Impact evaluation is used to determine the effectiveness of programs by examining outcomes and determining if goals were achieved. It typically occurs retrospectively on mature programs and uses approaches like objectives-based, needs-based, or process-outcome evaluations to establish what works and why by measuring outcomes rather than just outputs. The major concerns are determining if the program was implemented as planned and what benefits were achieved for participants.

1. IMPACT EVALUATION

2. Purpose of Impact Evaluation
• Impact evaluation is predicated on whether
programs are making a difference.

3. Nature of Impact Evaluation
• IE has a strong summative emphasis in that it
provides findings from which a judgment of
the worth of the program can be made.
• IE are retrospective in that it logically occur at
an end-point.

4. Nature of Impact Evaluation
• IE are undertaken on programs which are in a
mature or settled stage and have had
sufficient time to have an effect.
• IE can also be administered to immature
programs but the evaluator must give caution.

5. IE is concerned with………………
• Determining the range and extent of
outcomes of a program.
• Determining whether the program has been
implemented as planned and how
implementation has affected outcomes.

6. • Providing evidence to funders about the
extent to which resources allocated to a
program have been spent wisely.
IE is concerned with………………
• Informing decisions about replication or
extension of the program.

7. Major concern of IE…………
• Outcomes are major concerns of IE not output.
• What are outcomes?
- are benefits for participants during or after
their involvement with a program.
- outcomes relate to knowledge, skills,
attitudes, values, behavior, condition or
status.

8. Major concern of IE…………
• What are outputs?
- outputs are products of the program’s
activities. Example: number of meals
provided, classes taught etc.
• IE is concerned with establishing what works
and why.

9. IE is beneficial to the following…
• Stakeholders of the program
• Scholars
• Policy-makers

10. Approaches to IE…….
• In order to determine if a program has impact,
the following must be done:
- selection of key variables
- setting standards
- evidence
* It is the most practised form of evaluation

11. Approaches to IE……….
• Objectives-based;
• Needs-based;
• Process-product studies; and
• Performance audit

12. OBJECTIVES - BASED
• Based on the judgment of whether the stated
goals or objectives of the program have been
met.
• These are often expressed in terms of gains in
attainment of program participants

13. OBJECTIVES - BASED
Main Task in setting up Objectives-based
• Determine the issue of the stakeholders.
• Determine the real objectives of the program.
• Determine the most appropriate way to check
if the program has led to the attainment of
the goals.

14. OBJECTIVES – BASED
• Select an appropriate measuring
instrument, or write and trial a new
instrument.
• Identify the sources of evidence.
• Collect and analyze the evidence.
• Draw conclusions, make judgments and
recommendation and report findings.

15. NEEDS – BASED
• Determine the impact if the program meets
an identifiable need.

16. GOAL - FREE
• The purpose is to examine all program effects,
rather than limiting the investigation to
outcomes which reflect program objectives.
• Goal-free evaluations are rare.
• In goal-free, one examinees both the intended
and unintended outcomes.

17. PROCESS – OUTCOME
• The focus is on the actual program
implementation in order to explain the
process of the outcome.
• The outcome = DV; the process = IV.

18. PROCESS – OUTCOME
• Standard procedure is to develop instruments
to measure outcomes.
• Determine the degree to which
implementation action is consistent with the
intentions of the program.
• Preferred – observations by trained personnel.

19. Implementation as DV
• This is done when it is more important to look
at and evaluate the implementation rather
than the outcome.

20. PERFORMANCE AUDIT
• A custom crafted analysis of program
efficiency and effectiveness. It involves the
determination of the economy, efficiency and
effectiveness of government organizations,
activities and functions, in addition to their
compliance with laws and regulations.

21. PERFORMANCE AUDIT
• The actual practice of PA include:
- a systematic process;
- objectively obtaining and evaluating
evidence;
- ascertaining the degree of correspondence
between assertion and established criteria.
- communicating the results to interested
users.

22. Summary of IE…….
• Orientation
- What is the worth of the program?
- Justification of decisions to mount the
program?
- Accountability to functions and other
stakeholders.

23. Summary of IE……….
• Typical Issues
- has the program been implemented as
planned?
- have the stated goals of the program been
achieved?
- have the needs of those served by the
program been met?

24. Summary of IE………
• Typical Issues
- what are the unintended outcomes?
- does the implementation strategy lead to
the intended outcomes?
- how do differences in the implementation
affect the program outcomes?
- what are the benefits of the program given
the costs?

25. Summary of IE……….
• State of program
- settled
• Major focus
- delivery and outcomes
• Timing
- after the program has been completed

26. Summary of IE………
• Key approaches
- objectives based
- needs based
- goal free
- process outcome
- performance audit