How do you know whether a project, programme or policy has been effective, and whether it has contributed to the results it set out to achieve? A good evaluation is not only a technical research exercise. It is a management and learning instrument that helps commissioners, policy officers and implementing partners make better decisions, account for results, and steer towards greater impact.
This masterclass focuses on what you need to know to commission, guide and use evaluations with confidence. We will look at how to clarify the purpose of an evaluation, formulate useful evaluation questions, assess whether a proposed design is fit for purpose, and recognise what good-quality evaluation evidence looks like. We will also discuss how evaluations can be planned and managed so that findings are timely, credible and useful for programme steering, policy development and partner learning.
Using real-life examples, participants will work with practical evaluation choices that often arise in complex programmes: when to evaluate, what questions to ask, how to assess contribution to change, how to judge methodological quality, and how to translate findings into decisions and follow-up.
By the end of this masterclass, you will:
- Understand the different purposes of evaluations, including accountability, learning, steering and policy improvement
- Know how to commission and guide evaluations that are feasible, credible and fit for purpose
- Be able to assess whether evaluation questions, criteria and methods are appropriate for the object being evaluated
- Recognise common quality risks in evaluation design, implementation and reporting
- Understand how to use evaluation findings for management decisions, partner dialogue and programme or policy adaptation