Knowledge and Learning in Aid Organizations – A literature review with suggestions for further studies

Preface The Swedish Agency for Development Evaluation (sadev) is a government-funded institute that conducts and disseminates evaluations of international development cooperation. sadev's overall objective is to improve and expand the knowledge of both the impact of development cooperation in partner countries and the efficiency and effectiveness of such cooperation. Research at sadev is conducted in two major areas. The first of these involves the organization of international development cooperation, and focuses on issues such as the management and monitoring of executive organizations, the choice of modalities, donor coordination, and the internal efficiency of donor organizations. The second area is concerned with the short-and long-term impact of development assistance on the well-being of recipient country populations. Results of sadev's research and evaluations are published as reports and studies. Interim studies are circulated as working papers. This working paper is a state-of-the-art review in the area of internal efficiency intended for policy-makers and practitioners with a particular interest in organizational development, as well as for internal use. It looks in particular at analyses of knowledge and learning and argues that these would benefit from more systematic reflection on the various types of causes of organizational change, the various types of effects, the normative assessment of results and intertemporal documentation challenges.

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