Measuring effectiveness in development and humanitarian assistance: An overview

Measuring effectiveness in humanitarian and development aid is an area that is poorly debated and understood. This chapter attempts to discuss challenges associated with measuring the effectiveness of development aid and humanitarian programs. It starts by examining gaps in measuring effectiveness, contrasting humanitarian assistance with development aid programs. The discussion starts by providing an historical perspective on the methodological gap, then moves on to address challenges related to determining the evaluation perspectives and outcome measures, evaluability assessment, and sustainability. The chapter concludes by advocating the need for capacity building in evaluation within development and humanitarian aid agencies. It suggests that this should be linked into a better understanding of the communities NGOs seek to serve through the use of a vulnerability assessment framework.