Monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment

Why monitoring and evaluation at ISF?

Progress towards sustainability requires a willingness to learn how to effectively tackle complex challenges. A commitment to M&E ensures that each project or program is approached from a learning orientation, with the potential to build towards stronger outcomes over time.

As a research institute, ISF has a unique capacity to draw on the diversity of discipline perspectives and research expertise. Rather than delivering expertise from a singular viewpoint, our multidisciplinary approach produces highly customised, independent M&E across a wide range of content areas.

Our work spans the following domains:

• Sustainability indicators and evaluation
• Program evaluation
• M&E in the international development sector
• Enabling learning and transformation through M&E.

Our credentials

ISF’s M&E activities are highly regarded by our government, not-for-profit and international development sector clients. We have been appointed to a number of high-profile evaluation panels, including for the Australian and New Zealand Departments of Foreign Affairs and Trade. ISF is also a member of the Australian Evaluation Society.

What we offer

We bring high-level academic rigour to our monitoring and evaluative practice, working across a range of qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches to meet the unique M&E needs of each client.

Our capabilities include:

• establishing monitoring systems and frameworks to provide detailed analyses of your project or program’s progress against stated deliverables.
• designing and implementing rigorous, independent evaluation processes, including assessing the economic, environmental and sustainability impacts of technologies, programs and strategies to inform policy and action.
• building in-house monitoring and evaluation capacity via tailored training and support of staff. This equips clients with the tools to critically reflect at an individual and organisational level.
• delivering peer review services to support and validate evaluation processes and projects.

We can also partner with your organisation to provide mentoring and ongoing support throughout the life cycle of your project.

Work with us

We work with government, not-for-profit and international development organisations, including:

• The Asia Foundation
• Australian Centre for International Development
• City of Sydney
• Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)
• East Meets West Foundation
• Engineers without Borders
• International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)
• International Women’s Development Agency (IWDA)
• NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment
• SNV Development Organisation
• United Nations Development Program
• World Health Organization
• World Vision

Whatever change you wish to see in the world, working with us means creating something that will last.

Our projects

Previous projects in this space include:

• Working in decentralised service systems: challenges and choices for the Australian aid program
• Evaluation of the Fiji Community Development Program
• We Rise Coalition evaluation
• Australian Volunteers Program Impact Areas evaluations
• Pacific Risk Resilience Program
• Child Health Now – World Vision
• Social practice evaluation of the Smarter Choice Program
• GreenPower program review
• City of Sydney staff capacity building
• Evaluation of NSW Environment Trust Education Grants Program for OEH (now DPIE)
• Evaluation of MUDs recycling for SSROC