Learning Objectives: Identify purposes of evaluation Differentiate between evaluation input, output, quality, and outcomes Identify output and outcome measures logically linked to program indicators Plan appropriate output and outcome measures.

"The Australasian Evaluation Society (AES) is a professional organisation for people involved in evaluation. The AES has over 700 members involved in all aspects of evaluation and performance measurement. Members include evaluation practitioners, managers, teachers and students from all levels of government, educational institutions, research agencies, community organisations, businesses and other interested individuals. Members meet regularly through Regional Groups centred in major cities in Australia and New Zealand. Professional development workshops are conducted throughout Australasia on a regular basis."

"The Society is a Canada-wide non-profit bilingual association dedicated to the advancement of evaluation theory and practice."

"The African Evaluation Association (AfrEA) was founded in 1999 in response to a growing demand for information sharing, advocacy and advanced capacity building in evaluation in Africa. It is an umbrella organisation for national evaluation associations and networks in Africa. It is also a resource for individuals in countries where national bodies do not exist."

Portuguese site - will be translated into English at a later stage

"The primary goal of the European Evaluation Society is to promote theory, practice and utilization of high quality evaluation especially, but not exclusively, within the European countries. This goal is obtained by bringing together academics and practitioners from all over Europe and from any professional sector, thus creating a forum where all participants can benefit from the co-operation and bridge building. The society was founded in the Hague in 1994. The first official board was elected in autumn 1995 and started its work in January 1996."

"The advent of the IDEAS, a voluntary, charitable membership based organization, is timely. A new development consensus has emerged, focused on sustained poverty reduction driven by economic growth; the removal of social and structural constraints to economic and human development; reforms that are owned by those who must carry them out; and an intent, especially in the public sector, to manage for results and measure for performance. In parallel, citizens in developing and developed countries alike, expect more efficient, more accountable and more transparent government and public sector programs and projects that have measurably greater development effectiveness than hitherto. Thus there is need to renew old and established evaluation mechanisms to help deliver results to ensure accountability and learn from mistakes."

"The AEA is an international professional association of evaluators devoted to the application and exploration of program evaluation, personnel evaluation, technology, and many other forms of evaluation. Evaluation involves assessing the strengths and weaknesses of programs, policies, personnel, products, and organizations to improve their effectiveness. AEA has approximately 4000 members representing all 50 states in the US as well as over 60 foreign countries."

"The UN Evaluation Forum is a knowledge network that contains moderated discussions, digests and interesting news postings. This Forum disseminates good practices and lessons learned on measuring, monitoring and evaluation to all member agencies of the UN Evaluation Group (UNEG). More specifically, the UN Evaluation Forum aims to: a) enable exchange of experiences and knowledge among involved agencies; b) distill lessons learned and best practices while sharing methodologies; and c) provide a platform to raise and discuss issues on evaluation policy and practices. This forum was created as a result of an informal UNEG meeting that took place on 23 March 2003 in Paris."

"This is a collaborative working space to share summaries of interest and current areas of work on Impact Assessment and Monitoring & Evaluation in relation to Sustainable Livelihoods thinking and approaches, including current frameworks in use and key challenges and questions."

"The IOCE aims to become a platform for worldwide cooperation and partnership in evaluation, fostering the cross fertilisation of ideas, high professional standards and an open and global perspective among evaluators. The mission of the IOCE as stated in our constitution is: To help legitimate evaluation and support evaluation societies, associations and networks so that they can better contribute to good governance, effective decision making and strengthen the role of civil society. The IOCE believes that evaluation is best strengthened through national and regional organisations. Our membership is made up of organisations not individuals. As an international organisation, the IOCE is committed to cultural diversity, inclusiveness and to bringing together different evaluation traditions in ways that respect this diversity. Representatives from 24 evaluation associations and networks from around the world launched IOCE at an Inaugural Assembly in Lima, Peru in March 2003. Their vision was that collaboration between evaluation associations would strengthen evaluation worldwide."

International Iniative for Impact Evaluation

"In the 1990s an extremely successful strategy for capacity building in the area of monitoring and evaluating the quality of education was developed through the establishment of a Consortium of fifteen Ministries of Education known as the Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ). SACMEQs mission is to assist educational planners and researchers to undertake studies of the quality of their education systems by working in a co-operative manner that allows them to share their experiences and to learn from each other. The network works closely with the International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) to co-ordinate the delivery of intensive training programmes focussed on the requirements of the research, and also to facilitate access to advanced technical knowledge and computer-based techniques."

AEA

"This book offers a clear-cut methodology to diagnose institutional strengths and weakness at the onset of development activities. In this way, beneficiaries can respond to growing pressures from donor governments and organizations for accountable and sustainable use of development funding. The authors examine all aspects of organizational performance, including the enabling environment, institutional capacity, management, financial viability, and staff motivation. They also review the methodological issues involved in carrying out an assessment, ranging from the choice and framing of questions to data collection and analysis, the question of who “owns” the assessment, and the reporting of results. Designed for practitioners interested in organizational diagnosis and social change, this book includes a quick guide for organizational assessment, a sample report outline and questions, and a comprehensive assessment glossary."

"Each year billions of dollars are spent on thousands of programs to improve health, education and other social sector outcomes in the developing world. But very few programs benefit from studies that could determine whether or not they actually made a difference. This absence of evidence is an urgent problem: it not only wastes money but denies poor people crucial support to improve their lives. This report by the Evaluation Gap Working Group provides a strategic solution to this problem addressing this gap, and systematically building evidence about what works in social development, proving it is possible to improve the effectiveness of domestic spending and development assistance by bringing vital knowledge into the service of policymaking and program design. In 2004 the Center for Global Development, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, convened the Evaluation Gap Working Group. The group was asked to investigate why rigorous impact evaluations of social development programs, whether financed directly by developing country governments or supported by international aid, are relatively rare. The Working Group was charged with developing proposals to stimulate more and better impact evaluations. This report, the final report of the working group, contains specific recommendations for addressing this urgent problem."

CDC Evaluation Working Group

Gates Foundation

"The Cultural Reading began as text conversations among a group of professional evaluators who share expertise in and concern for issues of cultural diversity and cultural context in evaluation. The purpose of the cultural reading was to review The Program Evaluation Standards (2nd edition) with respect to coverage of cultural diversity, treatment of cultural concerns, and attention to cultural competence. This conversation was intended to build knowledge among Diversity Committee members and other relevant stakeholders within the AEA; to identify specific passages that are in need of revision; and to gather ideas on relevant resources and suggested changes for input to The Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation. Throughout this reflection, culture is broadly defined, inclusive of race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, social class, disability, language, and educational level or disciplinary background. It includes both individual characteristics and those of a group or collective (e.g., community or organizational culture)."

Ideas for Africa

"The MES is a dedicated organization for evaluation practitioners and managers from all levels of government, the business community, and academia as well as individuals interested in or involved with evaluation. The idea of the MES was first mooted in 1996 by a small group of people who had a deep interest in evaluation and was officially registered in 1999. The MES is established to help promote and further enhance the knowledge, awareness, and activities of its members in all aspects of evaluation, both nationally and internationally."

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"APRIL 2005 ” Family Health International has released an important new resource for improving the lives of orphans and vulnerable children. The guide, Conducting a Participatory Situation Analysis of Orphans and Vulnerable Children Affected by HIV/AIDS: Guidelines and Tools, is a powerful tool that builds on experiences from FHI's work in the developing world. Conducting a situation analysis is a complex and delicate process. It gathers and analyzes information to guide planning and action. Done properly, it can help build consensus and among key stakeholders. Collecting data that is not directly linked to specific programs helps identify strengths and weaknesses in national and sub-national responses. Because this resource is focused on children, it features a special emphasis on ethical considerations for information-gathering. The six-chapter, 210-page guide offers sample consent forms, baseline surveys and interview guides, which can be adapted for local use. It was funded by the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Reliefe through the U.S. Agency for International Development. It was written by Renee DeMarco with FHI's OVC Team. The accompanying French edition, released in April 2006, was prepared by the nongovernmental organization Plan International."

"This site provides evaluation specialists and users with refereed checklists for designing, budgeting, contracting, staffing, managing, and assessing evaluations of programs, personnel, students, and other evaluands; collecting, analyzing, and reporting evaluation information; and determining merit, worth, and significance. Each checklist is a distillation of valuable lessons learned from practice. The site's purpose is to improve the quality and consistency of evaluations and enhance evaluation capacity through the promotion and use of high-quality checklists targeted to specific evaluation tasks and approaches."

There is often confusion about what M&E entails. The purpose of this M&E Overview is to strengthen awareness and interest in M&E, and to clarify what it entails. You will find an overview of a sample of M&E tools, methods, and approaches outlined here, including their purpose and use; advantages and disadvantages; costs, skills, and time required; and key references. Those illustrated here include several data collection methods, analytical frameworks, and types of evaluation and review. The M&E Overview discusses: Performance indicators The logical framework approach Theory-based evaluation Formal surveys Rapid appraisal methods Participatory methods Public expenditure tracking surveys Cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis Impact evaluation This list is not comprehensive, nor is it intended to be. Some of these tools and approaches are complementary; some are substitutes. Some have broad applicability, while others are quite narrow in their uses. The choice of which is appropriate for any given context will depend on a range of considerations. These include the uses for which M&E is intended, the main stakeholders who have an interest in the M&E findings, the speed with which the information is needed, and the cost.

MandE News

"This document provides guidance toward planning and implementing an evaluation process for for-profit or nonprofit programs -- there are many kinds of evaluations that can be applied to programs, for example, goals-based, process-based, outcomes-based, etc. ... Note that the concept of program evaluation can include a wide variety of methods to evaluate many aspects of programs in nonprofit or for-profit organizations. There are numerous books and other materials that provide in-depth analysis of evaluations, their designs, methods, combination of methods and techniques of analysis. However, personnel do not have to be experts in these topics to carry out a useful program evaluation. The "20-80" rule applies here, that 20% of effort generates 80% of the needed results. It's better to do what might turn out to be an average effort at evaluation than to do no evaluation at all. (Besides, if you resort to bringing in an evaluation consultant, you should be a smart consumer. Far too many program evaluations generate information that is either impractical or irrelevant -- if the information is understood at all.) This document orients personnel to the nature of program evaluation and how it can be carried out in a realistic and practical fashion."

"This Guide has been written to help project managers and M&E staff improve the quality of M&E in IFAD-supported projects. The Guide focuses on how M&E can support project management and engage project stakeholders in understanding project progress, learning from achievements and problems, and agreeing on how to improve both strategy and operations."

Michael Quinn Patton

Patricia Rogers

The primary purpose of this site is to provide a central starting point for staff of international relief and development agencies to locate resources related to program Design, Monitoring and Evaluation and information about training opportunities. The contents, review and links are contributions from NGOs and consultants.

"This website is developed by Wageningen International. Our objectives of PPM&E - Managing and Learning for Impact are to: * help build the capacity of individuals and organisations to effectively implement PPM&E systems (courses, advisory services, evaluation). * contribute to innovation in the field of PPM&E / managing and learning for impact. * provide practical web based resource materials, experience sharing and learning with this PPM&E resource portal. The first part of this website ("theories and backgrounds", and "methodologies and approaches") is in the process of being updated. The second part of this website provides a wide range of links to documents and websites which have been sorted in relation to a large number of subject areas. Though there is a lot, it is obviously not complete. We appreciate recommendations of resources that have not been included yet. Please use the comment boxes for this purpose."

"The IUCN Evaluation Policy (French/Spanish) was developed during 1999-2000 and approved by the IUCN Council in October 2001. It is based on a survey of the policies of bilateral and multilateral agencies and large NGOs, and on a consensus among IUCN programme managers on the key elements of evaluation that are important for IUCN. The Policy is consistent with the OECD DAC Evaluation Working Group principles and guidelines, and thus consistent with the evaluation policies and standards of the major core donors of IUCN. The Policy sets out the aim and purpose of evaluation in IUCN, the criteria, guiding principles and standards, and types of evaluations to be undertaken in IUCN. Given that the evaluation function is new in IUCN, the Policy also elaborates on the management of and the roles and responsibilities in the evaluation process in IUCN. It is expected that as the evaluation function matures and develops in IUCN, the Policy will be updated as required."

Quality Portal Free registration Required

"This document provides guidance toward basic planning and implementation of an outcomes-based evaluation process (also called outcomes evaluation) in nonprofit organizations. This document provides basic guidance -- particularly to small nonprofits with very limited resources. NOTE: This free, basic, on-line guide makes occasional references to certain pages in the United Way of America's book, Measuring Program Outcomes: A Practical Approach (1996). That United Way book is an excellent resource! However, it can be somewhat overwhelming for nonprofits that have very limited resources. This free on-line guide (that are reading now) can help nonprofits carry out their own basic outcomes evaluation planning. This on-line guide can also help small nonprofits to make the most of that United Way book -- however, you do not have to have that United Way book in order to carry out your own basic outcomes evaluation plan by using this on-line guide. "

"An internet based news service oriented towards Non- Government Organisations (NGOs). MandE News focuses on innovations in methods of monitoring and evaluation of development projects, especially those with social development objectives or contents. This service is supported by a number of major British NGOs."

"AusGuide provides guidance on preparing and implementing high quality program strategies and initiatives. It supports the management of AusAID development programs and Australian Government initiatives delivered under those programs." This guide integrates monitoring and evaluation as part of the planning and implementation of program strategies and initiatives.

"The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) is a mutually agreed instrument voluntarily acceded to by the member states of the African Union (AU) as a self-monitoring mechanism. The mandate of the APRM is to encourage conformity in regard to political, economic and corporate governance values, codes and standards, among African countries and the objectives in socio-economic development within the New Partnership for Africa's Development."

"This guidebook presents an innovative and thoroughly tested model for organizational self-assessment. The tools and tips in Enhancing Organizational Performance go beyond measuring the impact of programs, products, and services. They integrate techniques of formative assessment, in which the assessment team becomes involved in helping its organization become more effective in meeting its goals. The tools and techniques are flexible, and the model can be adapted to any type or size of organization. Worksheets and hands-on exercises are included. Enhancing Organizational Performance will be of use to any organization that is initiating a process of self-assessment, internal change, or strategic planning. It will particularly appeal to heads and staff of research organizations, university administrators, staff of research-granting agencies, and academics and professionals in organizational development and evaluation."

Exploring complexity sciences in international development and humanitarian aid

Debates around Aid Impact: Examining UK aid, focussing on delivery of value for money for the UK taxpayer and maximising the impact and effectiveness for recipients of the UK aid budget."

"The new and powerful methodology of participatory monitoring and evaluation (PM&E) is gaining wide use amongst international development agencies and research institutions around the world. PM&E brings together both researchers and stakeholders, such as farmers, government officials, and extension workers, to monitor and assess development activities. This book is the first to reflect upon the introduction, implementation, and assessment of a PM&E training program. It documents a PM&E training process in Yunnan and Guizhou provinces, China, illustrating how PM&E can strengthen the learning and accountability of research teams and, consequently, the effectiveness of their research work. Using concrete examples, this book shows that it is not only what is being assessed that matters, but also who is doing the assessment and for whom the assessments are intended."

Pathfinder International Tool Series: Monitoring and Evaluation "A case study is a story about something unique, special, or interesting stories can be about individuals, organizations, processes, programs, neighborhoods, institutions, and even events. The case study gives the story behind the result by capturing what happened to bring it about, and can be a good opportunity to highlight project success, or to bring attention to a particular challenge or difficulty in a project."

"There is now widespread recognition, in name at least, that participatory development is critical for achieving sound resource management. However, this kind of development requires a more flexible and evolving process to planning for change, and poses new challenges for decision-makers and evaluators alike. In particular, this requires major institutional reorientation at the policy level to ensure responsiveness to local demand, and to empower and enable communities to act. At the programme level, it means detailed outlines for action can no longer be drawn up at the outset since problem-solving is based on partnerships and cooperation, and not the quest to achieve some externally identified goal. Because these programmes are designed to be responsive to changing community needs, one of the most pressing challenges is to develop participatory and systems-based monitoring and evaluative processes to allow for ongoing learning, correction, and adjustment by all parties concerned." Covers: evaluation aims; theory of change and logic models, scale and intensity; and different approaches and techniques

This page includes summaries of studies identifying lessons learned from communication projects and the use of communication strategies; summaries of articles and publications that address or include evaluation frameworks and benchmarks; and summaries of impact data statistics from communication project evaluations: • Methodologies & Indicators • Project Evaluations • Strategy Evaluations • Excerpted Project Impact Data

"These principles have been approved by the AEA membership. They were developed to guide the professional practice of evaluators, and inform evaluation clients and the general public about the principles they can expect to be upheld by professional evaluators."

Listed below are links related to research methodology, human and animal research ethics, statistics, data analysis, and more. The following table shows a detailed outline of topics. Table of Contents (click on a category of interest) Research Tips and Tools: Getting Started APA Style, Writing, and Publication Tips Research Methodology: General Resources Survey Research Measurement and Testing Research Ethics and Institutional Review: General Resources Ethical Codes of Professional Societies Informed Consent Research on Humans Research on Animals Statistics and Data Analysis: General Resources Data Visualization Tools, Technologies, and Examples Videos Online Statistics Textbooks Online Statistical Calculations Power Analysis Additional Statistics Resources Web-Based Research Professional Organizations Research Journals

IOCOMSA facilitates collaboration between professionals in outcome management and development, monitoring and evaluation associations, societies and networks to strengthen the discipline in South Asia

"Aimed at newcomers and experienced practitioners alike, Participatory Learning and Action is the world's leading informal journal on participatory learning and action approaches and methods, reaching over 20,000 readers in 121 countries. Since its first issue in 1988, it has provided a forum for those engaged in participatory work - community workers, activists and researchers to share their experiences, conceptual reflections and methodological innovations with others, providing a genuine voice from the field. All the material is copyright free and we encourage photocopying of articles for sharing and training, provided the source is acknowledged."

J. Rogers and E. Jane Davidson have launched a blog called *Genuine Evaluation*, where they will share their ideas about real, genuine, authentic, practical evaluation – what it looks like, good examples, bad examples, lessons learned, tips, useful practices and methodologies.