Impact evaluations at Agence Francaise de Developpement: a process of in-house appropriation and capacity-building. (Special Issue: Impact evaluation: the experience of official agencies.)

摘要

This article discusses the economic- and social-impact evaluation studies carried out by the Agence Francaise de Developpment. Two studies were completed in Madagascar (microfinance) and in Guinea (agricultural development). Two Randomized Control Trials have recently been launched to determine the impact of a microfinance institution's work in the rural areas of Morocco and a micro-health insurance programme's in Cambodia. The objectives of impact evaluation are to promote accountability, produce sound knowledge on development and to contribute to national policy-making. Moreover, the substantial involvement of AFD and its local partners in evaluation aims at building in-house capacities. The challenge is now to address a growing number of in-house demands for rigorous impact evaluations, under time and budget constraints, through a diversity of methods.