Assessing the effectiveness of economic growth programs

Donors and project implementers need useful, credible information on the effectiveness of their programmes. Based on lessons learned under the USAID Private Sector Development Impact Assessment Initiative (PSD IAI), this report identifies and describes specific features of economic growth (EG) programmes that challenge established impact assessment methods.

The report introduces the degrees of evidence framework, a set of principles that can inform the design of an EG effectiveness evaluation and guide the selection of evaluation methods. The degrees of evidence framework leads to the selection of a portfolio of evaluation methods, including established impact assessment that provides a strong case for attribution as well as complementary evaluation methods that create a preponderance of evidence about overall project effectiveness. The use of the framework is illustrated by applying it to the design of a typical EG project.

The experiences of USAID's PSD IAI offer important lessons for how to improve the effectiveness and accuracy of impact measurement for EG projects. This body of work shows that effectiveness research must be multifaceted, flexible, comprehensive, and ongoing throughout the life of the project.

Useful for:

Evaluators working with economic growth programmes.