Applied Impact and Performance Evaluation for International Development

Catalog description

This course is focused on designing and implementing large-scale impact and performance evaluations for international development. The course examines policy considerations, as well as practical field experiences in designing and conducting rigorous impact and performance evaluations. We explore real world management considerations and best practices for field-based data collection, in conjunction with research design, data sources, instrument development, budgets, contracting, and managing large-scale data collection efforts. We examine survey methodology as it relates to practical challenges to implementing high quality surveys and data collection protocols in difficult field settings. Although mostly focused on large-N household surveys, we also discuss complementary qualitative methods, as well as design considerations for more complex interdisciplinary evaluations that combine social science methods with biophysical data collection. Overall, this course will expose students to the A to Z of impact/performance evaluation for international development through the use of a number of evaluation case-studies from Africa.