Impact evaluation is divided into two sorts based on when it is conducted and what it is intended to measure. It can help you make informed decisions about whats likely to work in your context, and can provide ideas for program features. A process evaluation is a one-time exercise comparing implementation to the steps laid out in your theory of change and implementation plan. The average difference in outcomes between matched individuals is the estimated impact. Clickhereto learn more about the different ways of conducting an impact evaluation, from randomized controlled trials to quasi-experimental approaches. Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Generalized Causal Inference, Running Randomized Evaluations: A Practical Guide, decision to undertake and impact evaluation, Experimental and Quasi Experimental Design for Generalized Causal Inference. It can also help you identify the specific communities that can benefit from your program and how you can reach them. That means that process evaluations are often more intensive exercises to collect more data and dive deeper into the theory of change. Such impact evaluations can help you make decisions about program elements in a short timeframe. We call the latter administrative data. Generally, using administrative data will save you time and money. The evaluation purpose refers to the rationale for conducting an impact evaluation. This guide, written by Elliot Stern, aims to support managers and commissioners in gaining a deeper and broader understanding of impact evaluation. Identifying the cause is known as 'causal attribution' or 'causal inference'. The unit you choose will affect the level at which you can measure outcomes if you would like to measure the impact of a teacher training program on school rankings, you would need to choose schools as your unit, not individuals. ask what produced the changes and whether or not, and to what extent, observed changes are due to the intervention rather than other factors. Are there specific groups of people for whom the program works (better)? It gives business organizations the data to decide whether to alter a current initiative or plan for new actions. Impact evaluations determine program effectiveness by asking the question:what would have happened in the absence of my program? Experimental designs can produce highly credible impact estimates but are often expensive and for certain interventions, difficult to implement. This method used only academic sources. must determine the causal attributionthe reason for the observed changes. Thus, there will be minor damage and costs associated with free replacements. What is impact evaluation? | Better Evaluation There is no one right way to undertake an impact evaluation, discussing all the potential options and using a combination of different methods and designs that suit a particular situation must be considered. Examples of quasi-experimental designs include. Both experimental and quasi-experimental designs can produce credible impact evaluation findings, but there is a difference, and their classifications signal what that difference is. In most cases, an effective combination of quantitative and qualitative data will provide a more comprehensive picture of what changes have taken place since the intervention. As data collection should be targeted toward the mix of evidence needed to make appropriate judgments about the program or policy, it is essential to consider what success is and how the data will be processed and synthesized to answer the key evaluation questions (KEQs). INTRODUCTION TO IMPACT EVALUATION Patricia J. Rogers, RMIT University (Australia) and BetterEvaluation This is the first guidance note in a four-part series of notes related to impact evaluation developed by InterAction with financial support from the Rockefeller Foundation. Once you are satisfied with your evidence review: A needs assessment describes the context in which your program will operate (or is already operating). When you compare this group to a similar group of people who did not receive the program, however, you realize that the increase in employment was similar. Techniques and models for establishing causal causation: There are three main methods for determining causality in impact assessments: Some people and organizations define impact evaluations more narrowly, only including evaluations that incorporate some counterfactual. With all of these methods, all members of a population (or all members of a representative sample of a large population) have an equal chance of ending up in the intervention (or treatment) group. You could do this to generally understand the impact of vocational programs, or specifically to inform your decision of whether to scale the training program to another state. This article is partly based on the Methodological brief Overview of Impact Evaluation, by Patricia Rogers at UNICEF, 2014. Impact evaluation | Better Evaluation Here are some tricks you can try if the article is not available: Read the paper. When it is possible to use the information from the current intervention to guide decisions about future projects, impact evaluation is helpful. Impact evaluation shows the success or failure of a project and holds all stakeholders, including donors and beneficiaries, accountable. This toolkits page on thedecision to undertake and impact evaluationis located in that section and may be worth reviewing as Missions prepare more detailed Project MEL plans. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. It determines whether the intervention can be considered a success, an improvement or the best option. Here are some strategies to consider when planning an impact evaluation: Youre on this page because you want to search for evidence relevant to your program. Impact evaluations can be used to compare the impact of different programs and determine which is the most effective. It details data collecting and analysis procedures and plans for causal attribution, including whether and how they will create comparison groups. Evaluation Practice Handbook - World Health Organization Once you are confident you need an impact evaluation and that your program is well-run, you should also considerwhat to measureandhow you will measure it. In this blog, we will walk you through the next steps in the process from understanding the core elements of an impact evaluation work plan to designing your own impact evaluation toidentify the real difference your interventions are making on the ground. If administrative data is available for your study, have a look atJ-PALs guidance on using administrative datato see if it is . The proper analysis of impact requires a counterfactual of what those outcomes would have been in the absence of the intervention.1 There are different types of impact evaluations, each with its benefits and drawbacks. Do you need ongoing data on how your program is performing? It can help you understand the scope and urgency of the problems you identified in the theory of change. If it is not feasible to effectively undertake an impact evaluation, the Mission or Washington OU must conduct a performance evaluation and document why an impact evaluation wasnt feasible. For example, suppose your goal is to increase immunization rates in India. Designing an impact evaluation work plan: a step-by-step guide - TolaData A simple guide to help you design an impact evaluation work plan more accurately & effectively. Measuring direct causes and effects can be quite difficult, therefore, the choice of methods and designs for impact evaluation of interventions is not straightforward, and comes with a unique set of challenges. Evaluations that are being undertaken to support learning should be clear about who is intended to learn from it, how they will be engaged in the evaluation process to ensure it is seen as relevant and credible, and whether there are specific decision points around where this learning is expected to be applied. The design for answering causal questions could be experimental, quasi-experimental or non-experimental. Lets take a look at each design separately: Experimental: involves the construction of a control group through random assignment of participants. it has a large number of citations or is cited by many other studies in your review), it is relevant to specific aspects of this evaluation (such as measuring similar outcomes, being conducted in a similar context, or evaluating a similar intervention), etc. It is best to have no more than 2-3 objectives, that way the team can explore few issues in depth rather than examine a broader set superficially. Guerre en Ukraine : aprs la destruction du barrage de Kakhovka, la In this paper, we provide a graphical guide to policy-impact evaluations for COVID-19, targeted to decision-makers, researchers, and evidence curators. If you know of any additional elements that are included in an evaluation work plan in your organisation then do reach out to us and wed be happy to add them here. And just because something worked in India before doesnt mean it will continue to work context is more complicated than country! It helps assess whether the objectives of a specific intervention were achieved and also measures unintended consequences. Impact evaluations can be used in two ways: to create knowledge about what works, and to inform specific decisions about your program. The resulting treatment and non-treatment (or control) groups are deemed to be functionally equivalent, as all of the other characteristics of population members have been distributed across both groups. b) Email the papers authors if you cant find it elsewhere many researchers are happy to share a copy with people looking to learn from their experience. Your companys reputation may be crucial. Which data sources are available for the impact evaluation? Getting intermediate results may help create the desired ultimate impression. Though its not often acknowledged, funders are almost entirely reliant on grantee MEL practices to understand the impact of their resources in the world. measure impact and to analyse the mechanisms producing the impact. Not sure where to go from here? Conducting Implementation Research in Impact Studies of Education Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Generalized Causal InferenceThis updated volume, by Shadish, Cook and Campbell, remains the basic text on what we today call impact evaluation design. Impact Evaluation Designs | Project Starter | Program Cycle | U.S Impact management relies on a two-way engagement with all factors along the impact pathway to ensure the research is relevant, realistic and that risks are identified and mitigated. Overall, what are the main lessons from this review that you take away? But how do you know which method is right for you? If so, for whom, to what extent and in what circumstances? The unit is the level at which you assign groups for treatment or comparison. What is the timeline we are working with? Impact Evaluation: A Guide for Commissioners and Managers These reports contain detailed descriptions of the methodology that will be used to answer the evaluation questions, as well as the proposed source of information and data collection procedure. The guide signposts more specialistsources and references, but is mainly interested inequipping practical managers in the developmentsector with enough knowledge to allow them to havemeaningful conversations with technical experts. You can potentially shorten the evaluation timeframe by measuring intermediate outcomes, in cases where theres a well-established link between the intermediate and final outcome. It is a good idea to consider all possible impact evaluation methods and to carefully weigh advantages and disadvantages before making a choice(s). For more information, please seeRunning Randomized Evaluations, Module 4.2:Choosing the Level of Randomization. The scope of the evaluation includes the time period, the geographical and thematic coverage of the evaluation, the target groups and the issues to be considered. COVID-19 Policy Impact Evaluation: A guide to common design issues These as well as other impact evaluation designs used in specialized circumstances are described inImpact Evaluation in Practiceas well as inExperimental and Quasi Experimental Design for Generalized Causal Inference, as well as in other publications in this field. These inquiries must be directly related to the evaluation standards. a)Go back to your search and see if you can find a PDF posted on one of the authors websites authors often share working papers, which might differ only slightly from the final paper, for free on their site. Network is a state and local effort facilitated by the federal government that helps states, utilities, and other local stakeholders take energy efficiency to scale and achieve all cost-effective energy Stay with us as we deep dive into each element of the impact evaluation work plan! In Method 2, we have included a list of non-academic sources to consult. A lot of academic literature is not open access, unfortunately. Retrieved from:https://www.bond.org.uk/resources/impact-evaulation/. For more information on sample size calculations, please refer toJ-PALs guidance on conducting power calculations. Showing that your program works would help you demonstrate to your donors that the funding they provided led to positive impact. A Guide to Longitudinal Program Impact Evaluation - ResearchGate 1. Should we measure intermediate outcomes or final outcomes? Steps 2-7 of this example are specific to locating evidence on the 3ie website, but you can also consider looking for a review byJ-PALorCampbellCollaborationsor theCochrane. it is basically an estimate of what would have happened in the absence of an intervention. There is usually a cut-off point to determine who is eligible to participate. Energy Efficiency Program Impact Evaluation Guide This report provides a guide to evaluating the impact of a project or programme. Start with the3ie Development Evidence Portal, which has compiled over 3,700 evaluations and over 700 systematic evidence reviews.
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