Impact-oriented evaluation of German Agro Action overseas activities

German Agro Action (Deutsche Welthungerhilfe - GAA) will be putting more emphasis
than in the past on the impacts of its development co-operation (DC) and humanitarian
aid (HA) when evaluating its overseas activities in priority and partner countries. This
Concept Paper provides a corresponding frame of reference for GAA staff and its partners,
GAA committees and the specialists commissioned by GAA to evaluate overseas
activities. It describes what GAA is already doing and what it intends to achieve over
the next three to four years.
First of all, the Concept Paper describes definitions, objectives, addressees, types,
criteria, methods and tools as well as approved quality standards for evaluations in
general and impact-oriented evaluations in particular that guide German Agro Action s
evaluating activities. It then explains the aims, the role and the various types of evaluation
in the organisation s activities and concludes with a set of guidelines for conducting
external evaluations as well as an outlook for impact-oriented evaluations.
Impact-oriented evaluation aims at identifying and assessing the various changes
which evolve through projects, programmes, policies and instruments as systematically
and objectively as possible and at different levels. Such impacts can be intended and
unintended, positive and negative, short, medium and long term as well as direct and
indirect. For GAA, impact-oriented evaluation also means that the findings and recommendations
of an evaluation ought to have an effect on the staff of one s own organisation
as well as those of the partner, i.e. that they are made use of and implemented in
the various project and programme phases.