A Practical Guide To Outcome Evaluation

This practical handbook on how to evaluate outcomes in people-orientated projects will support decision making and lead to achieving goals.

*Highly Commended in the Health and Social Care category of the 2011 BMA Medical Book Awards* For those involved in commissioning and running projects working with people, measuring performance and assessing outcomes are an essential part of applying for and maintaining funding, and a way of demonstrating the project's achievements. This versatile 'how to' book guides you through the process of evaluating your project in order to improve funding applications and build the case for your project's survival. The guidance in this book will help you to set out what the aims and projected outcomes of your project are, how these will be achieved, and shows you how to capture evidence for outcomes. To cater for readers working in different settings, a broad range of case examples is used including youth groups with at-risk young people, a refuge for women who have suffered domestic violence, a road safety education programme and midwives encouraging new mothers to stop smoking. The book also includes a host of practical features designed to provide a deeper understanding of the subject, including activities, reflective tools, and a glossary of key terms. A Practical Guide to Outcome Evaluation will help to ensure the success of projects that make a difference to people's lives, and will be an essential reference for managers and practitioners working in people-orientated professions including social work, health, teaching, youth work, criminal justice, the arts and the emergency services.

Impact evaluation is an empirical approach to estimating the causal effects of interventions, in terms of both magnitude and statistical significance. Expanded use of impact evaluation techniques is critical to rigorously derive knowledge from development operations and for development investments and policies to become more evidence-based and effective. To help backstop more use of impact evaluation approaches, this book introduces core concepts, methods, and considerations for planning, designing, managing, and implementing impact evaluation, supplemented by examples. The topics covered range from impact evaluation purposes to basic principles, specific methodologies, and guidance on field implementation. It has materials for a range of audiences, from those who are interested in understanding evidence on "what works" in development, to those who will contribute to expanding the evidence base as applied researchers.

The second edition of the Impact Evaluation in Practice handbook is a comprehensive and accessible introduction to impact evaluation for policy makers and development practitioners. First published in 2011, it has been used widely across the development and academic communities. The book incorporates real-world examples to present practical guidelines for designing and implementing impact evaluations. Readers will gain an understanding of impact evaluations and the best ways to use them to design evidence-based policies and programs. The updated version covers the newest techniques for evaluating programs and includes state-of-the-art implementation advice, as well as an expanded set of examples and case studies that draw on recent development challenges. It also includes new material on research ethics and partnerships to conduct impact evaluation. The handbook is divided into four sections: Part One discusses what to evaluate and why; Part Two presents the main impact evaluation methods; Part Three addresses how to manage impact evaluations; Part Four reviews impact evaluation sampling and data collection. Case studies illustrate different applications of impact evaluations. The book links to complementary instructional material available online, including an applied case as well as questions and answers. The updated second edition will be a valuable resource for the international development community, universities, and policy makers looking to build better evidence around what works in development.

This book is an accessible, contemporary, and comprehensive guide to the concepts and practice of evaluation. Authors Gail Vallance Barrington and Beverly Triana-Tremain integrate new approaches and concerns, and classic frameworks with practical tools that readers can use to design evaluation studies. They show how evaluators measure whether the planned and implemented interventions or services are achieving their goals and objectives, while focusing on the questions most important to the community and organizations in which the evaluation takes place. The book stresses the role of critical and evaluative thinking, as well as self-reflection, and demonstrates the importance of context and equity in today’s turbulent environment, offering a new stance for evaluators to support global as well as local issues.

This book provides a comprehensive yet accessible guide to running randomized impact evaluations of social programs. Drawing on the experience of researchers at the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, which has run hundreds of such evaluations in dozens of countries throughout the world, it offers practical insights on how to use this powerful technique, especially in resource-poor environments. This step-by-step guide explains why and when randomized evaluations are useful, in what situations they should be used, and how to prioritize different evaluation opportunities. It shows how to design and analyze studies that answer important questions while respecting the constraints of those working on and benefiting from the program being evaluated. The book gives concrete tips on issues such as improving the quality of a study despite tight budget constraints, and demonstrates how the results of randomized impact evaluations can inform policy. With its self-contained modules, this one-of-a-kind guide is easy to navigate. It also includes invaluable references and a checklist of the common pitfalls to avoid. Provides the most up-to-date guide to running randomized evaluations of social programs, especially in developing countries Offers practical tips on how to complete high-quality studies in even the most challenging environments Self-contained modules allow for easy reference and flexible teaching and learning Comprehensive yet nontechnical

This report provides an overview of strategic compliance approaches for measuring tax compliance outcomes and the effectiveness of compliance activities designed to prevent non-compliance.