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

Abstract

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.