Evaluation Gap update
March 2006
In this issue:
Results from CGD Consultation and Survey
Since September 2005 CGD has been in the process of consulting a large group of diverse stakeholders to get feedback on its consultation draft report. An online survey with 61 respondents (out of over 500 recipients) asked specific questions relating to impact evaluation and the proposal for an independent, collective evaluation facility (read the results pdf). CGD also solicited feedback from 100 individuals via meetings in London, Washington, DC, Los Angeles and Menlo Park, California; in-person interviews; phone calls; and e-mail. Read a brief summary of the feedback (pdf). Input is being considered by the working group in drafting the final report to be launched in May 2006 via this listserve and at a public event in Washington, DC.
Latin American Leaders Consulted on Impact Evaluation
On February 9-10, CGD staff traveled to Mexico City to meet with policymakers and researchers from Latin America to hear their perspectives on the observed gap in impact evaluation. Read this Q&A to find out what was learned at these meetings. In addition to confirming that the demand for more and better impact evaluation exists within Latin American governments and among thought leaders, participants at the meeting articulated a set of principles as a guide to action in a signed communiqué (pdf ).
Ruth Levine Testifies on Impact Evaluation before US Congress
On March 28, Ruth Levine testified before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee about the ability of multilateral development banks to improve effectiveness of their programs through a stronger commitment to independent, high-quality impact evaluation. Testimony by other witnesses, including US Executive Director of the African Development Bank, Ambassador Cynthia Perry; New York University Professor, Bill Easterly; and Carnegie Mellon University Professor, Adam Lerrick also highlighted the challenges of undertaking evaluations within development banks and other development agencies, and reinforced the value of independence. Senator Richard Lugar chaired the hearing and was interested in learning how Congress could support an initiative to improve development effectiveness through independent evaluation.
Bill Easterly's New Book Highlights Need for Independent Evaluation
Bill Easterly spoke at a CGD event last week, and urged independent evaluation of foreign aid to provide donors and other stakeholders with feedback – a key element of aid effectiveness that he believes is missing today. In his new book, The White Man's Burden: Why The West’s Efforts To Aid The Rest Have Done So Much Ill And So Little Good, Easterly calls for aid agencies to establish mechanisms for independent scientific evaluation of their efforts.
DAC's Development Cooperation Report Calls for Improved Impact Evaluation
The Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD recently released its 2005 Development Cooperation Report. The overview chapter by DAC Chair, Richard Manning, calls for improved impact evaluation: “There is a need to bring together good practice from developing countries and the donor community in several linked areas, such as better statistics for policymakers, more and better impact evaluations and more high-quality performance assessment frameworks in developing countries, in line with the target set under the Paris Declaration. This is crucial if we are to be better able to account for the effectiveness of the development effort by the time of the next five-year review of progress towards the MDGs in 2010.” Manning also says that evaluations “should be at least as important for the recipient as for the donor” as was demonstrated by the much-cited evaluation of the Progresa program in Mexico.
Next Steps for the Evaluation Gap Initiative
CGD will convene two more consultations, in India (April 7) and South Africa (May 18-19), to learn more about demand for impact evaluations in developing countries, solicit ideas for how developing countries can assume a central role in an international initiative, and to receive further feedback on the Evaluation Gap initiative. Other consultation and dissemination activities are being planned over the next several months.
Additional Resources on the Evaluation Gap
- In January 2006, the Coalition on Evidence-Based Policy launched a "Help Desk" for the US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and other federal agencies. The Help Desk is an easy-to-use resource that these agencies can use to advance (i) rigorous evaluations and (ii) the effective use of rigorous evidence in policymaking.
- J-PAL Researcher, Ben Olken, recently completed a paper documenting evidence from a randomized field experiment in Indonesia that examined different approaches to addressing corruption. A commentary (pdf) of his work is also featured in the Economist.
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