Evaluation

Since the inception of the original EVALUATION Project over 20 years ago, MEASURE Evaluation became USAID’s flagship project for strengthening health programs and systems around the globe through high-quality program evaluation. MEASURE Evaluation supported the international development goal of maximizing program results through the systematic collection and analysis of information and evidence about health program performance and impact. Evaluation findings provided accountability to stakeholders and donors, and informed decisions—supporting organizational learning, strengthening health systems, and improving program effectiveness so that people live healthier lives.

MEASURE Evaluation conducted a wide range of rigorous evaluations to provide the strongest possible evidence on the evaluation questions with the resources and time available. The project also conducted methodological studies, pilot tests or proof of concept studies, and population-based surveys and surveillance. In addition to building the evidence of what works for programs, MEASURE Evaluation contributed knowledge of how specific interventions can strengthen health information systems and health systems.

To help build the cadre of local professionals to conduct rigorous evaluations, MEASURE Evaluation wove together the functions of evaluation implementation with experiential learning and training. We also supported opportunities for formal training, through local and regional workshops and by incorporating advanced methods in graduate school curricula.

MEASURE Evaluation’s work in this area included:

• Expertise in a full range of quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods in all health fields, including evaluations that use existing data and complexity-aware methods
• Mentoring in rigorous evaluation methods, through evaluation activities with local counterparts
• Building partner capacity to become effective trainers of advanced evaluation methods and to independently conduct rigorous evaluations
• Participation in evaluation trainings, workshops, and online trainings
• Teaching and ongoing mentoring in techniques of sampling and advanced data analysis
• Integrating gender considerations into program design and evaluations
• Costing and cost-effectiveness analysis
• Analyses and trainings in using geographic information systems for program evaluations
• Stakeholder information needs assessments and complementary activities to ensure that evaluations meet the needs of stakeholders and results are used in decision making
• Data archiving and making data publicly available
• Producing cause-specific mortality measures

Related Content

Evaluation Tools – Click to see key tools, including:

• How Do We Know if a Program Made a Difference? A Guide to Statistical Methods for Program Impact Evaluation
• Health Systems Strengthening - M&E and Learning
• Guidance for Evaluating the Impact of National Malaria Control Programs in Highly Endemic Countries
• Guidelines for Integrating Gender into an M&E Framework and System Assessment
• Framework for Evaluating National Malaria Programs in Moderate- and Low- Transmission Settings

Capabilities, FAQs, and Experiences

• MEASURE Evaluation Capability Statement: Evaluation
• MEASURE Evaluation Capability Statement: Complexity-Aware Methods
• Evaluation FAQ: How Much Will an Impact Evaluation Cost?
• Evaluation FAQ: What Sample Size Do I Need for an Impact Evaluation?
• Types of Evaluations Conducted by MEASURE Evaluation
• Impact Evaluations of Large-Scale Public Health Interventions: Experiences from the Field

Recent Evaluation Reports

• Rwanda’s Improved Services for Vulnerable Populations Project: Impact Evaluation. End Line Report
• Capacity of Sierra Leone’s National Malaria Control Programme for Monitoring and Evaluation: Baseline Assessment
• Rwanda’s Improved Services for Vulnerable Populations Project: Impact Evaluation. End Line Report
• The Mayer Hashi Large-Scale Program to Increase Use of Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives and Permanent Methods in Bangladesh: Explaining the Disappointing Results. An Outcome and Process Evaluation
• Evaluation of Services for Orphans and Vulnerable Youth in Botswana
• Assessing Training Approaches and a Supportive Intervention for Managing Febrile Illness in Tanzania – Tibu Homa Performance Evaluation Report
• PMI Country Impact Evaluation Reports
• Impact Evaluation of a School-Based Sexuality and HIV Prevention Education Activity in South Africa – Baseline Survey Report
• Gender Counts: A systematic review of evaluations of gender-integrated health interventions in low- and middle-income countries
• Gender and Groundnut Value Chains in Eastern Province, Zambia

Webinar Resources

• Webinar Resources: How Do We Know If a Program Made a Difference?
• Workshop on Impact Evaluation of Population, Health and Nutrition Programs

Building Capacity for Evaluation

• Seven Steps to EnGendering Public Health Evaluations: Training Instructions
• Qualitative Methods in Evaluation of Public Health Programs Curriculum
• Framework and Toolkit to Strengthen Evaluation Capacity
• Assessing Capacity for Evaluation: A Pilot in Kenya
• Identifying the Need for Evaluation Capacity Assessment Tools and Guidance
• Core Competencies for Postgraduate Evaluation Courses: Report of the GEMNet-Health Task Group