What are the best strategies for using program evaluation to improve economic development?

1 Define your evaluation purpose and questions

Before you start your evaluation, you need to have a clear idea of why you are doing it and what you want to learn from it. Your evaluation purpose and questions should align with your program goals, objectives, and indicators. For example, if your program aims to increase the income and employment of rural women, your evaluation purpose could be to measure the impact of your program on their livelihoods and empowerment. Your evaluation questions could be: How has the program affected the income and employment of rural women? What are the factors that enable or hinder their participation and success in the program? How has the program influenced their empowerment and agency?

2 Choose your evaluation design and methods

Your evaluation design and methods should match your evaluation purpose and questions, as well as your resources, time, and context. Your evaluation design refers to the overall plan or framework for collecting and analyzing data. Your evaluation methods refer to the specific tools or techniques for gathering and interpreting data. For example, if you want to measure the impact of your program, you could use an experimental or quasi-experimental design that compares the outcomes of your program participants with a control or comparison group. Your evaluation methods could include surveys, interviews, focus groups, observations, or case studies.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?