Did you know that while USAID conducted just two developmental evaluations (DEs) between 2010 and
2015, it conducted 12 between 2016 and 2020? To find out more, check out Social Impact (SI) and its
USAID/Indonesia DE Jalin’s new study 10 Years of USAID Developmental Evaluation.
This comes 10 years after Dr. Patton published his landmark book Developmental Evaluation and shows
that DE has come a long way since with one of the world’s premier international development agencies.
The study elaborates further on trends in USAID DE duration, budget, and structure, and raises
awareness of USAID’s journey of adopting and applying this new evaluation approach.
SI, a leader in implementing DE globally, and its USAID/Indonesia DE Jalin team partnered with Blue
Marble Evaluation to launch their Remote DE Guide earlier this year. The guide captures lessons learned
from implementing DEs remotely during COVID-19. During a webinar for the guide, participants were
asked what they wanted to learn about DE and 71% of requested a “comprehensive list or study of all
DEs ever implemented.” While we still don’t have a full guide – this index for USAID is the start!
10 Years of USAID Developmental Evaluation features insights from Blue Marble’s own Charmagne
Campbell Patton, USAID DE evaluators, managers, implementers, and stakeholders and hopes to bring
together like-minded groups working with DE to grow the technical evidence base globally.
