Relevant? Almost Always: The Role of the Relevance Criterion in Development M&E

The use of the OECD/DAC evaluation criteria is now standard in most development evaluations. Relevance is sometimes considered a key criterion insofar that it represents a “gatekeeper” to others —if an activity is not relevant, why examine whether the wrong thing has been done efficiently? Yet, a problem with this criterion is that evaluations almost always find that interventions are relevant. Against such a background, how can we understand the role of the relevance criterion?

This question is addressed in the recent EBA working paper “Relevant? Almost Always.” This table will use the paper as a departure point for a discussion on how the relevance criterion can be made more useful in development M&E activities.