Guide · Evidence Notes
What makes a programme evidence-ready?
An evidence-ready programme can show what it did, what changed and how it knows, at the moment a funder or evaluator asks. Many are not, and the gaps are predictable.
The short answer
A programme is evidence-ready when four things exist before anyone asks: a results framework with defined indicators, data collected against those definitions, a trail from every reported figure to its records, and a named owner for each. The first is common; the other three are often missing.
Why programmes are rarely ready
Evidence is usually assembled backwards: a report is due, figures are gathered from wherever they sit, and definitions are settled by whoever compiles them. The result is numbers that cannot be reconciled between reports, and an evaluation that spends its first month rebuilding the baseline.
The fix is not more data. It is agreeing, early, exactly what each indicator counts and who records it.
The four tests
- Defined indicators. Every percentage names its numerator and denominator; every target has a number and a date.
- Consistent collection. Data is recorded against those definitions, with the same tools, at every site.
- A traceable trail. Any reported figure can be traced to the records it came from, and the totals reconcile.
- Named ownership. Someone is accountable for each indicator, its data and its quality checks.
A worked example
In the worked example of our MEL indicator builder, a youth employment programme defines “percentage of graduates in work six months after completion” properly, with both parts of the fraction, and an output indicator counting young people trained. A third indicator, “improved employability skills”, fails every test: it is a percentage with no numerator, no denominator, no baseline and no source. That one indicator is where an evaluator would start asking hard questions.
Where to start
Run your indicators through the builder, fix the definitions first, then reconcile one reporting period end to end with the donor report reconciliation tool. If the totals do not reconcile, you have found the next piece of work.
What this guide does not cover
Evidence-readiness is about the quality of your data systems. It does not tell you whether the programme is working; only an evaluation can.
Responsible for this guide
Examples in this guide are illustrative, not client results. Figures come from the free tool’s worked example; change the inputs in the tool to see your own.
Related services
The same method, delivered with you: scoped in writing, with a named principal and a fee agreed before any work begins.
Monitoring, evaluation and learning framework design
We repair or build one programme’s theory of change, results framework and indicator definitions before the next reporting cycle, so what you measure is what the programme is meant to change.
See the serviceServiceDonor results data
We reconcile your programme results data and deliver one usable analysis, dashboard or reporting cycle, with every figure traceable to its source.
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