"Evaluating development aid : issues, problems and solutions"

This book is a 'must-have' for all development professionals. Basil Cracknell begins by reviewing the state-of-the-art of development aid evaluations, including the history, the basic concepts, the methodological problems associated with the choice of techniques, the differences between monitoring and evaluation, the role of evaluation in organizational learning, how to ensure that evaluation findings lead to action, the need for evaluation reports to be user-friendly, and the role of automated data systems.

He then considers the key issues and problems in aid evaluation, such as the trend towards impact evaluation, the importance of sustainability, stakeholder analysis, and special problems associated with sectors such as research and development, poverty alleviation and structural adjustment.

He explores how aid evaluators can reconcile the requirements of accountability and objectivity with the growing realization that some kind of participatory approach is essential if one is to really understand the impact of people-centred projects on the intended beneficiaries.