Guidelines for the evaluation of capital projects

They are based largely upon the methodology and experience developed in the technical assistance and grant project area. Evaluation is the retrospective analysis of experience to determine what happened and why. The evaluator challenges the relevance of the project objectives, the underlying assumption, and the elements of the project design. The evaluator seeks to discover the causal factors responsible for progress or nonprogress. If evaluation elements and actions are not built into a project design, evaluation will be very difficult. For most projects it is not possible to evaluate progress until the evaluator has considered changes in the host country socioeconomic setting which may have affected the project and until the existing project design has been reexamined and clarified. The evaluation process for ongoing projects is comprised of three integral steps: the assessment of changes in host country circumstances, policies, and priorities which impinge upon the project; the clarification of existing project design elements; and the evaluation of progress and identification of causal factors. The types of decisions arising from an evaluation during implementation can cover many replanning changes, from a change in the type and mix of inputs to a broad change in project purpose and financing.