Six practices to strengthen evaluation of Research for Development

Overview

This good practice document is designed for organizations that fund and support research for development and have a stake in the effective evaluation of these projects. It was produced by ESSENCE on Health Research, an initiative of funding agencies to improve the coordination and harmonization of research capacity investments. It is one of a series of good practice documents produced by members that incorporate current knowledge and best practices on health research and development issues.

This report recommends the following six best practices to consider for research evaluation:

• Build on established evaluation standards.
• Develop rigorous design, approaches, methods and metrics.
• Consider values.
• Identify users and intended uses of the evaluation.
• Plan according to the anticipated timeline of influence.
• Foster collaboration among diverse stakeholders.