The evaluation of the outcomes and impact of social development programmes is the major focus of this text. It begins with a review of current thinking on social development and an overview based on an extensive review of the literature on approaches to evaluating the impact of social development. The remainder of the work than draws on the papers and discussions that took place at the Third International Workshop on Evaluating Social Development held in the Netherlands in November 1996.

The fourth book in a series based on International Workshops on the Evaluation of Social Development and is based on the Fourth International Workshop held in Oxford in April 2000. It includes a number of commissioned papers by Anisur Rahman, Musimbi Kanyoro, Frits Wils and Peter Oakley as well as papers presented by participants. It also includes both regional presentations from Southern Africa, Asia, Central America and the Middle East as well as institutional statements by DFID, SIDA, Action Aid and Cordaid. The book concludes by drawing together participants' perceptions in terms of the current state of the practice of the M&E of empowerment.

This book is intended as a practical guide for undertaking the evaluation of social development projects. It combines a theoretical overview of the concepts involved with insights into the planning and implementation of evaluation. Focusing on the practical applicability of these developments, the text provides three cases studies of evaluations from Colombia, India and Zimbabwe.