52 weeks of BetterEvaluation: Week 41: Recommended content from the BetterEvaluation community
You'll find hundreds of evaluation resources on the BetterEvaluation site. Some have come from recommendations by stewards. Some have come from our writeshop project or design clinics. And there are great resources that have been recommended by BetterEvaluation users. This week we are highlighting some of these user-recommended resources, how you can find the latest new material, and how you tell us your recommendations.
You'll find hundreds of evaluation resources on the BetterEvaluation site. Some have come from recommendations by stewards. Some have come from our writeshop project or design clinics. And there are great resources that have been recommended by BetterEvaluation users. This week we are highlighting some of these user-recommended resources, how you can find the latest new material, and how you tell us your recommendations.
Participatory evaluation
You can find information about participatory evaluation on the BetterEvaluation site on an approach page (an evaluation approach is a combination of methods or options across tasks) and on the task page Decide Who Will Conduct the Evaluation.
This manual from Care International, provides detailed guidance on the use of a Monitoring, Evaluation, Reflection & Learning (MERL) tool primarily intended to support adaptive decision-making in communities vulnerable to climate change. (Resource recommended by: Aarjan Dixit, Care International, Nepal)
Innovations
This discussion paper, written by Thomas Winderl for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) provides a detailed inventory of innovative practices used for monitoring and evaluation in a development context, (Resource recommended by: Thomas Winderl, Austria)
Addressing complexity in evaluation
In response to our 52 weeks blog post on Addressing complexity in evaluation, arising from sessions at the Community of Evaluators Evaluation Conclave, David Roberts, Australia, suggested the following three resources:
- Evaluating Social Innovation, Hallie Preskill and Tanya Beer
- Evaluation in the Face of Uncertainty: Anticipating Surprise and Responding to the Inevitable by Jonathan Morell
- Using Programme Theory to Evaluate Complicated and Complex Aspects of Programmes, by Patricia Rogers
Social Network Analysis
In response to our blog post on Using Social Network Analysis, Mary Ann Durland, USA, suggested the website of the American Evaluation Association Topical Interest Group on Social Network Analysis and Will Allen, Australia, suggested Rick Davies’ paper The Use of Social Network Analysis Tools in the Evaluation of Social Change Communications.
Theory of change/program theory
You can find information about different ways of developing a theory of change on the task page ”Develop program theory/logic model” where you will also find links to information about different options for developing program theory (including backcasting) and for representing program theory (including logframes, results chains, outcomes hierarchies and realist matrices).
This report, commissioned by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) and authored by Isabel Voge, reviews how theory of change is being used in the international development context and in doing so identify consensus, debate and innovation in order to develop a more consistent approach to its use. (Resource recommended by Jesse Atkinson, IFAD, USA).
We are very keen to include resources in different languages such as these recommended by Glauco da Costa Knopp, Brazil:
Este documento apresenta uma descrição do modelo logico, sua aplicabilidade, e como desenvolver um modelo logico com a finalidade de aperfeiçoar programas e projetos.
Este documento narra as experiencias pessoas do coordenador de uma avaliação de um projeto educacional. O autor descreve as etapas do processo de avaliação, investigando as mudanças que o projeto trouxe aos alunos, e as metodologias usadas.
And, we also added an interesting resource received through our own professional network:
Evaluability assessment
You can find information on Evaluability Assessment under the “Themes” section of the BE site. Several resources (guides, websites, tools) are provided including this recent one:
This report presents a synthesis of the literature on Evaluability Assessments. The main focus of the synthesis is on the experience of international agencies and on recommendations relevant to their field of work.
Thank you to all the members, users and partners for bringing to our attention these and other useful guides, tools, websites and educational opportunities to add to the site.
How to suggest/recommend content
BetterEvaluation members can recommend content using the Contribute Content form.
It's also available in the title bar of option, approach, and theme pages:
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Checking out the newest material
Our newsletter (which comes out every two weeks) highlights recent material. You can also check the latest resources that have been added by viewing our new material page.
