Evaluation syntheses are analytic reviews of evaluations that aggregate findings from evaluation reports and/or examine the quality of the evaluations reviewed. This Discussion Note, Making Evidence Accessible through Evaluation Synthesis, focuses on two common types of evaluation syntheses that USAID commissions:...
This resource, part of the context-driven adaptation collection (see https://usaidlearninglab.org/context-driven-adaptation-overview), provides tips on how to enable context-driven adaptation, or thinking and working politically (TWP), within a USAID strategy. It also relates TWP to the journey to self-reliance. As...
The engagement grid below outlines a variety of approaches to conducting learning activities to help answer learning questions. Often, we rely on approaches that we have used in the past without pausing to reflect on whether those approaches are the best fit given our learning questions. This grid is intended for use by...
This checklist is intended for use by USAID and implementing partner staff when developing or reviewing learning questions during monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) planning processes. It can be used to assess the appropriateness of each learning question based on utility, focus, feasibility, and inclusivity....
CLA and Developmental Evaluations
A Discussion Note introducing the concepts of complexity and its relation to USAID programming. The paper outline five complexity-aware monitoring methods
These core resources accompany "Thinking and Working Politically through Applied PEA: A Guide for Practitioners" providing tools needed to plan and support PEA/TWP efforts.
The "Systems and Complexity White Paper" is a how-to manual for USAID missions, operating units and partners on the application of systemic design, monitoring & evaluation practices into international development programming.
Missions and Washington OUs must ensure that USAID implementing partners submit datasets—and supporting documentation such as code books, data dictionaries, scope, and methodology used to collect and analyze the data—compiled under USAID-funded evaluations to the Development Data Library (see ADS 579 and Frequently...
When asked about barriers to evaluation quality and use, USAID staff often cite instances when the evaluation took place at the wrong time, focused on the wrong questions, or failed to engage stakeholders from the beginning.
