Learning as a proxy for effectiveness

When people ask us how we evaluate projects on GlobalGiving, they often hope we will give them some big set of definitive metrics. Instead, we explain the algorithms that we use to determine the rank of a project on a page. One of the key factors we use is whether the project leaders show evidence of being able to learn from their experience and from feedback loops.

Often, we get perplexed reactions to our response, and someone asked me recently, "Why don't you just say what works and what doesn't?" So I was very happy to see this recent post by SHEHERAZADE HIRJI:

Evaluation evolved to include the ability to generate learning and build capacity to improve, rather than just prove what was working and what was not.

If you are interested in evaluation, you should read this.

(Thanks to Sean Stannard-Stockton for the tip).


[GlobalGiving]