In the age of open data, indicators must be clear, credible and proportional. It is a game changer for M&E: Communication skills using indicators suddenly become a core qualification. More and more organizations make their data on aid, development and humanitarian flows accessible online as a result of the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI). This year, large donors like […]
STEP 1: WHAT DO WE WANT TO KNOW? What is the information we would like to know in the future? How often do we want to know it? For example: Our goal is to help 10.000 women increase their income. What we would like to know is a) if this is the case, b) by […]
“We had some great results -but you can’t measure them!” “Not everything that counts can be counted!” “You can’t measure everything!” These are some of the critical arguments we often hear in Monitoring and Evaluation. The reason for this confusion is the common misconception that we in Monitoring and Evaluation always aim for precise, scientific […]
Imagine this: Business as usual: The NGO Eduasusual mobilizes funding for keeping girls in school. They put together a package of interventions (school feeding, awareness raising, teacher training, etc.) and start implementing it. The package is the same for each of the 150 schools, and roughly based on a “Theory of Change” designed by an […]
Development aid is changing rapidly. Development evaluation needs to change with it. Why? And how? PLANNING IN A COMPLEX, DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENT REQUIRES MORE AND DIFFERENT EVALUATIONS Linear, mechanistic planning for development is increasingly seen as problematic. Traditional feedback loops that diligently check if an intervention is ‘on-track’ in achieving a pre-defined milestone do not work with flexible planning. In […]
As you will know, the new guidance for UN Development Assistance Frameworks (UNDAF) is here! Web-based with nice layout at https://undg.org/programme/undaf-guidance/ Not sure what you think about the new UNDAF guidelines, but here are some of my thoughts after an initial review: Despite the positive change in how the guidelines, annexes and companion guidance are […]