Evaluability Assessment: A Systematic Approach to Deciding Whether and How to Evaluate Programmes and Policies

Evaluability assessment (EA) is a systematic approach to planning evaluation projects. It involves structured engagement by researchers with stakeholders to clarify intervention goals and how they are expected to be achieved, the development and evaluation of a logic model or theory of change, and provision of advice on whether or not an evaluation can be carried out at reasonable cost, and what methods should be used. To date, EA has been relatively little used in the UK, but it has begun to attract attention as a way of balancing the growing demand for evaluation with the limited resource available. As well as providing a sound basis for making decisions about whether and how to evaluate before resources are committed, EA can improve the translation of research into practice by ensuring that policy-makers and practitioners are involved from the beginning in developing and appraising evaluation options. Two EAs have recently been conducted in Scotland, which provide a model that can be applied to a wide range of interventions, programmes and policies at national, regional and local levels. What Works Scotland is keen to work with Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs) to identify opportunities for EA.