the impact of
public programs, but also provides several examples and takes us into
the real world of implementing evaluations, from convincing policy
makers to disseminating results. If more practitioners and policy
makers read this handbook, we will have better policies and results in
many countries. If governments improve accountability, the impact of
this handbook would be even larger.”
— Gonzalo Hernández Licona , Executive
Secretary, National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development
Policy (CONEVAL), Mexico
"I recommend this book as a clear and accessible guide to the
challenging practical and technical issues faced in designing impact
evaluations. It draws on material which has been tested in workshops
across the world and should prove useful to practitioners, policy
makers, and evaluators alike."
— Nick York , Head of the Evaluation
Department, Department for International Development, United
Kingdom
“Knowledge is one of the most valuable assets for
understanding the complex nature of the development process. Impact
evaluation can contribute to filling the gap between intuition and
evidence to better inform policy making. This book, one of the tangible
outputs of the Spanish Impact Evaluation Fund, equips human development
practitioners with cutting-edge tools to produce evidence on which
policies work and why. Because it enhances our ability to achieve
results, we expect it to make a great difference in development
practice.”
— Soraya Rodríguez Ramos , Secretary of
State for International Cooperation, Spain
- Shipping Weight: 1.16 lbs (0.53 kgs)
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