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Democratic Evaluation is an approach where the aim of the evaluation is to serve the whole community. This allows people to be informed of what others are doing and sees the evaluator as someone who brokers the process. It generally focuses on inclusive practices which foster participation and collaboration. However it is also used as a means of ensuring public accountability and transparency.

Developmental Evaluation (DE) is an evaluation approach that can assist social innovators develop social change initiatives in complex or uncertain environments. DE originators liken their approach to the role of research & development in the private sector product development process because it facilitates real-time, or close to real-time, feedback to program staff thus facilitating a continuous development loop. Michael Quinn Patton is careful to describe this approach as one choice that...

Empowerment Evaluation is an approach which provides communities with the tools and knowledge that allows them to monitor and evaluate their own performance. First developed by David Fetterman who describe it as “the use of evaluation concepts, techniques, and findings to foster improvement and self-determination.”

Horizontal evaluation is an approach that combines self-assessment by local participants and external review by peers. Originally developed to evaluate new methodologies for agricultural research and development, horizontal evaluation has wider potential for application. In its original setting, the focus of horizontal evaluation is the actual R&D methodology itself rather than the project per se or the team or organisation that developed it

Preparing an ‘innovation history’ is an option for recording and reflecting on an innovation process. People who have been involved in the innovation jointly construct a detailed written account (sometimes referred to as a ‘learning history’) based on their recollections and on available documents. The process of preparing this history stimulates discussion, reflection and learning among stakeholders. Subsequent planning drawing on the innovation history, can (i) build on the lessons...

An institutional history (IH) is a narrative that records key points about how institutional arrangements – new ways of working – have evolved over time and have created and contributed to more effective ways to achieve project or programme goals. An IH is generated and recorded in a collaborative way by scientists, farmers and other stakeholders. A key intention behind institutional histories is to introduce institutional factors into the legitimate narrative of success and failure in...

The Most Significant Change (MSC) approach involves generating and analysing personal accounts of change and deciding which of these accounts is the most significant – and why. The are three basic steps in using MSC: Deciding the types of stories that should be collected (stories about what - for example, about practice change or health outcomes or empowerment) Collecting the stories and determining which stories are the most significant Sharing the stories and discussion of values with...

Outcome mapping (OM) is a methodology for planning, monitoring and evaluating development initiatives in order to bring about sustainable social change. As the name suggests, its niche is understanding outcomes; the so-called ‘missing-middle’ or ‘black box’ of results that emerge downstream from the initiative’s activities but upstream from longer-term economic, environmental, political or demographic changes. At the planning stage, the process of outcome mapping helps a project team or...

Participatory evaluation is an approach that involves the stakeholders of a programme or policy in the evaluation process. This involvement can occur at any stage of the evaluation process, from the evaluation design to the data collection and analysis and the reporting of the study. A participatory approach can be taken with any impact evaluation design, and with quantitative and qualitative data. However, the type and level of stakeholder involvement will necessarily vary between different...

"Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) recently renamed Participatory Learning for Action (PLA), is a methodological approach that is used to enable farmers to analyse their own situation and to develop a common perspective on natural resource management and agriculture at village level. PRA is an assessment and learning process that empowers farmers to create the information base they need for participatory planning and action. Outsiders contribute facilitation skills and external...

Positive Deviance (PD) refers to a behavioral and social change approach which is premised on the observation that in any context, certain individuals confronting similar challenges, constraints, and resource deprivations to their peers, will nonetheless employ uncommon but successful behaviors or strategies which enable them to find better solutions. Through the study of these individuals– subjects referred to as “positive deviants” - the PD approach suggests that innovative solutions to...

The QUIP sets out to generate differentiated evidence of impact based on narrative causal statements elicited directly from intended project beneficiaries without use of a control group. Evidence of attribution is sought through respondents’ own accounts of causal mechanisms linking X to Y alongside Z rather than by relying on statistical inference based on variable exposure to X. This narrative data is intended to complement quantitative evidence on changes in X, Y and Z obtained through routine project monitoring.

Randomised controlled trials (RCTs), or randomised impact evaluations, are a type of impact evaluation which uses randomised access to social programmes as a means of limiting bias and generating an internally valid impact estimate.

Realist evaluation is a form of theory-driven evaluation, but is set apart by its explicit philosophical underpinnings. Pawson and Tilley (1997) developed the first realist evaluation approach, although other interpretations have been developed since. Pawson and Tilley argued that in order to be useful for decision makers, evaluations need to identify ‘what works in which circumstances and for whom?’, rather than merely ‘does it work?. The complete realist question is: “What works, for...

Social Return on Investment (SROI) is a systematic way of incorporating social, environmental, economic and other values into decision-making processes. By helping reveal the economic value of social and environmental outcomes it creates a holistic perspective on whether a development project or social business or enterprise is beneficial and profitable. This perspective opens up new opportunities and forms the basis for innovative initiatives that genuinely contribute to positive social...

The Success Case Method (SCM) involves identifying the most and least successful cases in a program and examining them in detail. This approach was developed by Robert Brinkerhoff to assess the impact of organizational interventions, such as training and coaching, though the use of SCM is not limited to this context. It is a useful approach to document stories of impact and to develop an understanding of the factors that enhance or impede impact. The Success Case Method deliberately looks...

There are a number of options when it comes to using software to help create a logic model. These range from generic word processing tools (Word, Powerpoint, or their Google Doc or Mac equivalents), to software that has been specifically tailored for visualising Theories of Change, like TOCO or Miradi. You should consider what resources you have to invest in software, both in terms of cost and in time to learn and use the features. If you only have a short timeframe and have simple needs,...

Utilization-Focused Evaluation (UFE), developed by Michael Quinn Patton, is an approach based on the principle that an evaluation should be judged on its usefulness to its intended users. Therefore evaluations should be planned and conducted in ways that enhance the likely utilization of both the findings and of the process itself to inform decisions and improve performance.

We recently wrote about how the data for development community needs to take a more context aware, demand-driven approach to data. Applying theories of change...

The UNDP has been exploring new approaches to M&E to better understand and address complex systems challenges. Traditional linear project-based planning and evaluation methods are insufficient for dealing with the unpredictable nature of such systems. The UNDP’s new Strategic Plan calls for a shift in M&E practices to align with the complexity of today’s global challenges. Key points from the blog post include: Learning and Adapting: There’s a need for continuous learning and adaptation in...