Methodological Briefs Impact Evaluation No. 5: Participatory Approaches

Year of production: 2014

Using participatory approaches in impact evaluation means involving stakeholders, particularly the participants in a programme or those affected by a given policy, in specific aspects of the evaluation process. The term covers a wide range of different types of participation, which differ in terms of what is understood by ‘participation’, whose participation is wanted, and what it is that those people are involved in and how. The methodological brief covers when its appropriate to use a participatory approach to impact evaluation, how to make the most of participatory approaches, ethical concerns, other methods that work well with a participatory approach, participation in analysis and feedback of results, and examples of good practices and challenges

Authors

UNICEF Office of Research – Innocenti

UNICEF enjoys the unique privilege of maintaining a global research centre for children based at the nearly 600-year-old Ospedale degli Innocenti in Florence, Italy. Established in 1419 by the influential Silk workers Guild, Innocenti can be viewed as one of the earliest efforts by secular authorities to elevate the concerns of the most vulnerable children to the level of civic priority.While UNICEF is a very recent arrival at Innocenti, in many ways leading innovations in care, protection and the rights of children can be seen as emanating from this institution beginning in the Renaissance and continuing till today.

Irene Guijt