We provide a full range of evaluation services that measure the processes, performance, and impacts of global development projects. We produce rigorous evaluations with a focus on providing useful information for decision-making. Our work helps our clients learn, adapt, and improve their programming to address development challenges. Our approach is built on international standards of excellence requiring evaluations to be useful, practical, ethical, and accurate.
Our performance evaluations cover a variety of evaluation purposes and designs – from traditional snapshot and longitudinal designs to more innovative developmental and participatory approaches. Through these, we examine the efficiency, relevance, and effectiveness of activities and processes. We assess the sustainability and institutional impacts of interventions and partnerships. We emphasize local participation, organizational skill development, and the usefulness of the evaluation to inform decision-making.
Utilization is a guiding principle of SI’s PE approach and forms the basis for our Evaluation Quality, Use, and Impact system. EQUI is SI’s proprietary system for managing evaluations to achieve impact. EQUI combines evaluator training, quality assurance, and stakeholder engagement to produce accurate and useful results.
Services: performance evaluations, developmental evaluations, evaluations for program improvement, participatory and empowerment evaluation, evaluation capacity development
HOW WE GET RESULTS
Evaluations are useful only if they are used. Through targeted impact tracing, we follow up on PE recommendations to understand whether and how they were used to inform decision-making.
We conducted a performance evaluation of a USAID tuberculosis care program in Zimbabwe that led to improvements in the program, national expansion, and follow-on programming. The program was able to leverage funding from other sources and begin transitioning to local management.
We are evaluating US Department of State refugee shelter, health, and education programs for Syrian and Iraqi refugees in the Middle East. Our findings will help identify best practices, propose indicators to measure the impact of the program, and assist policymakers and implementers strengthen the quality of the programs.
We also build the capacity of organizations to monitor and evaluate their own programs to better achieve their missions.
Our PEs aim to meet the highest standards of propriety and accuracy. SI’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) reviews PE designs and methods for ethical concerns even when not required by our clients, and all staff undergo training in this area. We use mixed method approaches to triangulate data. We train team members on accurately discerning findings, conclusions, and recommendations. We have various levels of technical oversight to ensure accurate and high quality evaluation products.
SI incorporates innovation throughout the evaluation lifecycle where appropriate. This includes using mobile data collection and non-traditional PE designs such as developmental evaluations. SI employs a variety of methods such as social network analysis, outcome mapping, transect walks and other participatory methods. We tailor deliverables to the evaluation audience through workshops, podcasts, fora, and infographics.