Impact Evaluation
Understanding impact requires more than observing that outcomes changed after an intervention. IDER develops evaluations that examine whether and how a programme contributed to results, using a design appropriate to the decision, implementation context and available evidence. We connect causal questions with practical data collection and analysis, helping clients assess effects, understand variation and identify the limits of what an evaluation can establish.
The decision challenge
Outcomes may change because of economic conditions, participant selection or other interventions as well as the programme itself. Clients need an evaluation approach that addresses these explanations and makes clear whether the evidence supports attribution, contribution or a more limited assessment of outcomes.
Questions we help you answer
- What difference did the intervention make relative to a credible comparison?
- For whom, under what conditions and through which mechanisms did effects occur?
- What do the findings imply for adaptation, scale or further evaluation?
What the research covers
How we build the evidence
- Assessment of intervention logic, implementation conditions and counterfactual options
- Experimental or quasi-experimental designs where feasible, ethical and justified
- Longitudinal, survey and administrative-data analysis with explicit identification assumptions
- Qualitative and mixed-method enquiry into mechanisms, context and alternative explanations
Decision-ready deliverables
Evaluation design and analytical plan with feasibility and evidence requirements
Impact evaluation report distinguishing effects, uncertainty and limitations
Documented analytical outputs and accessible findings summaries
Decision brief and dissemination materials on programme implications
What this enables you to decide
Judge whether evidence supports continuation, adaptation, scaling or further testing of an intervention. The findings clarify the strength and relevance of the impact evidence, with decisions informed by costs, context, implementation capacity and uncertainty as well as estimated effects.
Quality and interpretation
We state identification assumptions, assess comparison quality and review missingness, attrition and relevant sensitivity tests. Ethical design, consent and confidentiality are integral, and causal claims are limited to what the chosen design and observed data can support.
Delivery, dissemination and use
Ghana is the operational base. Other country delivery is assessed against the required scope, expert capacity and local arrangements. Findings can be shared through technical reports, executive briefs, stakeholder workshops and programme learning sessions, with participant confidentiality and agreed publication permissions.
Related research services
Discuss a impact evaluation assignment.
Discuss the questions, methods, expertise, timeframe and deliverables your decision needs.