The third working paper from the Green Climate Fund’s (GCF) Independent Evaluation Unit (IEU) is now available. Challenges in real-world impact evaluations: Some learning on costs and timeliness, IEU Working Paper No. 03, by Dr.Jyotsna Puri (Jo) and Dr. Francis Rathinam, analyses real-world impact evaluations in development sectors in low- and middle-income countries. Using the example of grants-for impact evaluations given by the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie), the paper examines the key issues typically associated with conducting impact evaluations in real-world settings, including costs, complicated requirements for implementation and the ambition of policy influence. The analyses provide insights into managing impact evaluations for real-world programmes where impact evaluation and programme teams often have different objectives and timelines. The working paper concludes with emerging lessons for researchers.

Read the full working paper here.