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Home Specialist skills Policy Introduction to Policy Evaluation for Analysts

Introduction to Policy Evaluation for Analysts

Develop participants’ knowledge of monitoring and evaluation, and the difference between them
Identify different types of evaluation and their role across the policy cycle
Identify the role of evaluation knowledge in commissioning, managing and quality assuring evaluations
Introduce the Magenta Book: Central Government Guidance on Evaluation, and the Green Book: Central Government Guidance On Appraisal and Evaluation.

Overview

Off the shelf (OTS)

This course will introduce learners with the skills they need to act as an intelligent customer for evaluation. It provides an understanding of the role of monitoring and evaluation in the context of government policy making, business case development, resource and budget planning and spending reviews; the use of a theory of change / logic models in programme development and evaluation planning; developing evaluation questions; the main evaluation approaches; the importance of the counterfactual; the difference between experimental, quasi-experimental and theory-based impact evaluation methods, and when it is appropriate to use each; how to assess good quality in evaluation design and delivery; and where to get more information including an overview of the Magenta Book and its annexes.