"Evaluation in Hard-to-reach areas" - Final call-to-action document, lessons from the 2019 cycle of conferences.

In 2019, DEVCO’s Evaluation Support Service organised a cycle of conferences to present cases where the use of innovative methods of data gathering allowed to evaluate interventions in some of the most difficult areas of the planet, including in conflict zones.

16 speakers, from different evaluation communities and background, shared their experiences with us on the use of innovative techniques such as: geospatial data, remotely administered surveys, face-to-face surveys administered by local enumerators, but also ‘non-tech’ methods such as Participatory Rapid Appraisal, projective drawing analysis, and others.

The conference cycle was a great success with more than 5,000 participants and spectators.

The lessons learnt from this initiative are now gathered in this final paper, which is a call to DEVCO Operational and Project Managers to evaluate their interventions even in Hard-to-reach areas.