Dealing with Stakeholder Values in the Evaluation of Development Programs. A Methodological Framework for Mid Term Evaluation

In mid term program evaluations evaluators are often confronted with the double task of retrospectively judging the program's merit and worth while at the same time advising decision makers concerning future adjustments in courses of action. In such cases, it can be argued that it is particularly important that evaluators take into account the divergent views and needs of different stakeholder groups. In principle, program theory evaluation can constitute a sound basis for dealing with the double objective of retrospective judgment and proactive program improvement. However, as argued in the paper, current approaches in program theory evaluation may not be sufficiently equipped to systematically deal with divergent stakeholder values. Taking into account lessons from the literature on stakeholder values in evaluation, an alternative methodological framework is presented. The framework combines program theory evaluation with elements of multicriteria decision aid. An example is used to illustrate the framework.

Challenges in impact evaluation of development interventions: opportunities and limitations for randomized experiments

In recent years debates on as well as funding of impact evaluations of development interventions have flourished. Unfortunately, controversy regarding the promotion and application of randomized experiments (RE) has led to a sense of polarization in the development policy and evaluation community. As some proponents claim epistemological supremacy of REs (with respect to attribution) the counter reaction among others has been rejection. Needless to say, such extreme positions are counterproductive to reaching a goal that is commonly endorsed: to learn more about what works and why in development. This paper discusses the prospects and limitations of REs from the perspective of three categories of challenges in impact evaluation: delimitation and scope, attribution versus explanation, and implementation challenges. The implicit lesson is twofold. First of all, the question ‘to randomize or not to randomize’ is overrated in the current debate. Limitations in scope, applicability as well as implementation will necessarily restrict the use of REs in development impact evaluation. There is a risk that the current popularity of REs in certain research and policy circles might lead to a backlash as too high expectations of REs may quicken its demise. More importantly, given the nature and scope of the challenges discussed in the paper, more energy should be devoted to developing and testing ‘rigorous’ mixed method approaches within a framework of theory-driven evaluation.

Impact Evaluations and Development: Nonie Guidance on Impact Evaluation

In international development, impact evaluation is principally concerned with final results of interventions (programs, projects, policy measures, reforms) on the welfare of communities, households, and individuals, including taxpayers and voters. Impact evaluation is one tool within the larger toolkit of monitoring and evaluation (including broad program evaluations, process evaluations, ex ante studies, etc.).The Network of Networks for Impact Evaluation (NONIE) was established in 2006 to foster more and better impact evaluations by its membership -- the evaluation networks of bilateral and multilateral organizations focusing on development issues, as well as networks of developing country evaluators. NONIE's member networks conduct a broad set of evaluations, examining issues such as project and strategy performance, institutional development, and aid effectiveness. By sharing methodological approaches and promoting learning by doing on impact evaluations, NONIE aims to promote the use of this more specific approach by its members within their larger portfolio of evaluations. This document, by Frans Leeuw and Jos Vaessen, has been developed to support this focus.For development practitioners, impact evaluations play a keyrole in the drive for better evidence on results and development effectiveness. They are particularly well suited to answer important questions about whether development interventions do or do not work, whether they make a difference, and how cost-effective they are. Consequently, they can help ensure that scarce resources are allocated where they can have the most developmental impact

Methodological Challenges in Impact Evaluation: The Case of the Global Environment Facility (GEF)

In this paper, we explore some of the methodological challenges that evaluators face in assessing the impacts of complex intervention strategies. We illustrate these challenges, using the specific example of an impact evaluation of one of the six focal areas of the Global Environment Facility; its biodiversity program. The paper discusses how theory-based evaluation can provide a basis for meeting some of the challenges presented.

Poverty, institutions and interventions: a framework for an institutional analysis of poverty and local anti-poverty interventions

At a time when technological innovations are making our world increasingly smaller and our production systems are becoming increasingly more efficient, the benefits of economic growth and development as a whole have not been able to reach all of society. Indeed, many poor countries, characterised by their disadvantageous position in the global society and continuously plagued by weak governments, internal strife and natural disasters have missed out on many of the benefits of growth and development. Within countries that do gain advantage from the various developments of globalisation, significant groups continue to be excluded from the benefits of this new-found prosperity. It is quite significant that a generalised conclusion such as this is still a reality at the turn of the century, despite decades of national and international effort to promote development and combat poverty.

Repeating Routines? How transfer and inheritance to corporate spin-offs varies among gestation contexts

In economic geography literature the attention for spin‐off entrepreneurship has been steadily growing. Its main driver is that spin-off firms are said to have intrinsic advantages over other start-ups because of their embedded link to a parent company. Through this embedded link spin-off firms have a relatively ââ¬Ëeasyââ¬â¢ access to resources for production which has several interesting implications on both the firm and the regional level. At the firm level, spin-off firms seem to outperform other entrants on at least some aspects of success including employment growth and survival chances. At the regional level, they may play a key role in the development of clusters. Despite the increasing number of studies addressing the effects of spin-off processes, important issues remain unresolved. Most importantly, there is still work to be done in identifying what it is that spin-off entrepreneurs take with them from their previous employer and how this affects their innovative behavior, business strategies and performance; and ultimately their alleged contribution to regional economic development. This has been acknowledged before: ââ¬Åââ¬Â¦ we know little about how conversion [between knowledge and technology commercialization] actually occurs, even though knowledge conversion is at the core of what spin‐offs doââ¬Â¦Ã¢â¬ (Zahra et al., 2007: 570). Based on a review of recent spin-off studies, this paper draws on key inheritance mechanisms in an attempt to develop a new conceptualization of explanations of spin-off effects. Following Koster (2006), initially a distinction will be made between direct resource transfers between parent and spin‐off (providing accommodation or guaranteed turnover) and indirect transfers (spin‐off entrepreneurs capitalizing on previously gained skills). We explore the concept of indirect transfers further in differentiating between personal skills of spin-off entrepreneurs gained while working in the parent organization on the one hand, and the inheritance of specific features of the parental organization, in particular its organizational characteristics and strategies. This closely fits in with the evolutionary economics vocabulary, especially with Nelson and Wintersââ¬â¢ (1982) famous DNA metaphor: the knowledge and routines of firms (their ââ¬ËDNAââ¬â¢) are partially inherited by their spin‐offs (Boschma et al., 2002).

Measuring Outcome and Impact of Small Development Projects: Lessons from the Evaluation of a Training Project on Low External Input Agriculture in Guatemala

Impact studies at the level of the beneficiary are not very common in the case of small-scale development projects. In this paper we will present the case of an evaluation study on a training project in Low External Input Agriculture in Guatemala. The evaluation design is based on a simple quasiexperimental design and complemented by qualitative methods of data collection. We want to illustrate that the type of mixed method evaluation used in the case can constitute a useful alternative to study the outcome and impact of small-scale development interventions given their specific constraints of money, expertise and time.

Cellular retinoic acid binding protein: cloning and expression of the gene

The work described in this thesis aims at the elucidation of mechanisms that govern cellular differentiation. To gain insight in these processes, molecular changes associated with differentiation of embryonal carcinoma cells were investigated. As similar differentiation events are assumed to occur during normal embryogenesis, this may contribute to the understanding of early embryonic development. Chapter II describes the isolation and preliminary characterization of a number of CDNA clones corresponding to gene sequences that are induced upon differentiation of a mouse embryonal carcinoma cell line. After determination of the nucleotide sequences, we were able to establish the identity of four of the selected eDNA clones. One of these was found to encode the cellular retinoic acid binding protein CRABP. In view of the known involvement of RA in cellular differentiation and embryonic pattern formation, we decided to focus our attention on analysis of the CRAB!' gene. The chapters III and W deal with the expression of CRABP during embryoni7d'~velopment. Our data show that the CRABP gene exhibits a spatia-temporally speCified expression pattern in both mouse and chick embryos. A striking correlation is observed between CRABP expression and susceptibility to RA-induced malformations. In chapter V, tissue culture experiments will be described that provide a better understanding of the role of CRABP in RA-mediated signal transduction. Finally, we have started to study the regulation of CRABP gene expression. These experiments, which include a detailed analysis of the CRABP promoter region, will be presented in chapter VI. The results presented in this thesis show that a gene that is induced upon differentiation of an EC cell line is also differentially expressed during embryogenesis. Our in vivo expression data point to an important role for CRABP in the regulation of RA mediated morphogenetic event

In Vitro Antimicrobial Activities of Organic Acids and Their Derivatives on Several Species of Gram-Negative and Gram-Positive Bacteria.

The objective of this study was to determine the in vitro antimicrobial activity of several organic acids and their derivatives against Gram-positive (G+) and Gram-negative (G-) bacteria. Butyric acid, valeric acid, monopropionin, monobutyrin, monovalerin, monolaurin, sodium formate, and ProPhorce-a mixture of sodium formate and formic acid (40:60 w/v)-were tested at 8 to 16 concentrations from 10 to 50,000 mg/L. The tested bacteria included G- bacteria (Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica Typhimurium, and Campylobacter jejuni) and G+ bacteria (Enterococcus faecalis, Clostridium perfringens, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Streptococcus suis). Antimicrobial activity was expressed as minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of tested compounds that prevented growth of tested bacteria in treated culture broth. The MICs of butyric acid, valeric acid, and ProPhorce varied among bacterial strains with the lowest MIC of 500-1000 mg/L on two strains of Campylobacter. Sodium formate at highest tested concentrations (20,000 mg/L) did not inhibit the growth of Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhimurium, and Enterococcus faecalis, but sodium formate inhibited the growth of other tested bacteria with MIC values from 2000 to 18,800 mg/L. The MIC values of monovalerin, monolaurin, and monobutyrin ranged from 2500 to 15,000 mg/L in the majority of bacterial strains. Monopropionin did not inhibit the growth of all tested bacteria, with the exception that the MIC of monopropionin was 11,300 mg/L on Clostridia perfringens. Monolaurin strongly inhibited G+ bacteria, with the MIC value of 10 mg/L against Streptococcus pneumoniae. The MIC tests indicated that organic acids and their derivatives exhibit promising antimicrobial effects in vitro against G- and G+ bacteria that are resistant to antimicrobial drugs. The acid forms had stronger in vitro antimicrobial activities than ester forms, except that the medium chain fatty acid ester monolaurin exhibited strong inhibitory effects on G+ bacteria