Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Excuses for Not Doing Impact Evaluations

An extract of a recent commentary by William Savedoff of Center for Global Development.



Recently, I was called for advice by someone who will be running a workshop attended by people who implement and evaluate programs. 
She asked me to help her anticipate the main objections raised against doing impact evaluations—evaluations that measure how much of an outcome can be attributed to a specific intervention–and to suggest possible responses.  I realized that five particular objections come up over and over again. 

Objection #1: “We already spend a lot on evaluation”

Objection #2: “Impact evaluation methods can’t be applied in our field”

Objection #3: “Impact evaluations cost too much”

Objection #4: “We know that our programs work so it would be a waste of money”

Objection #5: “Impact evaluations don’t affect policy decisions”
 
See the full expanded argument at this link.

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