"The evaluations point to several dimensions of the strategic significance of joint work. Programmatically, joint programmes enable a more multidimensional and holistic approach to addressing gender inequality. They enhance the catalytic role of the UN by increasing the visibility of and advocacy on
...
gender issues in national and global agendas. Normatively, they forge new partnerships for gender equality and combine the comparative advantages of multiple agencies in technical expertise and stakeholder networks. Operationally, they can enhance the effectiveness of intervention implementation by reducing duplication of efforts and ensuring a more efficient use of resources across UN agencies, although typically with a sizable increase in transaction costs in terms of human labour for coordination and communication for technical coherence and governance structures such as steering committees. The results of programming were typically measured in outputs rather than outcomes or impact, though inter-agency programmes for SDG 5 reported considerable accomplishments in multisectoral reach to beneficiaries and knowledge production." (Page 1)
more
"Sections of the book engage in critical reflection on what peacebuilding effectiveness is and who gets to decide, provide practical examples and case studies of the successes and failures of assessing peacebuilding work, and support innovative strategies and tools to move the field forward. Chapter
...
s reflect a variety of perspectives on peacebuilding effectiveness and methods—quantitative, qualitative, and participatory—to evaluate peacebuilding efforts, with particular attention to approaches that center those local to the peacebuilding process. Practitioners and policymakers alike will find useful arguments and approaches for evaluating peacebuilding activities and making the case for funding such efforts." (Publisher description)
more
"The 2023 Synthesis of UNESCO evaluations draws on information contained in 36 evaluations – five corporate and 31 decentralized evaluations. The analysis shows that the Organization is making good progress in a range of areas including demonstrating a sharper focus on SDGs, developing fast as an
...
agile, flexible, learning Organization, reimagining its convening power and influence, and deepening and diversifying partnerships. Good progress was also noted with sixty-one percent of the evaluations considered covering programmes and projects that respond to Global Priority Africa, focused entirely or in some part on the continent, and spread across all areas of UNESCO’s mandate. The 2023 Synthesis also identifies areas of improvement particularly with respect to quality and use of monitoring data, continued attention to Global Priority Gender Equality, focus on priority groups and inclusion and improving internal coherence. The Management Response to these issues can be found in Appendix 4 of this report and demonstrates UNESCO’s commitment to accountability and learning. The Synthesis also assessed the quality of evaluations, and the findings show improvement in this regard particularly with respect to decentralized evaluation reports. Targeted capacity building and ongoing backstopping support including webinars and on-site capacity building in field offices continue to make an important contribution to lifting the quality of evaluation practice. The Synthesis also notes the emergence of innovative practices to inspire evaluation commissioners and practitioners when thinking about design and implementation of evaluations." (Abstract)
more
"This meta-synthesis collates evaluation insights and evidence on the advocacy and communications efforts related to the key results areas of UN Women’s Strategic Plan: Governance and Participation in Public Life; Women’s Economic Empowerment; Ending Violence Against Women; and Women, Peace and
...
Security, Humanitarian Action and Disaster Risk Reduction. Based on available
evaluation evidence, the report outlines key results, trends,
enabling factors, impediments and lessons learned with a
geographic and thematic focus." (Page vi)
more
"This systematic review examines the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of community engagement interventions on outcomes related to childhood immunisation in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and identifies contextual, design and implementation features that may be associated with effectiv
...
eness. We identified 61 quantitative and mixed methods impact evaluations and 47 associated qualitative studies related to community engagement interventions for inclusion in the review. For cost-effectiveness analysis 14 of the 61 studies had the needed combination of cost and effectiveness data. The 61 included impact evaluations were concentrated in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa and spread across 19 LMICs. The review found that community engagement interventions had a small but significant, positive effect on all primary immunisation outcomes related to coverage and their timeliness. The findings are robust to exclusion of studies assessed as high risk of bias. Qualitative evidence indicates appropriate intervention design, including building in community engagement features; addressing common contextual barriers of immunisation and leveraging facilitators; and accounting for existing implementation constraints and practicalities on the ground are consistently cited as reasons for intervention success." (Abstract)
more
"Despite the large number of studies on fake news detection, they have not yet been combined to offer coherent insight on trends and advancements in this domain. Hence, the primary objective of this study was to fill this knowledge gap. The method for selecting the pertinent articles for extraction
...
was created using the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA). This study reviewed deep learning, machine learning, and ensemble-based fake news detection methods by a meta-analysis of 125 studies to aggregate their results quantitatively. The meta-analysis primarily focused on statistics and the quantitative analysis of data from numerous separate primary investigations to identify overall trends. The results of the meta-analysis were reported by the spatial distribution, the approaches adopted, the sample size, and the performance of methods in terms of accuracy. According to the statistics of between-study variance high heterogeneity was found [...] The findings of the meta-analysis demonstrated satisfaction with the effectiveness of the recommended approaches from the primary studies on fake news detection that were included." (Abstract)
more
"The United States (U.S.) Department of State Bureau of Europe and Eurasia/Office of the Coordinator of Assistance to Europe, Eurasia, and Central Asia (EUR/ACE) contracted Social Impact, Inc. (SI) to conduct a performance evaluation of nine media literacy (ML) assistance projects in Europe and Eura
...
sia. These projects were selected by ACE and its partners to represent a wide range of USG target groups and assistance modalities. Six of the projects were funded by ACE and three were funded by the Global Engagement Center (GEC). In addition to GEC, the projects were implemented by the following ACE partners: the Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL); the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The evaluation assesses project performance during the period 2017-2020. The purpose of this evaluation was to independently assess the strategic approach, relevance, and overall effectiveness of selected projects, identifying lessons to inform future programming in the region. The primary intended users of this evaluation are EUR, ACE, GEC, DRL, NED, USAID’s Bureau for Europe and Eurasia, USAID field missions, and U.S. embassies in the region. The findings and recommendations are also useful to other State Department and USAID bureaus worldwide, and other donors and funders who are active in promoting ML globally." (Executive summary, page vi)
more
"The purpose of this review is to support education practitioners, host country government representatives, donors, implementers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society organizations, and other stakeholders in applying best practices to monitor and evaluate distance learning initiative
...
s designed for diverse learners and implemented both within and outside of learning institutions. This review covers the four key distance learning modalities: radio/audio, television/video, mobile phone, and online learning. Printed texts, which are often developed to accompany these first four modalities, can also be a fifth modality in contexts where technology is not used. Most of the data sources were drawn from work in the primary education sub-sector. However, much of the guidance can be applied to secondary and tertiary-level distance learning. This review is also applicable to data collection in both crisis and non-crisis contexts. This review presents a roadmap that guides users through four steps of planning and designing how distance learning delivered through any of these modalities can be monitored and evaluated. Step 1: Determine the Objectives of Monitoring and Evaluating Distance Learning; Step 2: Determine What Will Be Measured (Reach, Engagement, and Outcomes); Step 3: Determine How Data Will Be Collected (In-Person or Remotely); Step 4: Determine the Methods and Approaches for Measurement. Based on emerging global evidence, this review guides users through the process of measuring the reach, engagement, and outcomes of distance learning initiatives. In addition to providing step-by-step guidance, this review provides three overarching recommendations for developing and implementing evidence-based monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) plans for distance learning initiatives." (Executive summary)
more
"This CEDIL Synthesis Working Paper is a report on the first of its kind country evaluation map for a single country. The map identifies 617 evaluations in multiple sectors in Uganda. Nearly 60 per cent of the studies contain process evaluation evidence and over 40 per cent are impact evaluations. T
...
his country evaluation map seeks to make recent development evaluations from Uganda visible and available in a single repository. It identifies potential gaps in knowledge and opportunities for synthesising existing evidence for the use of policymakers and researchers in Uganda. Users can submit studies for inclusion in the map, thus giving the map a repository function." (https://cedilprogramme.org)
more
"This paper presents comparative learning from the evaluation of six international development initiatives that applied various forms of Process Tracing. While these initiatives span across diverse contexts and pursued different aims, they are connected by a common thread: all six case studies centr
...
e around efforts to influence others - often decision makers and those in power - around aspects such as practices of consultation and inclusion; public policy; and resource allocation. The paper is organized in the following manner. We first explain Process Tracing and review common definitions. Secondly, we consider the potential value added of an explicitly Bayesian approach to Process Tracing. Next, we discuss the six cases where Process Tracing was applied, noting similarities and differences. Then, we explore key practical learning emerging from the cases and insights from the use of different forms of Process Tracing across different programming contexts. These reflections are organized under four meta-themes of participation, Theory of Change, methodological decisions, and mitigating bias. Finally, we present our key recommendations, ending with practical tips, targeted at practitioners and evaluators interested in applying Process Tracing, especially for initiatives falling under the ‘influencing’ umbrella." (Introduction)
more
"Overall, one finding stands out: the international community has repeatedly overestimated its own capacity and the capacity of its Afghan partners to bring about rapid social change. What has worked best are modest, locally embedded projects with immediate, tangible benefits. What has rarely worked
...
are complex projects aimed at building capacity and changing behaviour. More specifically, interventions in basic health and education, and in improving basic livelihoods, led to results. Interventions in building capacity for the administration, or in sectors such as the rule of law or gender, rarely worked. In reading these 148 reports, one also realizes that the international aid community is often not good at learning. Monitoring and evaluation systems are weak, and have hardly improved since 2002. Back in the early 2000s, many donors pointed out that, in order to achieve meaningful and sustainable development, more time was necessary. Fifteen years later, few sustainable results have been achieved, but many donors continue to suggest that better results will still require more time. Few donors appear to have changed their fundamental strategic approach, despite the fact that their own evaluations strongly suggest that many aid programs are neither e cient nor e ective in the Afghan context. In all fairness, the Afghan context is an incredibly challenging one, as these 148 reports vividly remind us on almost every page. The situation on the ground was and still is characterized by a lack of basic security; Afghan partners in government and in civil society lack basic capacities; many entrenched political actors have little interest in real reforms. Despite these challenging conditions, there was since the early days of the international engagement in Afghanistan tremendous political pressure on development actors to rush in and to provide quick results. An additional layer of complexity was added by the fact that the international engagement was from the beginning both a civilian and a military intervention, and planners in headquarters as well as practitioners on the ground had to learn how to cope with the task of civil-military cooperation. Under such circumstances, designing e ective aid programs is a herculean task." (Introduction, page 8)
more
"South Sudan is one the largest recipients of official development assistance. Given the complexity of the operational environment, there is a need to learn from the lessons gained to-date. This article seeks to enable better-informed decision making based on a synthesis from humanitarian and develo
...
pment evaluation reports, which offer insight for engagement in other fragile and conflict-affected states. Experimental methods were utilised to identify evaluation reports. The synthesis finds that projects would be better designed if they allocated time and resources to obtain additional information, integrated systems thinking to account for the broader context, and engaged with the gendered nature of activities and impacts. Implementation can be strengthened if seasonality is taken into account, if modalities are more flexible, and if a greater degree of communication and collaboration between partners develops. Sustainability and long-term impact require that there is a higher degree of alignment with the government, longer-term commitments in programming, a recognition of trade-offs, and a clear vision and strategy for transitioning capacities and responsibilities to national actors. While actors in South Sudan have been slow to act on lessons learned to-date, the lessons drawn from evaluation reports in South Sudan offer direction for new ways forward, many of which have been concurrently learned by a diverse set of donors and organisations." (Abstract)
more
"Information campaigns designed to raise awareness of the potential risks of (irregular) migration have attracted much attention and investment across the world in recent years. Studies have repeatedly shown that many migrants start their journeys with limited or biased information and end up in vul
...
nerable situations. In response, information campaigns have increased in number and the type, format, messages and strategy of such campaigns have diversified.
This report presents the results from a systematic literature review of evaluations of such information campaigns in the field of migration. The study reveals that the evidence base available for programming and policymaking in this area is strikingly limited. We find that the uptake in the use of information campaigns has far outpaced any rigorous assessment of the effects that different campaigns may have on their respective target groups. In the absence of reliable evidence, the debate on the potential of this policy tool often relies on largely anecdotal evidence. Better evidence can show how information campaigns can be designed to best achieve their intended effects given the particular circumstances. The current lack of evidence limits the impact of future campaigns. While rigorous assessment of campaign impact can be difficult and costly, better evidence is clearly needed – wherever feasible and appropriate.
Based on an extensive, systematic literature review, 60 relevant evaluations of information campaigns that targeted potential migrants and traffickers, as well as communities at large, were identified from a pool of 3,600 records. Only 30 of the selected campaign evaluations had publicly available results; the rest were collected through expert referrals. Two studies were published in peer-reviewed journals. Among the campaigns featured in the 60 studies, the most popular communication tools were workshop-type activities and cable TV programmes/advertisements. Most campaigns focused on trafficking, followed by irregular migration and, more generally, smuggling. A common issue is the lack of a clearly defined campaign objective and/or target group. This hampers any rigorous evaluation of programme effects. Whenever an objective is defined, it is most often aimed at “awareness-raising” and “knowledge generation.” The majority of the campaign evaluations claimed that the campaign under study was “successful” in inducing a change in knowledge, perceptions, attitudes and – to a lesser degree – (intended) behaviour. However, most of the evaluations reviewed provided relatively little evidence of the full impact of information campaigns. While many of the evaluations reported the number and profiles of campaign recipients or beneficiaries, impact was not directly measured. (In the evaluation literature, impact is defined as a change in outcome that is directly attributable to the programme and not any other factor.)
Most of the evaluations identified did not meet minimum standards for robust evidence on programme effects. The large majority of evaluations were based on based on cross-sectional surveys of small numbers of participants (N) sampled at convenience, limiting the generalizability of the results. Only a few large-N studies employed a control-group design or involved pre- and post-measurements. None employed a (quasi-)experimental method for causal inference (e.g. randomized controlled trial, which is considered the “gold standard” for measuring impact)." (Executive summary)
more
"This publication is the first scoping study aimed at compiling existing evaluation cases in the field of Communication for Development as applied to agricultural and rural development initiatives. It draws on a literature review and 19 cases across Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribb
...
ean comparing evidence of evaluative approaches, methods and outcomes of communication programmes and rural communication services. It also provides clear indications about the need to build evidence that inform policy to advance inclusive rural communication services." (Back cover)
more
"This book argues for an overhaul of the way media assistance is evaluated, and explores how new thinking about evaluation can reinforce the shifts towards better media development. The pursuit of media freedom has been the bedrock of media development since its height in the 1990s. Today, citizen v
...
oice, participation, social change, government responsiveness and accountability, and other ‘demand-side’ aspects of governance, are increasingly the rubric within with assistance to media development operates." (Publisher description)
more
"En los últimos años, la mayoría de los gobiernos latinoamericanos han realizado esfuerzos destinados a mejorar la inclusión digital en sus países, desarrollando diversas políticas aplicadas en el ámbito educativo. Estas políticas han sido y continúan siendo profusamente evaluadas a través
...
de estudios e investigaciones, en algunos casos por encargos de los propios Estados y en otros casos por organismos internacionales, con distintos enfoques, entre los cuales predomina claramente la perspectiva de medir el impacto que dichas políticas tienen sobre la calidad educativa. En este contexto, resulta pertinente y necesaria una reflexión crítica acerca de las formas en que se evalúan estas políticas, puesto que las evaluaciones no son neutrales y tienen, lógicamente, consecuencias en la continuidad, reformulación o abandono de los programas. Entre las diversas evaluaciones a los programas de inclusión o alfabetización digital disponibles, escogimos concentrarnos en la reflexión crítica de aquellas basadas en el modelo 'Uno a Uno' [en Argentina, México y Uruguay] no solo por su alcance masivo y generalizado sino también por la fuerte expectativa (explícita o implícita) de que llevar la computadora a la casa produjera sinergias en el hogar en cuanto a la alfabetización digital de los adultos mayores, el acceso al e-gobierno y el estímulo a distintos emprendimientos productivos, sociales o culturales en la familia o en la comunidad. En consecuencia, el estudio se focalizó en recuperar cómo en dichas evaluaciones se hacen presentes los padres, familias, adultos o comunidades, y en indagar los modos en que las familias y sus vínculos con la tecnología son recortados y conceptualizados por las evaluaciones." (Introducción, página 9)
more
"Evaluating the impact of media assistance is challenging for several reasons. Primary among them is that these kinds of initiatives operate in a complex political, social, and cultural environment. Although there has been increased attention to evaluation of media assistance, with a series of inter
...
national conferences, funded research projects, and publications addressing this topic, it remains a problematic area of practice. This paper provides a survey of recent media assistance evaluation practices through an analysis of 47 evaluation documents of programs and projects from 2002-2012, identifying trends in methodology choices, and critiquing the quality of the evidence enabled through different evaluation approaches. It finds clear patterns in how, when and by whom evaluations are undertaken, but finds that these practices rarely generate useful, insightful evaluations." (Abstract)
more
"This paper suggests that the problem of impact evaluation of media assistance is understood to be more than a simple issue of methods, and outlines three underlying tensions and challenges that stifle implementation of effective practices in media assistance evaluation. First, there are serious con
...
ceptual ambiguities that affect evaluation design. Second, bureaucratic systems and imperatives often drive evaluation practices, which reduces their utility and richness. Third, the search for the ultimate method or toolkit of methods for media assistance evaluation tends to overlook the complex epistemological and political undercurrents in the evaluation discipline, which can lead to methods being used without consideration of the ontological implications. Only if these contextual factors are known and understood can effective evaluations be designed that meets all stakeholders’ needs." (Abstract)
more