Quotes

There is increasing frustration among us in developing countries about the prescriptive 'fads' about what works and what improves the quality of life for all people sustainably.
- Timothy Thahane, Minister of Finance, Lesotho

We have a moral obligation to help others and a moral duty to make sure our actions are effective.
- President Bush to the 2005 UN General Assembly

The overall record of the Africa MAP [Multi-sectoral AIDS Program] in implementing strong M&E to improve 'learning by doing' is weak, similar to the M&E record of the portfolio of completed HIV/AIDS projects…To be effective, the [World] Bank will need to focus on greater use of information and evaluation, helping governments to link decisions to evidence and to assess alternatives and set priorities.
- World Bank "Committing to Results: Improving the Effectiveness of HIV/AIDS Assistance"

In my eyes, Americans as well as other tax payers are quite ready to show more generosity. But one must convince them that their generosity will bear fruit, that there will be results.
- Paul Wolfowitz

Aid evaluation plays an essential role in the efforts to enhance the quality of development co-operation.
- OECD/DAC "Principles for Evaluation of Development Assistance"

We urge the MDBs to continue to increase their collaboration and the effectiveness of their assistance, including through increased priority on improving governance in recipient countries, an enhanced focus on measurable results, and greater transparency in program decisions.
- G7 Finance Ministers, Nova Scotia, June 20, 2002

In particular, there is a need for the multilateral and bilateral financial and development institutions to intensify efforts to . . . [i]mprove ODA targeting to the poor, coordination of aid and measurement of results.
- Monterrey Consensus

This element of the compact will lead us to focus on results and outcomes in a partnership manner. It's not icing on the cake.
- Jean-Claude Faure

As long as we are willing to continue investing in experimentation, research, and evaluation and build on this knowledge base, we will be able to meet the development challenge.
- Nicholas Stern

[Evaluation] is not a field where Say’s Law obtains: evaluation supply does not generate its own demand. Evaluation is perennially embattled and subject to capture even in countries and organizations where it has had a long history.
- Robert Picciotto

The hardest part of any evaluation is how to quantify the counterfactual. Any retrospective evaluation involves asking whether one could have achieved better results if one had done it some other way, and it is obviously very difficult to be sure of what would have been the outcome of an alternative strategy.
- Montek Ahluwalia

Congress needs full and complete information on inputs and outcomes…We need to know with full candor what works.
- Rep. Jim Kolbe

[We] would like to see evidence of what works before making new commitments.
- Paul O’Neill

The Development Committee recognizes the need to increase its focus on performance by ensuring that development results are reviewed through clear and measurable indicators.
- Trevor Manuel

Success depends on knowing what works.
- Bill Gates at the Live 8 concert in London