Published on Development Impact

OOPS! Did I just ruin this impact evaluation? Assembling a top ten of mistakes

This page in:

Christel Vermeersch, our World Bank colleague from the HD group, just sent us this request, which she asked us to share with our blog audience to see if you have any lessons to share:

Dear friends and colleagues,

Having been involved in 20 + impact evaluations, there is one thing I have learnt over the years... it's really, really, easy to make a big mistake. From forgetting a key question in the questionnaire, to interviewing the wrong people, to omitting in the terms of reference that the survey firm has to deliver the data, mistakes seem to go from dramatic to hilarious. And "been there, done that" sounds all too familiar.

Does this experience resonate with you? Are you also an "impact evaluator" with a few skeletons in your IE closet? Then I'd like to hear from you! Please share (anonymously!) so others can learn from our collective wisdom...

 

--> Share your experience by clicking on this link


With the inputs, I'll be assembling a top ten of mistakes. Best of all, if you respond by October 16 and if your story makes it to the top ten, you'll be eligible for a small prize.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Christel


Authors

David McKenzie

Lead Economist, Development Research Group, World Bank

Join the Conversation

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly
Remaining characters: 1000