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Evaluations
An evaluation is an assessment of the results and effectiveness of a project, programme or strategy. The work of SDC, including cooperation with its partners, is subject to systematic critical evaluation based on a predefined concept.
Evaluations foster institutional learning, support the decision-making of management bodies and at the same time provide accountability to political interests and the general public.
Questions addressed by an evaluation:
- What results have been obtained by an activity or project, programme or strategy?
- What effects, direct or indirect, have been produced, particularly in terms of the long-term alleviation of poverty?
- How are development projects implemented?
- What are the success factors, obstacles and risks associated with each of these effects?
- What further measures need to be taken?
SDC’s evaluation programme aims to show transparently how SDC evaluates the effectiveness, efficiency and relevance of its activities. It is reviewed at regular intervals; changes according to needs and the operational context are therefore permissible. SDC spends between 0.6% and 0.8% of its annual resources on evaluating its activities. This means that over a period of eight years, all the country programmes and about half of the thematic programmes are evaluated. In addition to these regular evaluations, other ad-hoc examinations are also carried out by bodies such as the Parliamentary Control of the Administration or the Swiss Federal Audit Office.
SDC makes a distinction between two categories of evaluations:
- External evaluations
These evaluations are commissioned by SDC management and entrusted to external agencies. The result is a report that highlights what has been effective and what has not, and for what reasons. A learning group follows up the evaluation to ensure that the recommendations set out in the report are implemented. - Internal audits
These evaluations are commissioned by persons responsible for the planning and monitoring of a programme or project. They have a strong training element and focus on improving performance by analyzing the factors favouring or hindering achievement of the set objectives.
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Archives up
to 2009Additional Information and Documents
- Evaluation policy of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
December 2008
Download (PDF, 123 KB) : [de] [en] [fr] - SDC‘s Evaluations: Evaluations completed in 2010 - Evaluations planned for 2011–2012
Download (PDF, 956 KB) : [en] - Capitalizing and Communicating Evaluation Results
Download (PDF, 189 KB) : [en] - Study on Evaluating Swiss Cooperation Strategies in Highly Harmonised Settings
Download (PDF, 2134 KB) : [en] -
Parliamentary Control of the Administration PCA
http://www.parlament.ch/e/organe-mitglieder/kommissionen/parlamentarische-verwaltungskontrolle/pages /default.aspx -
DAC Evaluation Resource Center DEReC
http://www.oecd.org/pages/0,3417,en_35038640_35039563_1_1_1_1_1,00.html -
Evaluative Reports Database ALNAP
Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Aidhttp://www.alnap.org/resources/erd/erd.htm -
International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie)
http://www.3ieimpact.org -
The Worldbank - Independent Evaluation Group (IEG)
http://ieg.worldbankgroup.org/content/ieg/en/home.html -
International Program for Development Evaluation Training (IPDET)
http://www.worldbank.org/oed/ipdet/modules.html -
Evaluations of the European Union's cooperation and development programmes
http://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/how/evaluation/index_en.htm -
Evaluations of the International Fund for Agricultural Development
http://www.ifad.org/evaluation/index.htm -
OECD Evaluation Glossar: Glossary of Key Terms in Evaluation and Results Based Management
http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/29/21/2754804.pdf