Working with assumptions in international development program evaluation

Abstract

All international development policies and programs are fuelled by a complex network of implicit ideas. Stakeholders may hold assumptions about program purposes, theories of change, outcomes, and the value of program evaluation—which may or may not be shared by the evaluators. A major barrier to viable evaluations is that development programs are often based on assumptions that are not well articulated. This lack of clarity masks critical risks to program success and also makes it challenging to evaluate such programs. Most of the evaluation methods that have attempted to address this dilemma have been popularised as ‘theory driven’ approaches. These approaches elaborate the sequence of changes/mini steps that lead to the long-term goal of interest and the connections between program activities and outcomes that occur at each step of the way. Unfortunately, they do not do enough to clarify how program managers or evaluators should deal with tacit assumptions. This book seeks to address this gap by discussing the crucial role that assumptions play in conceptualising, implementing, and evaluating development programs. It aims to offers practical ways for stakeholders and evaluators to 1) examine their assumptions about program theory and environmental conditions and 2) develop and carry out effective program monitoring and evaluation given those assumptions. Unfortunately, in the opinion of this reviewer, this book fails to deliver on its intended purpose.