Countries increasingly see the value of investing in development programs that promise social and environmental outcomes beyond what economic growth can deliver. But good ideas on paper do not automatically turn into good results on the ground. One way to guide policy and investments is by doing program evaluations that shed light on their true benefits and costs.

If done well, evaluations can also bring a certain degree of objectivity to decision-making. To the extent the lessons heeded, there would be a better chance that investments and policies are based on development effectiveness rather than politics and special interests. There are three ways in which evaluation results make a difference.

First, conducting assessments of investments, such as a social protection initiative, allows them to be expanded on the basis of the results obtained. Careful evaluations in some social areas have given policymakers grounds to expand... — blogs.adb.org/blog