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  • Revolutionary Google-backed system unlocks power of big data to save forests

    This blog post from Rhett A Butler for Mongabay.com outlines the use of a new tool, Global Forest Watch, which uses big data to monitor global forests on a monthly basis.  Utilising Google’s computing cloud the tool is able to analyse
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  • Causal Attribution Video

    This video guide, produced by UNICEF, outlines three broad strategies for causal attribution: 1) estimating the counterfactual; 2) checking the consistency of evidence for the causal relationships m
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  • Gender equality and big data: Making gender data visible

    The report from UN Women, with support from UN Global Pulse, outlines the value of big data for monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in relation to women.
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  • Measuring results and impact in the age of big data

    This paper explores the nexus of data science and evaluation, probing the issues and challenges of incorporating big data into evaluation practice. This resource and the following information was contributed by Alice Macfarlan.
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  • Global innovations in measurement and evaluation

    This report by NPC highlights their research into the latest developments in theory and practice in measurement and evaluation. The authors found that new thinking, techniques, and technology are influencing and improving practice.
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  • The IDEAS guide and facilitators' guide

    The IDEAS Guide (Innovating, Designing, Evaluating and Applying to Small-scale projects) is a guide to the design and evaluation of small-scale media and communication projects where evaluation is built into the design of an initiative
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  • Discussion Paper: Innovations in Monitoring and Evaluation

    This discussion paper produced by the United Nations Development Programme discusses various innovations that are occurring in M&E, and the advantages and disadvantages of these methods.
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  • Big data for development: challenges & opportunities

    This white paper by UN Global Pulse examines the use of Big Data in development contexts.
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  • Rethinking Social Inquiry: Diverse Tools, Shared Standards (Second Edition)

    This second edition of Rethinking Social Inquiry has the aim of redirecting ongoing discussions of methodology in social and political science.
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  • Contemporary thinking about causation in evaluation

    This paper was produced following a discussion between Thomas Cook and Michael Scriven held at The Evaluation Center and Western Michigan University’s Interdisciplinary PhD in Evaluation program jointly hosted Evaluation Cafe´ event on
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  • Geospatial analysis in evaluation

    This blog from the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) highlights the role of geospatial data in understanding change in phenomena, and answering questions of relevance and effectiveness of development interventions.
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  • Learning from data innovation

    This episode from the IEG podcast 'What have we learned' features Brenda Barbour and Jos Vaessen discussing the opportunities and challenges of using innovative technologies with evaluation data.
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  • Big data and evaluation: Use and implications

    Big data is emerging as a new world currency.
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  • What about administrative data?

    In this guest blog, Kerry McCarthy discusses some of the options for finding administrative data sets for use in evaluation.
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  • Bradford Hill criteria for causal inference

    Based on a presentation at the 2015 ANZEA Conference, this free downloadable book presents the Bradford Hill criteria and discusses some ways of using them in practice to draw causal conclusions.
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  • The environment and disease: Association or causation?

    In this original article from 1965, Sir Austin Bradford Hill, Professor Emeritus of Medical Statistics, lays out what will ultimately come to be known as the Bradford Hill criteria.
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  • Environmental flows monitoring and assessment framework

    This resource from the Cooperative Research Centre for Freshwater Ecology provides a framework for assessing environmental flow management plans.
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  • Digital dividends in natural resource management

    The report sets out research findings on the "digital dividends" of various types of technology on natural resource management in low and middle-income countries.
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  • Six Thinking Hats

    This webpage from De Bono Consulting provides an overview of the six thinking hats and includes a range of free resources including guides and videos.
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  • Guidance on M&E for civil society programs

    This guide from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT, formerly AusAID) is aimed at program managers who have responsibility for
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  • The logical framework approach

    This publication is part of a series of guidelines developed by AusAid in relation to activities design.
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  • Open space

    Open Space Technology (OST) is a group facilitation approach for small and large gatherings in which a central purpose, issue, or task is addressed, but which begins with a purposeful lack of any formal initial agenda.
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  • Formal meeting processes

    Studies have demonstrated that attendance at meetings and conferences, planning discussions within the project related to use of the program evaluation, and participation in data collection foster feelings of evaluation involvement among st
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  • Six thinking hats

    The Six Thinking Hats method encourages participants to cycle through six different ways of thinking, using the metaphor of wearing different conceptual “hats”.
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  • World cafe

    The world café is a methodology for hosting group dialogue which emphasizes the power of simple conversation in considering relevant questions and themes.
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  • Making causal claims

    This brief, authored by John Mayne for the Institutional Learning and Change (ILAC) Initiative argues the need for a different perspective on causality.
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  • Tools for knowledge and learning: A guide for development and humanitarian organisations

    This tool kit presents entry points and references to the wide range of tools and methods that have been used to facilitate improved knowledge and learning in the development and humanitarian sectors.
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  • Impact evaluation: A guide for commissioners and managers

    This guide, written by Elliot Stern, aims to support managers and commissioners in gaining a deeper and broader understanding of impact evaluation.
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  • CEDIL Methods Brief - Using big data for impact evaluations

    This paper provides detailed guidance on using big data to fill data gaps in impact evaluations.
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  • The rigor of case-based causal analysis: Busting myths through a demonstration

    This paper focuses on the utilisation of case-based designs for conducting causal analysis and dispelling two misconceptions about their use in the context of evaluation.
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  • UNICEF webinar: Overview: strategies for causal inference

    What is causal attribution? Do you need a counterfactual to determine if something has caused a change? Professor Patricia Rogers provides an overview of how to determine causal attribution in impact evaluations.
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  • Monitoring and evaluation for thinking and working politically

    This article explores the challenges of monitoring and evaluating politically informed and adaptive programmes in the international development field. Authors Thomas Aston, Chris Roche, Marta Schaaf & Sue Cant.
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