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Irish Evaluation Network
Resources for Evaluators
World Bank Independent Evaluation Group
New document: Writing Terms of Reference for Evaluation: A How-To Guide. The terms of reference (ToR) document defines all aspects of how a consultant or a team will conduct an evaluation. It defines the objectives and the scope of the evaluation, outlines the responsibilities of the consultant or team, and provides a clear description of the resources available to conduct the study. Developing an accurate and well-specified ToR is a critical step in managing a high-quality evaluation. This publication provides a step-by-step guide to preparing effective TORs for evaluation.
Ideas Bank
Not specifically aimed at evaluators, but with some items of interest to some evaluators, IdeasBank is a web space that holds a collection of advice, training and resources produced by projects funded under the EQUAL Community Initiative Programme. Resources on IdeasBank are grouped under the following categories:
- equality and diversity
- migrant workers
- entrepreneurship
- work/life balance
- life-long learning
The range of practical tools, research, training and other materials available were developed in response to challenges faced on the supply and demand side of the labour market in promoting equality and in making the workplace more inclusive and accommodating of diversity. An example of some of the resources available on IdeasBank includes:
- Equality and Diversity Healthcheck: a self-assessment toolkit that supports organisations to determine where they currently stand in relation to equality and diversity and what they need to do to improve. The Equality and Diversity Healthcheck is referenced as a resource in the guidelines for achieving the FAS Excellence through People standard.
- Managing Diversity in the Workplace: a practical guide for those recruiting and employing migrant workers.
- Partnership Toolkit: practical guide and tools designed to support and promote effective inter-organisational working.
- Employers’ Perceptions of the Long-term Unemployed: research that explores the barriers that hinder people gaining access to work and the corporate policies that impact on them.
The resources on IdeasBank were developed by projects funded under the EQUAL Community Initiative Programme, which seeks to tackle fundamental forms of inequality and discrimination in the labour market. EQUAL is an ESF co-financed programme with a total ESF budget for Ireland of €34 million between 2001 and 2008. During this period a total of 44 projects promoted by cross-sectoral partnerships were supported.
Evaluating Advocacy: guides, tools and frameworks (1)
There are many ‘hard to measure’ issues that evaluators are often asked to evaluate. One of these, and an issue of growing prominence, is how to evaluate the effectiveness of policy advocacy. How do organisations, groups or coalitions know if their advocacy for the adoption and spread of particular policies is making any difference?
Recent work supported by a number of philanthropies and foundations is providing new ideas and approaches as to how to evaluate advocacy. Many of the resources being developed are available for use by evaluators through a project called the Advocacy Evaluation project, accessible at a website hosted by the Innovation Network.
The advocacy evaluation project has two main components:
- An online clearing house with a wide range of tools, frameworks, articles etc. on evaluating advocacy.
- An e-newsletter focused on the challenges of evaluating policy advocacy initiatives.
If you are involved in, or interested in policy advocacy evaluation, the website is worth checking out as a useful resource.
(1) We are grateful to Atlantic Philanthropies for providing us with the information on which this section is based.
Useful Links
The following links give access to sites with a particular focus on evaluation methodological issues:
Free Resources for Program Evaluation and Social Research Methods - Links to free online guides, manuals, 'how to' information about evaluation and the methods related to it.
Evalsed - a resource site developed by the EU for the evaluation of socio-economic development
Evaluation - the Treasury Board of Canada evaluation site
Independent Evaluation Group - the website of the World bank Independent Evaluation Group (IEG)
European Society for Ecological Economics - the European branch of the International Society of Ecological Economics (ISEE)