Rapid Evaluations Toolkit

This toolkit provides a framework to think about rapid evaluations, and provides example questions, indicators and tools to do it.

Rapid evaluations is, in many ways, relatively straightforward. It is however, new in the government system, and this resource provides information and a helping hand with how to embed it in the work of the interested official.

Rapid evaluations address the need to quickly assess policy/programme/strategy/function delivery, and establish the main performance data, with main recommendations for improvements. They help us to understand and learn from what works, what doesn’t, when and for whom. It is also an important tool for accountability, helping departments and entities to demonstrate uptake, and that our work as policy/programme/project/strategy/service delivery managers is of high quality and useful. Rapid evaluations are the latest addition to the National Evaluation System in government, and can be undertaken internally by officials, and/or involve procurement of service providers.

This toolkit is intended for use by officials in evaluations,, research and policy/programme/project/service delivery implementation working in national/provincial/local government departments and Schedule I & II entities.

It is based the work of the DPME extend the NES to include rapid evaluations to encourage sharing and learning; to improve the quality, reach and use of evaluations; and to produce evidence for decision-making quickly. Rapid evaluations is still a work in progress; we are publishing this guide in the hope that it will be useful to others, but also that it will invite discussion and shared learning.