How to Assess the Effectiveness of Development Aid Projects: Evaluation Ratings versus Project Indicators

Abstract

Most studies on project-based aid effectiveness rely on subjective evaluation ratings to measure projects' performance. Using the example of drinking water projects, this study compares evaluation ratings to objective, quantitative project indicators based on water supply to better understand the drivers of evaluation ratings. We find that evaluation ratings are only weakly correlated with improvements in water supply. Whereas the water supply-based project indicators are best explained by project design variables, evaluation ratings put more weight on project management and implementation.

Chinese development assistance and household welfare in Sub-Saharan Africa

“…First, it adds to the empirical literature that investigates aid effectiveness at the sub-national level across countries (see Kilby 2000, Dollar and Svensson 2000, Guillaumont and Laajaj 2006, Denizer et al 2013, Bulman et al 2015, Dreher and Lohmann 2015, Metzger and Günther 2015, Briggs 2016, Kotsadam et al 2018. Studying aid effectiveness sub-nationally is important, because it helps narrowing the gap between macro-and micro-economic studies in the field (Rodrik 2008, Denizer et al 2013, Bulman et al 2015, Metzger and Günther 2015, Dreher et al 2016, Dreher et al 2017, Briggs 2018. Second, we add to the (yet) small body of literature on the effectiveness of Chinese aid (Dreher et al 2016, Dreher et al 2017.…”

How does diversity affect the effectiveness of capacity building training? Evidence from the Republic of Korea

“…For example, Cox and Norrington‐Davies (2019) contend that “overall technical assistance has contributed to ’islands of capacity’ because there have been gains in capacity development among some government functions or institutions.” Additionally, capacity‐building trainings are effective when it comes to the knowledge accumulation of participants and the capacity development of the public sector (Hossain et al., 2017) and may also be a more efficient and effective way of eradicating poverty than cash transfers (Torres‐Rojo et al., 2019). It has also been stressed that the initial design phase of trainings determines their success and effectiveness (Metzger & Guenther, 2015). However, in spite of the improved effectiveness recorded in recent capacity‐building trainings, diversity effectiveness remains under‐researched.…”

Aid, Social Policy and Development

“…So far, the fact that most evaluations of project aid performance rely on evaluation ratings based on subjective measures makes it difficult to rigorously examine the factors that explain success in aid initiatives. This point is illustrated in the study by Metzger and Günther () in this Special Issue; they compare evaluation ratings to objective and quantitative indicators of 150 drinking water projects funded by the German Development Bank (KfW). They find that while the effectiveness of ratings is best explained by country‐level characteristics and project management and design variables, the available data is too limited to know how donor performance and project design drive the effectiveness of projects.…”