Introduction - Towards Systemic Approaches to Evaluation and Impact

This IDS Bulletin is the second of two that follow an Institute of Development Studies event seeking to define an agenda for research and practice of development impact evaluation. It focuses on exploring the potential of systems ideas and complexity concepts to meet the increasingly complex challenges of an increasingly ambitious development agenda. In particular, the contributions seek to: (a) redefine ‘learning’ according to the number of ‘learning loops’ involved; (b) understand how to identify the most relevant impact evaluation questions; (c) simulate systems states in two sectors (leather and health) following the implementation of (combinations of) different policy options and other events; and finally, (d) shake the foundations of the impact evaluation institutional system, recommending that the notions of multiple perspectives and system boundaries are fully embraced, and that the system ultimately transitions from an ‘evaluation industrial complex’ to an ‘evaluation adaptive complex’. While the issue is a step in the right direction, much more work remains to be done

Making M&E More ‘Impact-oriented’: Illustrations from the UN

In international development, impact evaluation (IE) is becoming more and more an institutionalised practice. This article starts out by addressing the question of what institutionalisation of IE means and how it could work. Subsequently, the article explores common challenges in monitoring and evaluation functions in the UN system related to the supply of (and to a lesser extent demand for) evidence on impact. Rather than looking for solutions to these challenges in the practice of IE, the article explores the issue of how to improve non?IE monitoring and evaluation practices. On the basis of the identified challenges three categories of solutions are discussed: improving the quality of impact?related evidence at activity and project level, strengthening the causal logic underlying interventions, and strengthening the aggregation and synthesis of evidence. Finally, the article presents some illustrative examples of the latter two categories of solutions

Cooperating for a more egalitarian society: Complexity theory to evaluate gender equity

Evaluating gender equity involves the assessment of the equality of opportunities and the equality of outcomes that public policies seek to attain for women and men. It focuses on how and to what extent both genders cooperate to expand access to paid work and control over material resources while sharing care and reproductive responsibilities. Drawing on complexity theory, this article puts forward a theoretical framework to identify cooperative behaviors within the household and the workplace as well as within broader socioeconomic, political and institutional domains