BASELINE EVALUATION
One of the greatest weaknesses of project designs in English Language and other educational projects has been the absence of adequate baseline data (i.e. as comprehensive an account as possible of all features in the environment of the proposed project which will have a bearing on the implementation on the project). A Baseline Study differs from STEP analyses and institutional appraisals as it provides not only an account of capacity and risk, but also constitutes the basis for the future evaluation of the effectiveness and impact of the project. When combined with stakeholder analysis, the baseline study can provide a firm basis for project design, implementation and evaluation.
An additional issue in project design is that short term consultants may not ensure that ownership of the project design is held by the team which will be responsible for implementation. This can result in a number of damaging repercussions:
project managers are unable to interpret and make use of logical frameworks and other document
the project team has no clear understanding of the Goal and Purpose of the project and, as a consequence, do not feel neither ownership of the project nor commitment to their assigned roles
activities become the focus of the project, and ends in themselves, without a clear understanding of the Goal and Purpose and Outputs to which they contribute
What is a baseline evaluation?
A baseline report describes the context in which a project will be implemented. It is an account of those elements in the context that are relevant to the changes the project will create and provides key information when it comes to measuring changes that the project has brought about.
Without a baseline evaluation it is difficult to produce meaningful measures of effectiveness or success.
Baseline studies can be used:
before a project is approved (to ensure that a project is necessary)
at the beginning of a project (to ensure that the project plan is appropriate and that meaningful evaluation will be possible)
Doing baseline evaluations
Example checklist for
the collection of baseline data.
| Relevant statistical data |
e.g.
(depending on the context) |
| Key institutions |
Strengths |
| Key individuals |
Affiliations
(political / institutional) |
| Current provision |
Strengths |
| Plans for future provision |
Confirmed |
| Desire for change / innovation - policy makers |
Decision
makers |
| Desire for change / innovation - delivering institutions |
Funding |
| Desire for change / innovation - professionals |
Winners
and losers |
| Desire for change / innovation - users |
Winners
and losers |
| Funding available (local) |
level |
| Funding available (other donors) |
level |
| Other donors |
Reason
for involvement |
| Willingness to involve external agencies |
Preferences |