Evaluation criteria used in development contexts do not only show what evaluation commissioners, evaluators and other stakeholders value. They also provide an indication of the issues that could - and likely should - be a focus in the design and implementation of development interventions (i.e., projects, programmes, policies, events, relationships such as networks and coalitions, etc., institutions, systems, etc.).
In other words, they point to design principles intervention planners and implementers should keep in mind.
Evaluative practices – monitoring, reflection, assessment, review, evaluation, etc. – are of course intended to inform strategies, plans and implementation efforts. This is very well highlighted by the well-known Developmental Evaluation, the very useful yet still undervalued book Managing for Sustainable Development Impact, and many others. So it makes sense that our evaluation criteria should be reflected in intervention design principles, and vice versa.
