As Evaluation Officers and staff craft new or revise existing evaluation policies, here are some questions to consider:
1. Capacity and Resources
- Is there an expressed commitment to building the knowledge and skills needed to commission, conduct, and use evaluations?
- Is there expressed support for providing funding and personnel time for evaluation?
2. Participation
- How are evaluators selected?
- Is there acknowledgement that evaluation is not just the evaluators’ job, but one that extends to others in the organization?
- Who should be involved and in what capacity (ex: planning, implementing, using findings)?
3. Use
- How will findings from evaluations be used to inform actions? Is this clearly stated?
- How will evaluation use be supported?
4. Equity
- Are evaluations designed to surface local context that may impact the generalizability of findings?
- How are evaluations providing value to grantees and the communities they serve?