Misereor uses the funds available to it responsibly, economically and efficiently, and regularly accounts to the individual and public donors providing it with the money.
Misereor projects are designed to help enable poor people improve their living conditions and initiate processes of social and political transformation. The changes brought about by the project work must be monitored, regardless of whether they are expected or unexpected. Misereor therefore enables its target groups and partners to assess, evaluate and report on these project effects.
This outcome and impact assessment provides project actors with the basis on which to intervene and steer processes, and generates lessons learned that can be utilised in future projects. At the same time, it is also important that both we ourselves and our partners document outcomes and impacts for purposes of external accountability.
This short film presents the benefits of project evaluations and why partners organisations should consider commissioning them locally. It introduces examples and various partners’ experiences with such local evaluations.
What does Misereor understand by ‘effects’ in development cooperation, and how can effects, outcomes and impacts be assessed? The film seeks to explore these questions on the basis of practical examples of project work at the grassroots.
How can Misereor’s partner organisations ensure that the people with whom they work are actively involved in the monitoring and evaluation of their projects? Complementing the film on ‘effects’, this film shows and explains methods of participatory outcome and impact assessment in development projects.
The aim we pursue with the overview on the following pages is twofold: firstly, to make our…
The aim we pursue with the overview on the following pages is twofold: firstly, to make our evaluation work transparent to all, and secondly, to invite applications of experts interested in working on individual evaluations or other assignments. This document is updated roughly every three months.
Misereor has continued to develop and refine its evaluation procedures over several…
Misereor has continued to develop and refine its evaluation procedures over several decades. The policy document describes where things stand today.
In this document Misereor’s understanding of effects and relevant questions regarding…
In this document Misereor’s understanding of effects and relevant questions regarding “Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (PME)”-systems and methods, project management etc. shall be discussed without giving blueprint answers but rather as a starting point for an exchange.
This Policy Document, which sets out Misereor’s current position, was produced by…
This Policy Document, which sets out Misereor’s current position, was produced by the Thematic Group on Effects and Quality after intensive examination of the work previously carried out on this theme. It is designed to facilitate further exchanges between staff members at Misereor and to serve as a basis for the dialogue with partners and experts in this field.
This information document deals with a number of questions that arise in the…
This information document deals with a number of questions that arise in the general context of ‘baselines’.
The term ‘baseline’ is usually understood to imply an extensive baseline study of the status quo in a project region conducted before or during project planning. Misereor does not wish to focus on expensive studies. We prefer to advocate a careful, participatory approach to project planning in which the beneficiaries are actively involved from the outset, and in which the information is collected that can later be used to assess the outcomes and impacts of the project...
As part of our efforts to assess outcomes, impacts and success more systematically, Misereor…
As part of our efforts to assess outcomes, impacts and success more systematically, Misereor expects its project partners to commission regular evaluations of projects that are implemented with Misereor support. To ensure that these evaluations are also accepted by our donors and supervisory bodies as part of our reporting obligations, certain points must be observed. We have therefore produced this guide, which we would ask you to observe when you are about to prepare an evaluation.
Publication
Misereor had reviewed the quality of evaluations directly commissioned by partner…
Publication
Misereor had reviewed the quality of evaluations directly commissioned by partner organisations from 2016 to 2020 externally.
The study examined 64 randomly selected assignments from a population of 360 evaluations of the period in question.
A comparative study based on empirical evidence from 20 years of Misereor partner efforts in Uganda:…
A comparative study based on empirical evidence from 20 years of Misereor partner efforts in Uganda: The findings provide ample evidence to rethink the policy makers’ privileged development model and rather promote an environmentally sound and socially inclusive model on the basis of sustainable agriculture.
Sustainable pathways for better food systems in India
This study investigates outcomes at the farm…
Sustainable pathways for better food systems in India
This study investigates outcomes at the farm holding level related with promotion of food security, women empowerment, and sustainable practices for agricultural production developed by women in the districts of Osmanabad and Tuljapur, Maharashtra. A total sample of 400 smallholder households was selected for the study. The production system under analysis is denominated “one acre model” which empowers women farmers in taking up sustainable food production systems. The results of the study show that measures promoted under the one acre model can be rated as successful. Even in severe drought conditions, food security for the family and food sales were well superior to the reference group.
Misereor seeks to build cooperations on an ethos of partnership, which means practicing it on…
Misereor seeks to build cooperations on an ethos of partnership, which means practicing it on equal terms. We know that it is only through the dedicated commitment, the knowledge and the expertise of our partner organisations in the South that we can help tackle the causes of hunger and disease in the world. But how successful are we as practitioners of partnership? To what extent do our partners in the South notice? Misereor's 50th anniversary was a fitting occasion on which to review how Misereor translates its understanding of partnership into practice, and what effects this generates.
The evaluation of the funding area "Human Rights" at Misereor was carried out between October…
The evaluation of the funding area "Human Rights" at Misereor was carried out between October 2016 and April 2018. The objectives of the evaluation were to examine the underlying logic of the funding area’s effects along with the effectiveness of various concepts for action and instruments of human rights work, and then to draw conclusions for funding practice.
Misereor contracted evaplan GmbH at the University Hospital of Heidelberg to evaluate its…
Misereor contracted evaplan GmbH at the University Hospital of Heidelberg to evaluate its health care sector portfolio between August 2012 and December 2013.
The objective of this evaluation was twofold: firstly, to contribute to the learning process that Misereor strives for in dialogue with its partners and secondly, to contribute to the process of rendering account and ensuring transparency towards the public and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
In 2010-2011 Misereor had its promotion activities in the rural development sector evaluated,…
In 2010-2011 Misereor had its promotion activities in the rural development sector evaluated, with a special focus on food security. By publishing this abridged version of the final report Misereor wishes to make the key findings available to its partners, and encourage them to look even more closely at the effects of their work in the future.
The examples presented here show simple and straightforward instruments of outcome and impact assessment which were developed by Misereor partners in their respective project contexts. They may serve other organisations as suggestions and encouragement to find their own appropriate solutions to observing and assessing the effects of their work.
The Pastoral Social Outreach Project of CARITAS in La Paz, Bolivia
Who is the social-pastoral team, and how does it work? How does the project team go about performing monitoring effects? Read more (PDF)
The social-pastoral team in the parish of Pasorapa, Bolivia
What does the social-pastoral team do? Read more (PDF)
