Impact Evaluation in Practice

Impact Evaluation in Practice is a practical guide designed to help policymakers, development practitioners, and researchers understand and apply impact evaluation methods to determine whether programmes and policies are achieving their intended results. The resource introduces impact evaluation as a process for establishing causal relationships between interventions and observed changes, helping organizations distinguish whether improvements are truly the result of a programme or influenced by other external factors. It explains key concepts such as counterfactuals, causal inference, evaluation design, data collection methods, and strategies for measuring programme effectiveness. Through practical examples from sectors such as education, health, social protection, and labour programmes, the guide provides step-by-step approaches for designing, implementing, and using evaluations to generate credible evidence. It emphasizes the importance of moving beyond simply measuring activities or outputs to understanding whether interventions create meaningful and sustainable change.