Well-designed programs include provisions for evaluation from the very outset. Evaluation planning begins in the early stages of your Background Research and continues throughout your Program Design and Implementation stages.

The integration of thoughtful evaluation planning into the program’s structure is demonstrated in the Key Steps in Evaluation, which lists the decisions and steps that must be taken before, during, and after program implementation.  

Terms of Reference are needed to outline what will be done, and can serve as a formal agreement, whether the evaluation is conducted internally or externally. Terms of Reference should include:

• Purpose and timing of the evaluation;
• Key questions to be asked;
• Requirements of the evaluation team (if conducted externally);
• Expected structure of the report that will present evaluation findings;
• Budget.