ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at evaluation and impact assessments, as the last stages of the management of a project. Evaluation systems and approaches are considered here, starting with a review of the varied tools and approaches most common in the sector, from randomised control trials as the gold standard of quantitative evaluation, to process tracing as a promising example of more flexible approaches. These ends of the spectrum are situated in relation to debates about mixed methods within what is often a quantitively focused results system. It explores some of the challenges to use of evaluative knowledge in development, including how a results-focused system discourages the openness that is necessary for learning. The demands of an audit-based system and its focus on results will be contrasted with the need to learn from development work.
