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Ex post and target/performance

What are you looking for?

Characteristics

The target group’s actual development is compared with the planned development beyond the end of the project.

Example

Three years after the end of the intervention, 30% of young mothers in Region x know about the link between clean drinking water and health. This is more than before the project, but less than at the end of the project, and less than planned.

AdvantagesDisadvantages
It shows to what degree the set objectives were achieved.It is not known whether and how the target group’s situation would have changed without the project. It is not possible to clearly attribute the effect to the intervention.
A plausible case can be made for whether an intervention has made a contribution to the planned effects.
It can show whether an intervention was sustainable or not.
The methodological know-how is available or can be learnt.


Suitability

It is suitable as a legitimising factor when there are agreed objectives or when it is enough to state a plausible case for an effect. It is put to use when the sustainability of the intervention needs to be studied, and when a comparison with a control group is too much work or ethically questionable. Due to the time lag, the information is available too late for immediate legitimation and for short-term steering and learning. It can, however, be used for the organisation’s long-term development and strategic direction.