Evaluation Gap update
January 2006
In this issue:
Last chance to comment on CGD consultation draft
The consultation phase for the Evaluation Gap report will end on January 31, 2006. Take our 10-minute survey or comment on our proposal to help improve the final report, due out later this year.
Working Group members publish important paper on evaluation research
Cesar Victor and Jean-Pierre Habicht, members of the Evaluation Gap Working Group, authored articles on the recent multi-country evaluations of Integrated-Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) in Health Policy and Planning. "Ten methodological lessons from the Multi-Country Evaluation of Integrated Management of Childhood Illness," draws upon lessons learned through working group discussions. This paper describes key methodological aspects of the Multi-Country Evaluation of the IMCI strategy and analyzes its implications for other public health impact evaluations. Findings indicate that large-scale effectiveness evaluations present challenges that have not been fully addressed in the literature. This suggests a need to focus global attention on producing more and better impact evaluations of new global health strategies.
Lancet article calls for improved impact evaluations of HIV/AIDS programs
The Lancet article, Scaling up HIV/AIDS Evaluation notes that despite the billions of dollars that have already been allocated to global HIV/AIDS programs such as the Global Fund, the World Bank’s MAP program, and PEPFAR, "remarkably little attention has been paid to longer term, fundamental evaluation questions, and how to go about answering them." After identifying the many constraints to producing better impact evaluation, the article puts forth this recommendation: "Mechanisms to support the independence of assessments could include the establishment of an intermediate partner (such as a small independent secretariat, perhaps located in a multilateral agency) to act as a buffer and support implementation; and direct funding from a consortium of the main donors currently supporting the global HIV/AIDS initiatives, to countries or the secretariat." Questions about what works in HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs are exactly the sort that CGD hopes a new, independent impact evaluation facility will address. The Center for Global Development is hosting an event on January 23 in Washington to share information about how current HIV/AIDS initiatives are being evaluated. One question that panelists will address is whether and how evaluations of the Global Fund, the World Bank's MAP program, and PEPFAR are examining the on-the-ground impact of the interventions being supported.
World Bank making strides in impact evaluation
To overcome bottlenecks limiting the World Bank's ability to conduct impact evaluations, the World Bank Chief Economist has initiated the Development IMpact Evaluation Initiative (DIME) to increase the number of Bank projects with impact evaluation components, increase the ability of staff to design and carry out such evaluations, and build a process of systematic learning on effective development interventions based on lessons learned from completed evaluations. Under this initiative, several new impact evaluations are already underway. Completed impact evaluations as well as tools on how to produce them are available on the World Bank website.
What's next for the Evaluation Gap initiative
Stay tuned for the next E-update, which will feature results of the online survey. Input from the survey as well as all other feedback from our consultations will be considered as the report is revised into final form. The Working Group will aim to issue a consensus document by May 2006. CGD is continuing its outreach to those who produce and use impact evaluations, particularly in developing countries. A meeting in Mexico in February will seek feedback from technical experts and policy leaders in the Latin American region, with a special focus on the optimal role of developing countries in the proposed impact evaluation facility. Similar regional meetings in Africa and Asia are tentatively scheduled for later in the Spring. A consultation at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in March will solicit further input from European experts.
If you have news or highlights for future mailings, please send them to Jessica Gottlieb (jgottlieb@cgdev.org). If you do not want to receive similar updates in the future, please use the unsubscribe function below.
Thanks and regards,
Ruth Levine
Director of Programs and Senior Fellow
Center for Global Development
