ODA Project Evaluation and the OECD·DAC's Five Criteria

Abstract

This article offers a prospective framework for the third-party evaluation of Official Development Assistance (ODA) projects. The framework covers a professional evaluation approach as well as multifocus evaluation criteria. In the opening section it defines third-party evaluation, and then the second section uses four of the five criteria of the Developmental Assistance Committee (DAC), which are effectiveness, efficiency, impact and relevance, to analyze this evaluation as a typical example of an interdisciplinary approach. Based on these criteria, many research and international assistance organizations have generated evaluation frameworks for their projects, for example European Aid's Log Frame and FASID's evaluation matrix. In the third section, the remaining criterion of sustainability is discussed in detail in terms of its current accepted methodology, and an alternative method of evaluation is proposed; this is followed by the conclusions.

The conclusions of this article are as follows:

Firstly, the DAC's five criteria provide a fundamentally sound basis for project evaluation. Further refinement of certain aspects could well help to overcome weaknesses relating to a tendency towards broadness and generality.

Secondly, the precise definition and scope of the individual criteria, especially ‘impact’ and ‘sustainability’, should be determined beforehand.

Thirdly, an appropriate methodology should be developed to evaluate the particular aspects of the project, especially its impact, sustainability and relevance.

Finally, this article presents an alternative evaluation method for project sustainability from an institutional and a resource perspective, and confirms its effectiveness.