Evaluation Design Proposal – Evaluation of Sustained Outcomes

The evaluation is commissioned by the Office of Learning, Evaluation, and Research in the United States Agency for International Development's Bureau for Policy, Planning, and Learning (USAID/PPL/LER). The evaluation will apply a comparative case study approach, examining four USAID basic education activities completed between 2000 and 2010. The activities were selected based on their relevance to USAID's evaluation questions and the availability of data. The evaluation design incorporates feedback from USAID/PPL/LER on an earlier draft of the document and is based on a Concept Paper submitted by the Project in June 2015. The evaluation will assess what factors contribute to sustained outcomes from international development interventions. The evaluation questions are focused on identifying the factors that contribute to or hinder outcome sustainment, as well as assessing the achievement of outcomes. The evaluation will use a systemic evaluation approach, which involves analyzing the interactions between different components of a system to understand how they contribute to outcomes. The evaluation will employ a range of data collection methods, including desk reviews, semi-structured interviews with key informants and beneficiaries, interviews to establish the condition of outcomes, focus group discussions with key informants and beneficiaries, and outcome harvesting with key informants. The evaluation will also use analytical methods, including case-level analytic methods and cross-case analytical methods, to analyze the data and draw conclusions. The evaluation will be implemented by a team of researchers and evaluators, who will work closely with USAID staff and other stakeholders to ensure that the evaluation is relevant and useful to USAID's needs. The evaluation will be conducted over a period of approximately 12 months, with the following deliverables and timelines: * A draft evaluation report will be submitted to USAID/PPL/LER within 6 months of the start of the evaluation. * A final evaluation report will be submitted to USAID/PPL/LER within 12 months of the start of the evaluation. * A series of case study summary reports will be submitted to USAID/PPL/LER within 9 months of the start of the evaluation. The estimated budget for the evaluation is $1.2 million, which will cover the costs of research, data collection, analysis, and reporting. The evaluation team will consist of a team leader, a research manager, a data analyst, and a writer, who will work together to design and implement the evaluation.