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.
Outcome Mapping Learning Community
This website from the Outcome Mapping Learning Community is a resource and sharing hub for resources and ideas related to outcome mapping.Bath social & developmental research ltd. (BSDR) website
BSDR is a non-profit research organisation set up by the authors of the QuIP - a small team of researchers from the Centre for Development Studies (CDS) at the University of Bath - with the ambition to bring more research into practice.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.The book of why: The new science of cause and effect - Book review
This review of The Book of Why: The New Science of Cause and Effect attempts to explain "reclaiming causal" from the perspective of an influential statistician and thinker.Contribution analysis and estimating the size of effects: Can we reconcile the possible with the impossible?
This paper explores how contribution analysis can be used to give a quantitative sense of a contribution's importance.An introduction to applied data analysis with qualitative comparative analysis
This article by Nicolas Legewie provides an introduction to Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). It discusses the method's main principles and advantages, including its concepts.Qualitative impact assessment protocol (QuIP)
This easy-to-read briefing introduces the Qualitative Impact Protocol (QuIP) as a valuable, simple and cost-effective tool for assessing the impact of social investments and development interventions.Outcome mapping: A method for tracking behavioural changes in development programs
This guide published by the Institutional Learning and Change (ILAC) Initiative provides a detailed overview of using outcome mapping as an evaluation tool.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.Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation (JCSEE) program evaluation standards
This resource from the Joint Committee on Standards for Educational Evaluation provides statements that describe each of the standards developed to support program evaluation.Contribution analysis in policy work: Assessing advocacy’s influence
This brief provides a background on contribution analysis and its applications, as well as walking through five case studies in which the authors have used contribution analysis to assess whether and how advocacy efforts made a difference.Introduction: Contribution, causality, context, and contingency when evaluating inclusive business programmes
This IDS Bulletin discusses approaches and methods for meaningful impact evaluation, building on real-world experiences with theory-based evaluation in inclusive business programmes.What is qualitative comparative analysis (QCA)?
This slide show from Charles C Ragin, provides a detailed explanation, including examples, that clearly demonstrates the question, 'What is QCA?'.Causal Pathways 2023 Symposium and 2024 introductory sessions
This series of webinars was first presented at the Causal Pathways Symposium 2023, which focused on "connecting, learning, and building a shared understanding of the evaluation and participatory practices that make causal pathways more visible"Cases in outcome harvesting
This report from The World Bank documents the pilot of a program that examines the use of outcome harvesting and the Bank's results management approach to understand how change happens in complex environments.Assessing rural transformations: Piloting a qualitative impact protocol in Malawi and Ethiopia
This working paper reports on findings from four pilot studies of a protocol for qualitative impact evaluation of NGO-sponsored rural development projects in Malawi and Ethiopia.Broadening the range of designs and methods for impact evaluations
The working paper, written by Elliot Stern, Nicoletta Stame, John Mayne, Kim Forss, Rick Davies and Barbara Befani for the UK Department for International Development (DFID), describes how theory-based, case-based and participatory meThe 'Most Significant Change' technique - A guide to its use
Essential reading for anyone seeking to use the 'Most Significant Change' (MSC) technique.Técnica del “Cambio Más Significante” (MSC, por sus siglas en inglés) - Guía para su uso
La técnica del cambio más significante (MSC, por sus siglas en inglés) es una forma de monitoreo y evaluación participativa.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.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.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.Making rigorous causal claims in a real-life context: Has research contributed to sustainable forest management?
This article discusses an impact evaluation that examined the contribution of two forestry research centres - the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and the Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pourQuick 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.A critical review of applications in QCA and fuzzy-set analysis and a ‘toolbox’ of proven solutions to frequently encountered problems
This paper from Patrick A. Mello focuses on reviewing current applications for use in Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) in order to take stock of what is available and highlight best practice in this area.Making causal pathways visible amid complexity
This report from 2021 shares findings from an investigation into how social change agents, including philanthropists, can better understand and learn from ongoing changes and improve their strategies now and in the future.Outcome mapping: Building learning and reflection into development programs
This book by Sarah Earl, Fred Carden and Terry Smutylo takes an original approach to assessing development impacts by focusing on the way in which people relate to each other and to their environment rather than simply evaluating the producQuIP used as part of an evaluation of the impact of the UK Government Tampon Tax Fund (TTF)
The evaluation of the UK Government's Tampon Tax Fund (TTF), established in 2015, incorporated Qualitative Impact Assessment Protocol (QuIP) techniques to capture grantees' perspectives.Causal Pathways breakout session: Process tracing
This session of the Causal Pathways Symposium 2023, by Zoë Sutherland, explores process tracing and how it can be used to understand causal pathways.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.A guide to assessing needs
This book, written by Ryan Watkins, Maurya West Meiers and Yusra Laila Visser for The World Bank, provides detailed guidance on needs assessment during the early stages of project development.Causal Pathways introductory session: Causal link monitoring
This session of the Causal Pathways Symposium 2023, by Heather Britt, introduced causal link monitoring, a method for integrating monitoring data and evaluation in order to address causality amid complexity.