AID impact evaluations : the lessons of experience

has conducted a series of project impact evaluations in order to gain a better understanding of how a project can improve the lives of beneficiaries and facilitate equitable development and to improve the planning, design, and implementation of future A.I.D. projects. This report reviews the first 23 of these impact evaluations in order to identify cross-cutting development variables and policy issues. The authors found that: (1) participation by project beneficiaries is essential but has not been present often enough; (2) the incidence of a project"s benefits is a function of the desirability, deliverability, targetability, acceptability, and durability of inputs; (3) projects have the greatest impact when connected with local programs assigned high host government priority and are most successful when inputs are complementary; (4) insufficient attention has been given to institutional analysis, the use of appropriate technology, the strengths of different intermediaries, and to developing cross-sectoral linkages between projects; (5) realization of the links between host government and economic policies and project implementation has been inadequate; and (6) there is a need for longer project life, greater decentralization, and more social analysis. In addition to addressing the above points, the authors recommend that increased attention be given to the socioeconomic and political processes at work in the prospective project site, to developing strategies to overcome foreseeable obstacles, and to respecting or influencing the peceptions of potential project beneficiaries. Future impact evaluations should give greater attention to: the appropriateness of technology and availability of alternative technologies, environmental impact, cost, the institutional dimensions of a project, and the roles of technical assistance in institutional improvement. In addition, surveys of project beneficiaries should be made in advance and the evaluation should be written so as to be relevant to future project social analysis. Appended are a report on economic analysis in impact evaluations and a list of impact evaluations reviewed.