Meta-Evaluation of Quality and Coverage of USAID Evaluations

This evaluation of evaluations, or meta-evaluation, was undertaken to assess the quality of USAID’s evaluation reports. The study builds on USAID’s practice of periodically examining evaluation quality to identify opportunities for improvement. It covers USAID evaluations completed between January 2009 and December 2012. During this four-year period, USAID launched an ambitious effort called USAID Forward, which aims to integrate all aspects of the Agency’s programming approach, including program and project evaluations, into a modern, evidence-based system for realizing development results. A key element of this initiative is USAID’s Evaluation Policy, released in January 2011.