4.0

credits

Average Course Rating

This course will help students develop critical skills in applying methodologies and strategies for the evaluation of international development projects. It will provide the conceptual and theoretical framework to help students navigate decisions about the most appropriate tools for assessing project achievements and evaluating their impact through formative, process, and summative approaches. Students will learn to identify sound evaluation questions, develop logic models to assess their utility for project monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and select performance and evaluation indicators and apply these in qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods designs. The course will provide insight into how methodological choices influence research design, data interpretation, and the strength of evaluation results. Students will learn to critique reported program results against standards of validity, reliability, efficiency, and effectiveness and will gain skills relevant for research uptake, instructing students how to present findings in appropriate formats for diverse audiences. Students will also be challenged to navigate ethical dilemmas of evaluation in the context of international development programming and reflect on appropriate alternative designs. The course will include brief lectures, in-class exercises, plenary discussions, and small group sessions. Case studies will be used to review and compare the M&E practices of major donors (multi-laterals, bi-laterals, and private foundations) and to critically assess examples of good and bad practice. The final project will showcase students’ skills in designing a rigorous and appropriate evaluation to answer a real world development question. <a href="http://bit.ly/1bebp5s" target="_blank">Click here to see evaluations, syllabi, and faculty bios</a>