Evaluating an Information Project: A Letter to a Project Manager

Mook, Byron T. 2003. Evaluating an Information Project: A Letter to a Project Manager. International Service for National Agricultural Research

The subject of this publication is evaluation. The writer was commissioned to produce "a practical guide, written in plain and simple language." The goal was to provide policymakers and managers with a set of guidelines, checklists, and field-oriented suggestions for carrying out an evaluation of an information project. Agricultural development organizations in Asia, Africa, and the Americas are under increasing pressure to improve their performance. The public demands that research become more client oriented, that extension become more timely, and that producers make better use of new information products and services. Evaluation can and should contribute to such changes. The tone of this "letter" is informal. The focus is on nine "how to do it" steps, each well illustrated with tables and worksheets. Included in the annex are empty worksheets that managers and other interested readers can fill in with data from their own projects.