Term

Definition

Baseline Benchmarks

Data that describe the situation before any project intervention.

Bias

The extent to which a measurement or method systematically underestimates or overestimates a value.

Effectiveness

The extent to which the project produced its expected outputs and thereby achieved its purpose and contributed to its goal.

Efficiency

The extent to which project inputs were supplied and managed and activities organized in the most appropriate manner at the least cost to produce the necessary outputs.

Evaluability

The extent to which a project has been defined in such a way as to enable evaluation.

Evaluation design

The parameters that define the evaluation and how it is to be undertaken, including the evaluation questions, methodology, data collection plan, methods of analysis.

Ex-ante evaluation

An appraisal or needs assessment . Also used for the "ex ante phase" of the evaluation cycle, which includes feasibility studies, identification of project objectives and other such functions done before the project begins.

Ex-post evaluation

An evaluation conducted upon the completion of project execution. At IDB, ex-post evaluation is generally conducted 1 - 3 years after the conclusion of the project (once the Project Completion Report is prepared) and focuses on effectiveness, effects, and purpose levels.

External validity

The extent to which a finding applies (or can be generalized) to persons, objects, settings, or times other than those that were the subject of study.

Impacts and Effects

As defined in the Logical Framework Analysis approach, impacts and effects refer to the planned and unplanned consequences of the project; effects generally relate to its purpose and impacts relate to its goal.

Impact Evaluation

An Ex-Post evaluation conducted long after project completion (generally five years) and focussing on the goal and purpose levels of a project (as defined in the Logical Framework Analysis approach) as well as its sustainability and unplanned effects.

Indicator

The quantitative and qualitative specification for an objective, used for measuring progress toward attaining the objective.

Internal Validity

The extent to which a finding within a particular setting is supported by the available data.

Lesson Learned

A lesson learned is a general hypothesis based on the findings of one or more evaluations, but which is presumed to relate to a general principle that may apply more generally.

Longitudinal Data

Observations collected over a period of time on a given population. Also called "time series data".

Monitoring

Monitoring is a procedure for checking the effectiveness and efficiency of implementing a project by identifying strengths and shortcomings and recommending corrective measures to optimize the intended outcomes. Monitoring in this context is a quality check or appraisal of activities of a whole system while it is actively in operation.

Program Evaluation

The application of scientific research methods to estimate the extent to which observed results, intended or not, are caused by program activities.

Project Performance

Project performance means achieving expected results within planned timeframes and resource limits.

Qualitative data

Data that use non-numeric information for description . Generally words, but may include photographs and film, audio recordings, artifacts.

Quantitative Data

Information expressed in the form of numbers . May be ordinal or ratio.

Reliability

The quality of a measurement process that would produce similar results on (1) repeated observations of the same condition or event, or (2) multiple observations of the same condition or event by different means.

Validity

The extent to which the conclusions of an evaluation are justified by the data presented (see also Internal Validity and External Validity).