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Implementing an ‘ideal’ impact evaluation: lessons from Colombia

How can one implement an ‘ideal’ impact evaluation, one that is technically robust, produces useful findings and influences policymakers? The authors of 3ie’s new working paper Behind the scenes: managing and conducting large scale impact evaluations in Colombia address this question by drawing on the experience of implementing evaluations of four major programmes in Colombia.

Colombia’s institutional structure for monitoring and evaluation is often cited as an example for evaluation agencies in other countries. The 16 year old National System for Evaluation of Public Sector Performance (SINERGIA) in Colombia has spent US$ 15 million on the implementation of 61 evaluations (Departamento Nacional de Planeación, 2010). Over a third of these evaluations were impact evaluations, including the studies discussed in this paper: Familias en Acción Conditional Cash Transfer programme, the Jovenes en Acción youth labor training program, the Hogares Comunitarios de Bienestar nursery program, and the fiscal transfers policy Sistema General de Participaciones.

The Jovenes en Acción evaluation was considered rigorous and unbiased, and the results showed very positive effects from the intervention. However, neither the government officials nor the programme’s managers used the results of the impact evaluation. The fact that the original programme had already been turned into a new intervention before the results were out showed that there was low buy-in for the evaluation among policymakers. In contrast, the findings from the Familias en Acción evaluation were useful in protecting the government from political actors who were critical of the programme. The results of this evaluation were widely disseminated through political and academic seminars, news conferences, and several meetings among high-ranking government officials.



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Do School Feeding Programs improve School Participation?


School feeding programs are a popular form of conditional transfers where children, in exchange for regular school attendance, are fed a meal during school hours or given food rations to take home. While evaluations have found that such programs significantly improve school attendance (Kristjansson et.al 2006), the relative impact of a cooked meal in the school vs a take-home ration has been subject to debate.



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Our vision: Improving lives through impact evaluation
 
Our mission: Increasing development effectiveness through better use of evidence in developing countries


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Since voters and the media have such a strong and visible reaction to crime, crime prevention policy and practice in many places are driven by political ideology and anecdotal evidence, rather than scientific findings. The book Evidence-Based Crime Prevention edited by David Farrington et al., reviews more than 600 scientific evaluations of programmes intended to prevent crime in settings such as families, schools, labour markets and communities. This book is a rich source of information on what works, what could work and what does not work in preventing crime.

 

AWARDS/CALLS:  3ie is offering 6 bursaries for residents from low and middle income countires attending the Campbell Collaboration Colloquium in Copenhagen from May 29-31, 2012 (Deadline for bursary applications: Feb 15).

Network of Networks on Impact Evaluation 2012
meeting is from 19-20 April 2012 in Rome, Italy. Download Call for Abstracts  and Sponsorship Application.

USAID accepting proposals for the funding of innovative development ventures and evaluations of these ventures. Read more


The NWO-WOTRO launch a second call for proposals on 'Joint MFS II evaluations at country level : Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Uganda.' (Deadline for submitting proposals: February 21)


The 2011 Global Development Awards and Medals competition is now accepting submissions and the themes this year are related to urbanization and development (Deadline: January 31, 2012).

Registration is now open for the 12th Annual Colloquium of the Campbell Collaboration on May 29-31 2012 in Copenhagen (Deadline for poster submissions: February 15).

NEWS:  3ie-LIDC Seminar Series 'Microfinance: A Comprehensive Evaluation by David Roodman' on 22nd February 2012. Read more

TRAINING:  2012 International Program for Development Evaluation Training from June 11 to July 6, 2012 at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada.

Collaboration for Environmental Evidence is offering training on introduction to systematic reviews in environmental management on  February 21 in Derbyshire, UK.

Four-day Systematic Review training programme in Delhi from 30 January to 2 February, 2012. Read more

JOBS:  3ie seeks a senior researcher to write a white paper on the Commitment to Evaluation Indicator.

Mercy Corps looking for an impact evaluation consultant for a maternal and child health programme in Tajikistan (Deadline: January 31).

NORAD is looking for a Senior Evaluation Officer.

High-quality impact evaluations measure the net change in outcomes that can be attributed to a specific program. Impact studies help inform policy as to what works, what does not, and why.
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