Food for Work in Ethiopia: Challenging the Scope of Project Evaluations

Evaluations of the numerous Food-for-Work (FFW) projects in operation across Ethiopia are designed to
assess their effectiveness, and are often defined by the objectives stated in the terms of reference. The paper
asserts that the quality and usefulness of evaluations is greatly enhanced when the qualitative impacts of a
project on the beneficiaries are included in the assessment since they often have a direct influence on
conventional donor concerns such as targeting and the mode of payment. An evaluation framework is
proposed which covers the design and delivery, outputs and impacts of a project and this structure is then
adopted for a review of FFW evaluation documents. The analysis reveals the heavy emphasis on design and
delivery mechanisms in the literature, and suggests the scope of evaluation exercises might be broadened to
capture both the intended and unforeseen socio-economic impacts of a project.