Use Focused Evaluations are considered a major component of any kind of development program today. The factors that drives use focused evaluations include enabling organizations to grow from reflecting on and analyzing their interventions and functioning, facilitating efficiency & accountability in the development sector, and building knowledge for wider application. ASK T & L conducts Mid-Term and End-Term Evaluations of a designated programme/ project. An important focus of all ASK T & L evaluations is to ensure that the findings and recommendations are utilized to the maximum extent possible for increasing the relevance, coherence, effectiveness, efficiency, impacts & sustainability of the project or program being evaluated and improve the quality of implementation. It also helps in strengthening the Project Management System, including Planning-Monitoring-Evaluation & Learning (PMEL) systems of the organization. Using a range of quantitative and qualitative methodologies (Structured and semi-structured interviews, key informant interviews, review of records & documents, different PRA methods, Observations & physical verifications and Most Significant Change method etc), this process of evaluation also helps organizations in identifying gap in the capacities of the organization and thereby the need to further build their capacity.“Use focused” evaluations encourage and facilitate the stakeholders to make decisions and plans of actions rather than ending with a set of recommendations only. Since the process is more engaging from the beginning, the inclination of the organizations is towards clear decision making at the end of the evaluation. ASK believes in and practices “Realistic” Evaluations wherein we look into not only the Outcome Patterns but the Context and Mechanism, elaborating on what worked, for whom and under what circumstances.

ASK T & L undertakes impact assessments to analyze and present findings on the “impacts” on the lives of the target groups / communities due to the implementation of a development programme, over a period of time. Impact assessments concentrate on direct impacts on beneficiary communities and subsequent socio-economic changes that the beneficiaries have been able to percolate through multiple levels of the society at large. Findings of impact assessments are useful in highlighting best practices and right approaches of development work that have a direct bearing on development of long term plans and programmes. ASK also helps to draw learning from the impact assessments regarding the underlying factors / reasons because of which the impacts could be achieved or not achieved and thus facilitates the actors in development sector to replicate the best practices or to modify strategies, as required.

ASK undertakes a comprehensive assessment of all aspects of an organization to help them to take critical decisions for the future organizational growth and development. Organizational assessment comprises an in-depth analysis of an organization’s internal governance, management systems, programmes, policies, and overall capacities, to provide recommendations for better organizational strategies and synergy, for increasing the overall organizational relevance and effectiveness. In this exercise, we assist in determining the overall health of an organization and not just a particular project or program that it may be implementing. The end result leads to the development of a more systematic, relevant, effective, efficient & sustainable organization.

Pre-Funding Appraisal is carried out on the request of donor organizations and/or corporate for NGOs that they deem suitable for implementation of programmes, projects, and CSR initiatives. The appraisal is carried out to secure that the NGO concerned has updated policies, procedures, management systems and capacities for programme execution, as well as to identify areas where further capacity building may be required, and to strengthen NGO performance, if required, through a process of Organization Development. An in-depth & overall assessment is carried out to identify the current status / capacity & future needs.

A monitoring exercise includes the periodic assessment of the level of implementation of defined activities and attainment of corresponding outputs / results for an ongoing project or programme. It critically looks into the processes for implementation - looks into minute activities and accomplishments to generate a detailed assessment of progress made. Monitoring results are effective in ensuring that projects steer on track and help highlight internal issues and external challenges that may affect project performance, for developing remedial measures and timely implementing the same.

We adopt a Participatory Approach to ensure perspectives and outcomes are unbiased, independent and effective

Our experience affirms the fact that objectivity combined with an empathetic outlook towards an Implementing Organisation, helps tackle diverse issues and challenges

We view evaluations as a solution-finding, enabling process that creates a sense of ownership among stakeholders, instead of a fault-finding exercise

To maximise impact, our interventions are designed on contextual realities and needs of the community