Joint Humanitarian Impact Evaluation: Report for the Inter-Agency Working Group on Joint Humanitarian Impact Evaluation

Since the Tsunami Evaluation Coalition there have been ongoing discussions
concerning mainstreaming joint impact evaluation within the humanitarian system. With
pressure to demonstrate that results are being achieved by humanitarian action, the
question has arisen as to whether and how evaluations can take place that will assess
joint impact. An Inter-Agency Working Group was established in November 2009 to
manage and facilitate consultations on the potential of Joint Humanitarian Impact
Evaluation (JHIE). It was agreed to hold a series of consultations between February and
November 2010 to define feasible approaches to joint impact evaluation in humanitarian
action, which might subsequently be piloted in one to two humanitarian contexts.

Consultations were held with a representative cross section of humanitarian actors: the
affected population in 15 communities in Sudan, Bangladesh and Haiti, and local
government and local NGOs in the same countries; with national government and
international humanitarian actors in Haiti and Bangladesh; and with 67 international
humanitarian actors, donors, and evaluators in New York, Rome, Geneva, London and
Washington. This is perhaps the most systematic attempt to consult with the affected
population during the design phase of a major evaluative exercise. This report details the
results from the consultations.