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Evaluation Criteria

Evaluation criteria are among the most consequential choices an evaluator makes, yet they are too often simply adopted rather than interrogated. Posts here examine how criteria shape what we see and what we miss, how the OECD DAC criteria and other frameworks travel across contexts and eras, and what happens when we ask not just what to evaluate, but whose definition and understanding of value, progress and success prevails.
14
Apr
The DAC Criteria Guidance 2021

The DAC Criteria Guidance 2021

The guidance is an important step. The updated criteria have even more easy-to-ignore demands stacked under each one. For more
2 min read
22
Apr
COVID-19, Part 5. COVID-safe, COVID-ready and COVID-informed evaluation

COVID-19, Part 5. COVID-safe, COVID-ready and COVID-informed evaluation

Evaluative practice needs to focus on three interconnected, overlapping priorities if we want to help lead action towards a transformed
6 min read
12
Apr
Guest post: The Efficiency criterion

Guest post: The Efficiency criterion

The OECD/DAC criteria have been under review and debate since 2018. As Zenda Ofir explained in her widely discussed
5 min read
13
Jan
The DAC criteria, Part 12: Concluding summary

The DAC criteria, Part 12: Concluding summary

I argued that the DAC criteria should get due credit. As noted in Part 1 of this series, they have
5 min read
14
Nov
The DAC criteria, Part 11. From criteria to design principles

The DAC criteria, Part 11. From criteria to design principles

Evaluation criteria used in development contexts do not only show what evaluation commissioners, evaluators and other stakeholders value. They also
6 min read
07
Nov
The DAC criteria, Part 10. Sleepwalking towards irrelevance

The DAC criteria, Part 10. Sleepwalking towards irrelevance

We are sleepwalking towards irrelevance. Not because we do not do some worthwhile things. We do. But because those with
7 min read
02
Nov
The DAC criteria, Part 9. Our responsibilities

The DAC criteria, Part 9. Our responsibilities

Our evaluation criteria are fundamental to the credibility and utility of our evaluations. Yet we have allowed one set of
4 min read
30
Oct
The DAC criteria, Part 8. Global South, Global North 2

The DAC criteria, Part 8. Global South, Global North 2

In my previous post I started to make the case for the evaluation of transformative change and transformative development in
8 min read
26
Oct
The DAC criteria, Part 8. Global South, Global North 1

The DAC criteria, Part 8. Global South, Global North 1

Now that the concept of "developing" and "developed" countries is at last unfashionable, is a special
4 min read
23
Oct
The DAC criteria, Part 7. Let these ideas die!

The DAC criteria, Part 7. Let these ideas die!

The many discussions I have recently had about the effort that is now in place to get to DAC evaluation
5 min read