Evaluation

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Evaluating the capacity development plan

Purpose

Evaluation of capacity development interventions can inform the direction for the next phase of capacity development activities. Evaluation is the collection of information about a programme and its outcomes, that assesses its success and analyses lessons learnt. Evaluation studies provide information for use in improving programmes and enabling managers to make informed decisions and plan strategically for the future, both during implementation (mid-term review), and after implementation (end of programme review).

UNDP’s approach

UNDP carries out both informal reviews and formal evaluations of capacity development plans and supports processes to inform learning and next steps, such as planning for follow-on.

UNDP also develops case studies documenting capacity development processes over a number of years to show the changes in national health systems, such as improving health information systems and strengthening procurement and supply chains in Zimbabwe.

  1. Prepare for evaluation: confirm the scope and timing of the evaluation, organize documentation, and select the evaluation team.
  2. Manage the evaluation: brief the evaluation team, review inception reports, and review evaluation draft reports.
  3. Leverage evaluation results: present and disseminate the evaluation results, share lessons learned and ensure the findings are used in future planning.

Tools and guidance

The sample terms of references below outline standard duties and responsibilities for a consultant to conduct a capacity development plan evaluation. Additional guidance and good practices can be found in the document “Monitoring and Evaluation of Capacity Development”.

The following points should be considered when evaluating a capacity development intervention.

  • Use existing data and information. Evaluations should use information available from a variety of sources, such as reports from other donors on their support to programmes organizations.
  • Integrate capacity development evaluations. Conducting evaluations of capacity development initiatives are no different to carrying out any other evaluation. Therefore, where possible, capacity development evaluations should be integrated with programme evaluations.

Key resources

Generic TOR CD Evaluation
Template for implementing the terms of reference for evaluation of capacity development plans.
MS Word

Example TOR CD Evaluation
Example document and template for creating terms of reference for the final evaluation of capacity development plans.
MS Word

Monitoring and Evaluation of Capacity Development
Example document and template for implementing capacity development monitoring and evaluation processes.
MS Word