The BetterEvaluation Resource Library contains hundreds of curated and co-created resources related to managing, conducting, using, and strengthening capacity for evaluation.
You can use the search field and filtering on this page to find resources that you are interested in or you can browse our extensive list. An alternative way to find resources best suited to your needs is to explore the Rainbow Framework, where you can find resources relating to evaluation methods, approaches and tasks.
Retrospective 'outcome harvesting': Generating robust insights
This paper describes the use of the Outcome Harvesting approach to evaluate a global voluntary network.Discussion note: Complexity aware monitoring
USAID’s Office of Learning, Evaluation and Research (LER) has produced a Discussion Note: Complexity-Aware Monitoring, intended for those seeking cutting-edge solutions to monitoring complex aspects of strategies and projects.Outcome harvesting
This 27-page brief, written by Ricardo Wilson-Grau and Heather Britt, introduces the key concepts and approach used by Outcome Harvesting (published by the Ford Foundation in May 2012; revised in Nov 2013).Contribution analysis: An approach to exploring cause and effect
This brief from the Institutional Learning and Change Initiative (ILAC) explores contribution analysis and how it can be used to provide credible assessments of cause and effect.Realistic evaluation bloodlines
This article, written by Ray Pawson and Nick Tilley analyses six different social science inquiries from around the globe that use a variety of methods and strategies in order to draw conclusions about realistic evaluations.How to manage an evaluation and disseminate its results
This guide from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) outlines the roles and responsibilities of evaluation managers during and after the evaluation has taken place.Budgeting for developmental evaluation (DE)
An interview with internationally recognised evaluation expert Michael Quinn Patton by Heather Britt for BetterEvaluation, April 2012.Evaluation ethics, politics, standards, and guiding principles
This is a module taken from the International Program for Development Evaluation Training (IPDET) program.Clearing the fog: New tools for improving the credibility of impact claims
This IIED Briefing Paper shows that the methods of process tracing and Bayesian updating can facilitate a dialogue between theory and evidence that allows for the assessing of the degree of confidence in ‘contribution claims’ in a transpareGuidelines to avoid conflict of interest in independent evaluations
These guidelines from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) set out the procedures that need to be taken into account when assessing the independence of evaluation and audit functions to ensure ethical requirements are met.The African evaluation guidelines: 2002
This paper from the African Evaluation Association (AfrEA) provides a brief description of the guidelines and a series of checklists to assist with the planning, implementation and completion of the evaluation process.What counts as good evidence?
This paper, written by Sandra Nutley, Alison Powell and Huw Davies for the Alliance for Useful Evidence, discusses the risks of using a hierarchy of evidence and suggests an alternative in which more complex matrix approaches for identifyinIdentifying evaluative criteria
This chapter details the use of a needs assessment to identify evaluative criteria.20 years of outcome mapping: Evolving practices for transformative change
This paper reflects on the evolving use of Outcome Mapping 20 years after the first publication on this approach. The resource also provides a "set of guiding practices to support transformative change":A guiding framework for needs assessment evaluations to embed digital platforms in partnership with Indigenous communities
This open-access journal article describes a needs assessment with a subarctic Métis community in Saskatchewan, Canada.Outcome mapping + equity, gender, and social justice
This paper introduces OM+, a new approach to thinking about and using Outcome Mapping (OM) for supporting transformative change through a focus on inclusion and leadership for equity, gender, and social justice.Power analysis: A practical guide
This guide was developed in response to a recommendation of the Swedish Government Policy on Democratic Development and Human Rights, that power be analysed as part of context-specific poverty analysis.Quick guide to power analysis
This 2-page guide developed by Oxfam in 2014 and updated in 2021, provides an overview of key concepts in power analysis and why it is useful, with links to additional resources.Process tracing as a practical evaluation method: Comparative learning from six evaluations
This 2020 paper by Alix Wadeson, Bernardo Monzani and Tom Aston presents and reflects on six evaluations where process tracing was used and identifies some key learnings.Power analysis briefing: Review of tools and methods
This paper, developed for WaterAid in 2012, provides an overview of different types of tools and methods for power analysis, including the use of lists, network maps, and classification systems.Example outcome journal template
This template is based on the original Outcome Mapping guidance, incorporating elements from Outcome Harvesting (e.g. significance) and allowing tagging to particular progress markers (rather than listing them all as the original does).Causal map app
This site includes a range of resources on causal mapping and the use of the causal map app including a guide that covers basic and advanced coding and analysis.Reflecting: journals and learning (b)logs – Using journals and learning (b)logs to assess learning
The "Reflecting: Journals and Learning (b)logs" resource from the University of Warwick provides comprehensive guidance on the use of reflective writing for assessment and personal development.Diaries and logs
This article provides comprehensive guidance on using diaries and logs to assess physical activity.Lost causal: Debunking myths about causal analysis in philanthropy
This 2021 paper, updated in 2024, advocates for more causal analysis in philanthropic evaluation - not just describing actions taken and changes observed, but also learning how and why change occurred.Rethinking rigour to embrace complexity in peacebuilding evaluation
This 2024 open-access journal article presents the inclusive rigour framework and applies it to three cases of peace-building evaluation.Causal Pathways introductory session: How do I mix and combine methods?
This session of the Causal Pathways Symposium 2023 explores when to use different methods and how to combine them to better understand and visualise causal pathways.Causal Pathways introductory session: Causal mapping
This session of the Causal Pathways Symposium 2023, by Steve Powell, focused on causal mapping, a tool for mapping causal relationships in evaluation, including visualizing them.Causal Pathways introductory session: Qualitative Impact Protocol (QuIP)
This session of the Causal Pathways Symposium 2023, by Fiona Remnant and James Copestake, discusses QuIP, a non-experimental goal-free approach to impact evaluation that can map and analyze causal mechanisms.Causal Pathways introductory session: Realist evaluation
This session of the Causal Pathways Symposium 2023, by Melanie Punton, is an introduction to Realist Evaluation, a theory-based evaluation approach based on the idea that interventions do not work for everyone, all the time.Causal Pathways introductory session: Outcome harvesting for exploring causal pathways
This session of the Causal Pathways Symposium 2023, by Carlisle Levine and Hippolyt Pul, introduces outcome harvesting, a method to collect evidence of what has changed and whether and how an intervention has contributed to these changes.Causal Pathways introductory session: The inclusive rigour framework
This session of the Causal Pathways Symposium 2023, by Marina Apgar, Leslie Wingender, and Helene Bradburn, introduces the inclusive rigour framework.