Evaluating site selection at design in food systems interventions: A formative geospatial approach

Within international development, formative evaluation is becoming increasingly important to make rapid assessments of project design and support adaptive learning in early implementation of ongoing interventions. Such evaluation is critical for institutions with short funding cycles, which need early evidence to assess the utility of new initiatives to inform donors’ decision-making for upcoming funding cycles. However, obtaining quantitative evidence is difficult in formative evaluation as results are not yet available or visible early in the project cycle. Geospatial multi-criteria suitability analysis provides one method for evaluating the relevance of program and project design through creating a quantitative spatial index, combining data on several spatial indicators to evaluate project site selection and help inform future priority geographies. This study demonstrates the use of such a geospatial analysis in the formative evaluation of the Global Environment Facility’s food systems integrated programs.