Training Course on Impact Evaluation for Evidence-Based Development

Course Overview

The Impact Evaluation for Evidence-Based Development Training Course aims to equip participants with the knowledge and skills necessary to design, implement, and assess the impact of development programs. Participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of impact evaluation methodologies, tools, and techniques, enabling them to make evidence-based decisions that contribute to the success and effectiveness of development initiatives.

Course Objectives

By the end of the training, the participants will:

• Acquire knowledge of impact evaluation theories and methodologies.
• Explore challenges related to attribution, selection, and placement biases in evaluation problems.
• Gain insight into various impact evaluation designs, including randomized, quasi, and non-experimental approaches.
• Develop the skills to perform a rigorous impact evaluation of a project.
• Learn and apply techniques for sampling and power calculation in impact evaluation.
• Practice econometric techniques for analyzing the impact of interventions.
• Execute impact data analysis using methods such as Propensity Matching and Difference-in-Difference.
• Effectively report and disseminate findings from impact evaluations.

Target Audience

This course is designed for monitoring and evaluation professionals, project and program managers, data analysts, researchers, development practitioners, and decision-makers involved in assessing the effectiveness of development programs. It is particularly suited for staff of NGOs, government agencies, donor-funded programs, and civil society organizations who are responsible for measuring results, conducting rigorous impact evaluations, and using evidence to guide programmatic and policy decisions.

Benefits to the Organization

Organizations whose staff attend this course will benefit from:

• Enhanced ability to measure program effectiveness and impact
• Strengthened evidence-based decision-making and adaptive management
• Improved program accountability and transparency
• Enhanced credibility with donors, stakeholders, and partners
• Capacity to integrate quantitative and qualitative findings into program improvement

Benefits to the Participants

Participants will gain:

• Practical skills in designing and conducting rigorous impact evaluations
• Hands-on experience with quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods
• Improved confidence in reporting and communicating evaluation results
• Ability to address attribution and selection challenges in real-world programs
• A Certificate of Completion issued by Perk Group Africa

Course Duration: 

Online Training: 5 days (4hrs per day) 

Classroom Training: 5 days (7hrs per day)

Course Outline

Module 1: Introduction to Impact Evaluation 

• Definition and importance of impact evaluation in development
• Impact evaluation attribution
• Attribution versus contribution

Module 2: Determining points of Impact Evaluation

• Forms of evaluation
• Theories of Change
• Hypothesis of evaluation
• Indicators of impact evaluation
• The results chain

Module 3: Impact Evaluation Counterfactuals

• Causal reference
• Counterfactuals and comparison groups
• Counterfactual estimation in impact evaluation
• Impact Evaluation without comparison and baseline data

Module 4: Impact Evaluation Research Designs

• Experimental Design- Randomized Control Trials
• Quasi experimental designs
• Difference-in-Difference
• Regression Discontinuity
• Matching
• Non-experimental designs

Module 5: Impact Evaluation Sampling

• Impact Evaluation sampling techniques
• Calculation of sample size
• Sampling weight
• Statistical power
• Development of comparison groups

Module 6: Impact Evaluation Quantitative Data Analysis

• Randomized Impact Evaluation
• Developing counterfactual
• Randomization
• Program Placement impacts
• Program Participation impacts
• Integrating Program Placement and Participation
• Spillover Effects Measurements
• Propensity Score Matching Technique (PSM)
• Introduction to PSM
• Application of  PSM in Impact Evaluation
• Developing propensity scores
• Matching Analysis (Nearest-Neighbour, Stratification, Radius, Kernel )
• Doubly Robust Estimation

Module 7: Difference in Difference Method

• Introduction to DID
• Application of DID in Impact Evaluation
• DID estimator: (Single DID, DID with covariates, Quantile DID)
• DID for Cross-Sectional Data
• Balancing Tests
• Diff-in-Diff with Propensity Score Matching

Module 8: Qualitative Approaches in Impact Evaluation

• Significant Change
• Outcome Mapping
• Outcome Harvesting
• Appreciative Inquiry

Module 9: Impact Evaluation Findings Development and Dissemination

• Impact Evaluation Plan
• Impact Evaluation Reports: Baseline report, Impact Evaluation Reports
• Case studies

Note: This outline provides a general structure for the training. The specific content, activities, and duration of each session may be adjusted based on the target audience, learning objectives, and available time.