Meta-Evaluation of Efficiency

In addition to the internationally established evaluation criteria of relevance, coherence, effectiveness, impact and sustainability, the evaluation criterion of efficiency forms a pertinent part of performance assessment in the evaluation of development cooperation. However, measuring and assessing the efficiency of interventions has always been considered a challenging task. On the one hand, this is due to the conceptual complexity of the efficiency criterion, the successful processing of which depends not only on the analysis of cost structures (financial, human and material resources) but also on reliable analyses of effectiveness and impact. Further challenges include the limited availability of appropriate benchmarks, inadequate efficiency-measurement procedures, and limited time and human resources. However, examination of the quality of the evaluation is a prerequisite for a reliable analysis of the economic efficiency of German development interventions.

This evaluation serves to promote transparency with regard to the efficiency of development interventions and is intended to contribute to the further development of their evaluation. The results, conclusions and recommendations of the evaluation are intended to support the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the implementing organizations in terms of content and methodology in order to strengthen evaluation practice with regard to the efficiency of development interventions. Furthermore, the evaluation aims to support the strategic and operational orientation of German development cooperation by analysing the efficiency of development interventions and the factors that influence them. To fulfil these purposes, the evaluation pursues three objectives:

1. To assess the quality of the evaluation on the efficiency of development interventions;
2. To position German evaluation practice in an international comparison with other countries; and
3. To assess the results of evaluations on the efficiency of development interventions.

The evaluation uses an integrated design consisting of a meta-evaluation and an evaluation synthesis. The meta-evaluation – sometimes also referred to as an 'evaluation of the evaluation' – is conducted in order to improve the evaluation process, to systematically reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of an evaluation, and to advance future evaluation work. The evaluation synthesis is devoted – in the sense of a cross-sectional assessment – to the substantive findings of efficiency measurement and assessment. The synthesis is based on a qualitative content analysis of the evaluation reports and secondary data that go beyond the reports. As part of statistical modelling, text-based characteristics of the evaluation reports are combined with data on the interventions (e.g. type, volume, duration of the projects) and publicly available secondary data (e.g. on economic growth, population size).