Impact Evaluation for Evidence-Based Policy in Development Short Course

Given the need for policy makers, programme implementing and funding organisations to justify their choice of social and economic interventions, it has become increasingly important to use ‘evidence-based’ criteria to decide what kind of programmes work, how, for whom, in what circumstances and at what cost. Much evidence is quantitative in nature and this course aims to equip those working in governments, funding agencies, research and non-government organisations to understand, critique and make effective use of such evidence. The course aims to address an important prerequisite for incorporating IE into programme design: a theoretical and practical understanding of IE approaches to enable selection of appropriate methodologies, coupled with careful appraisal of the resulting evidence. Thus, participants will be introduced to current quantitative as well as qualitative evaluation techniques for impact evaluation and gain critical understanding of the roles they can play in the design and assessment of public policy and development interventions.