In all evaluation work, IDLO seeks to achieve best practice in the evaluation of legal reform initiatives in developing and transitional countries.  During the period of IDLO’s current Strategic Plan (2009-2012), evaluations focus on measuring the ‘outcomes’ of policies, programs or activities, which means focusing on the short- and medium-term results. IDLO organizes three types of evaluations:

• Centralized evaluations, which are planned and managed by the Evaluation Unit, and target IDLO strategies, policies, and more complex, larger programs
• Decentralized evaluations, which are planned and managed by a regional or project office
• Self-evaluations, which are planned and undertaken by the unit responsible for implementing a particular program or activity

Given that IDLO does a significant amount of training of professionals in order to help develop country capacity, the organization has introduced a standardized, rigorous approach to evaluating training. The following table provides an overview of IDLO’s approach.