Impact assessment is a term that can run shivers down some spines primarily because of how they are conducted. If done ham handedly they end up being glorified and repackaged audits that are fed by an inherent imbalance of power.
We have been looking for individuals and perhaps small, well informed teams that do reflective reviews that focus on not just measuring tangible outcomes but also accurately measure the intangible value that projects may have generated.
We have been funding an agroforestry project in South India for the last decade for which a need has arisen for an “Impact Assessment” to be done. We began this project as a mere, “tree planting” exercise that intended to put barren lands to use and, over time, supplement farmer income. While we would like for folks to reach out to help us with this, I don’t want this thread to end up being a note to solicit. Comments, inputs and discussions that delve a little deeper into how IA is done are welcome.