The purpose of this handbook is to complement WHO’s evaluation policy and to streamline evaluation processes by providing step-by-step practical guidance to evaluation in WHO. It aims to foster the culture and use of evaluation across the Organization and to facilitate conformity of evaluation in WHO with best practices and with UNEG norms and standards for evaluation.
The handbook is designed as a working tool that will be adapted over time to better reflect the evolving practice of evaluation in WHO and to encourage reflection on how to use evaluation to improve the performance of projects and programmes and to enhance organizational effectiveness. Its goal is to promote and foster quality evaluation within the Organization by:
• advancing the culture of, commitment to and use of evaluation across WHO;
• assisting WHO staff to conform with best practices and with the norms and standards for evaluation of the United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG);
• ensuring the quality control of all evaluations commissioned by WHO at all levels;
• strengthening the quality assurance approach to evaluation in WHO.
This handbook clarifies roles and responsibilities in evaluation and documents processes, methods and associated tools. It describes the main phases of an evaluation – i.e. planning, conducting the evaluation, reporting, and managing and communicating outcomes – and provides operational guidance and templates to assist those responsible for evaluations to comply with the Organization’s evaluation policy.
