Policy formulation and development projects based on evidence need – drum rolls here – good data. This can be obtained from routine data collection in country-wide surveys and census, from administrative records or from random-sample surveys. The quality of the data is critical in any evaluation effort, and mis-measurement can be a major Achilles’ heel in any statistical … [Read more...] about A top ten list to reduce survey measurement error
Evaluation methods and techniques
A practical guide to evaluate forest conservation policies
The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in its latest State of the World Forests estimates that the rate of deforestation remains “alarmingly high.” In some regions such as Latin America or Africa it averaged 0.5% per year over the last decade. Latin America contains over half (57%) of the world’s primary forests. In the last twenty years, … [Read more...] about A practical guide to evaluate forest conservation policies
Indicators to assess the effectiveness of climate change projects
Determining reasonable indicators for mitigation and adaptation climate change projects is complex. Actions taken now are often designed to have an impact in the uncertain and distant future and may not directly affect climate change, but be taken as a step to prepare for future actions. In addition, there is a spectrum of projects, from the pure climate change-focused … [Read more...] about Indicators to assess the effectiveness of climate change projects
Evaluating the impact of science, technology and innovation programs: a toolkit
As mentioned in a previous blog by my colleague Pablo Ibarrarán, the Office of Strategic Planning and Development Effectiveness of the IDB is publishing impact evaluation guidelines on selected topics and methods. The last publication of this series – Evaluating the Impact of Science, Technology and Innovation Programs: a Methodological (STIP) Toolkit, co-authored by myself, … [Read more...] about Evaluating the impact of science, technology and innovation programs: a toolkit
Impact evaluation, cost effectiveness and cost benefit analysis: back to the future?
In the last decade, attention has increasingly been placed on measuring and establishing the causality of the impact that development projects or interventions – either privately or publicly funded - have on an outcome of interest. In many areas such as health, education and social protection there is an emerging consensus on how to estimate the causal impact of … [Read more...] about Impact evaluation, cost effectiveness and cost benefit analysis: back to the future?