Context for Evaluation
Purposes of Evaluation
Organizational Roles
Evaluation Practices
Evaluation Requirements
100
This USAID database saw a decline in the number of evaluations from nearly 500 in 1994 to about 170 in 2009.
What is the Development Experience Clearinghouse (DEC)?
100
These are the two general purposes of USAID evaluations.
What is Accountability (to stakeholders) and Learning (to improve effectiveness)?
100
This office organizes and leads the Evaluation Interest Group and other cross-Agency evaluation-related knowledge networks.
What is PPL/LER?
100
For countries developing CDCSs, mission leadership will identify at least one opportunity for one of these for each Development Objective.
What is an impact evaluation?
100
The rough percentage that USAID will devote of total program dollars for external performance and impact evaluations.
What is 3?
200
This type of evaluation aims to understand causes and effects and requires a credible and rigorously defined counterfactual to control for factors other than the intervention that might account for the observed change.
What is an impact evaluation?
200
This group must provide appropriate incentives for evaluation while fostering a culture of accountability and learning at USAID.
Who are USAID senior management?
200
USAID operating units will identify one of these, who will be responsible for ensuring compliance with the USAID Evaluation Policy across the breadth of the operating unit's projects.
What is an evaluation point of contact?
200
In order to share findings from evaluations as widely as possible, evaluations and a summary including a description of methods, key findings, and recommendations will be available to the public within this timeframe.
What is within 3 months of an evaluation's conclusion?
200
When feasible, it is recommended that activities designated as ‘pilots’ or ‘proofs of concept’ undergo this type of evaluation.
What is an impact evaluation?
300
These are two activities. One tracks whether desired results are occurring and implementation is on track. The other is the systematic collection and analysis of information about the characteristics and outcomes of programs and projects as a basis for judgments, improvement of effectiveness, and/or to inform decisions about programming.
What are monitoring and evaluation?
300
In order to serve the aim of accountability and track our progress, these should be matched to meaningful outputs and outcomes.
What are indicators (or metrics)?
300
This office, along with PPL/LER, will develop and/or update capabilities statements for evaluation specialists and senior evaluation specialists.
What is USAID's Office of Human Resources?
300
These are data collected before or soon after a project or program has begun implementation.
What are baseline data?
300
Except in unusual circumstances, the evaluation design should be shared with country level stakeholders and these groups for comment before being finalized.
What are implementing partners?
400
This is the systematic process of monitoring the achievements of program activities, collecting and analyzing performance information, communicating results, and using performance information and evaluations to inform decision-making.
What is performance management (or "Managing for Results")?
400
This USAID evaluation purpose includes comparing program performance to ex ante commitments and targets, ensuring the credibility of analysis and disclosure of findings to a broad range of stakeholders (including the American public).
What is accountability (to stakeholders)?
400
USAID Missions will prepare these guidance documents, describing context-specific approaches and expectations regarding evaluation.
What are Mission Orders on evaluation?
400
For impact evaluations, this type of design generates the strongest evidence.
What is an experimental design?
400
List 3 components an evaluation report must include.
What are the: 1. SOW 2. Full description of methodology used 3. Limitations of data 4. A disclosure of conflict of interest 5. Action-oriented recommendations 6. Executive summary 7. Evaluation questions 8. Findings 9. Conclusions (Any 3 of the 9 above are acceptable)
500
These measure a particular characteristic or dimension of project results (outputs or outcomes) based on a project's results framework and underlying theory of change.
What are indicators (or metrics)?
500
This evaluation purpose requires careful selection of evaluation questions to test fundamental assumptions underlying project designs, as well as strong evaluation methods and effective systems for sharing findings widely.
What is learning (to improve effectiveness)?
500
This office within USAID operating units will ensure that evaluation final reports and summaries are submitted within three months of completion to the DEC. The office will also ensure that evaluation data are warehoused for future use.
What is the Program Office?
500
List 3 of the 6 evaluation best practices listed in USAID’s evaluation policy.
What are: 1. integrated into design of projects 2. unbiased 3. relevant 4. based on best methods 5. transparent 6. oriented toward reinforcing local capacity
500
Operating Units are encouraged to identify opportunities for these, particularly in the period preceding the development of a new strategy, rather than focusing only on the project level.
What are program evaluations?
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