Measuring impact in the Millennium development Goal era and beyond: A new approach to large-scale effectiveness evaluations

Cesar G. Victora, Robert E. Black, J. Ties Boerma, Jennifer Bryce

Research output: Contribution to journalComment/debatepeer-review

136 Scopus citations

Abstract

Evaluation of large-scale programmes and initiatives aimed at improvement of health in countries of low and middle income needs a new approach. Traditional designs, which compare areas with and without a given programme, are no longer relevant at a time when many programmes are being scaled up in virtually every district in the world. We propose an evolution in evaluation design, a national platform approach that: uses the district as the unit of design and analysis; is based on continuous monitoring of different levels of indicators; gathers additional data before, during, and after the period to be assessed by multiple methods; uses several analytical techniques to deal with various data gaps and biases; and includes interim and summative evaluation analyses. This new approach will promote country ownership, transparency, and donor coordination while providing a rigorous comparison of the cost-effectiveness of different scale-up approaches.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)85-95
Number of pages11
JournalThe Lancet
Volume377
Issue number9759
DOIs
StatePublished - 2011

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Medicine(all)

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Measuring impact in the Millennium development Goal era and beyond: A new approach to large-scale effectiveness evaluations'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this