STRENGTHENING EVIDENCE-BASED DEVELOPMENT

INTRODUCTION
With the release of the Evaluation Policy in 2011, the U.S. Agency for International
Development (USAID) made an ambitious commitment to building an evaluation
practice that values good planning and design, independent judgment, high-quality
methods and evidence-based findings for what is and is not working in USAID
programs. USAID’s Evaluation Policy has served as a model for other agencies,
and external organizations have credited USAID for having one of the most
comprehensive policies on evaluation of any federal agency. USAID takes an
ongoing learning approach to evaluation, and the Agency is continuing to improve
evaluation quality and ensure that information from evaluation findings is used to
inform decisions and improve programs.
Doing Development Better: Evaluation Contributes
to Better Development Outcomes
Relevant and high-quality evaluation is an important tool to track the results,
effectiveness and impact of international development programs. Evaluation can help
explain why programs are succeeding or failing and can provide recommendations
for how best to adapt to improve performance. Along with monitoring, evaluation
contributes evidence to improve strategic planning, project design and resource
decisions, and evaluations are part of a greater body of knowledge and learning.
Evaluation is not a silver bullet, but without it managers may not have sufficient
evidence to understand potential reasons why a program is exceeding, meeting
or falling short of performance expectations. Without independent and
transparent evaluation, stakeholders may lose confidence in a program’s ability
to achieve results. And without relevant evaluations, project designers and
strategic planners may lack the necessary information to inform what works
best for future interventions.
USAID Is Viewed as a Leader
in Evaluation Standards among
Federal Agencies
• The Government Accountability
Office (GAO) cited USAID’s
Evaluation Policy as an example
among federal agencies in its
November 13, 2014, report:
Program Evaluation: Some Agencies
Reported that Networking, Hiring,
and Involving Program Staff Help
Build Capacity (GAO-15-25).
• In the American Evaluation
Association’s (AEA) April 2011
newsletter, a consultant to the AEA
Evaluation Policy Task Force wrote
about USAID’s Evaluation Policy
saying, “… what USAID has done
here could well serve as a model
for what other federal agencies
might do.”
• The Department of State modeled
its 2012 Program Evaluation Policy
on USAID’s Evaluation Policy,
adopting much of the language on
purposes, methods and standards
for evaluation.
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PHOTO: AMOS GUMULIRA / FEED THE CHILDREN