International Aid Table of Contents Global Health Condom promotion/distribution Drug treatment Prevention of mother-to-child transmission Support for patients and stigma reduction Insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) Drug treatment Economic Empowerment Water/Sanitation Education Other International Aid Counseling for former victims (click to show) Personnel training / enforcement monitoring Purchase & release activities Raids Shelters Table of Contents 1) Global Health 1.1) Condom promotion/distribution 1.2) Drug treatment 1.3) Prevention of mother-to-child transmission 1.4) Support for patients and stigma reduction 1.5) Insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) 1.6) Drug treatment 2) Economic Empowerment 3) Water/Sanitation 4) Education 5) Other International Aid 5.1) Counseling for former victims (click to show) 5.2) Personnel training / enforcement monitoring 5.3) Purchase & release activities 5.4) Raids 5.5) Shelters Click on the area that interests you to view our program-specific “do-it-yourself” charity evaluation questions. Global Health Family planning Related information: Example organization: PSI Questions: What type of family planning assistance is offered? For contraceptives: Are contraceptives sold or given away? If sold with a subsidy, how large is the subsidy? Are recipients instructed on proper use of contraceptives? Are contraceptives regularly and conveniently available? Do you monitor whether recipients use use contraceptives consistently? What other means do people have to obtain contraceptives? Do you monitor whether the number of unplanned births has decreased among beneficiaries? For abortion: What reasons do women give for wanting an abortion? For surgical abortions: Who performs the procedure? Do you monitor whether procedures are of high quality? For medical abortions: Are drugs of high quality? Are they administered properly? Do you monitor what percentage of pregnancies are terminated successfully without further intervention? Are there legal restrictions on abortion in the country? What proportion of procedures are in each the first, second, and third trimesters? Do you monitor how often women experience post-abortion complications, whether they are able to receive care for complications, and whether they recover fully? Does the organization monitor whether women experience mental health or social consequences? Are abortions available from other providers in the area? How much has been spent on this program? How many families have received family planning assistance? How would your activities change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate directly into more contraceptives/abortions, and up to what point? HIV/AIDS Related information: HIV/AIDS charity: overview Condom promotion/distribution Related information: Condom promotion and distribution: evidence review Example organization: PSI Questions: How are condoms distributed? Are they sold or given away? Do condoms reach high-risk groups? How is this monitored? Do those who receive condoms use them? How is this monitored? Have condom promotion activities resulted in increased knowledge among participants of why and how condoms should be used? Has it resulted in behavior change? How is this monitored? Is there evidence that HIV transmission rates are lower among program beneficiaries than among a comparable group? What other sources of condoms and condom promotion are there in the areas in which you work? How much has been spent on this program? How many condoms have been distributed? How many people have received messages about condom use? How would your activities likely change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would additional revenue translate directly into more condoms distributed and/or more condom promotion activities, and up to what point? Drug treatment Related information: Drug treatment (ART): evidence review Example organization: Partners in Health Questions: Who receives treatment? Were any patients receiving treatment from other sources previously? Are there more patients wanting treatment than you are able to provide treatment to? If so, how do you select patients for treatment? Is information available on whether patients adhere to the regimen? What steps are taken to improve adherence? Are patient outcomes such as changes in health, side effects, and drug resistance monitored? What have the results of these monitoring efforts shown? How long on average are patients enrolled in the program? What percentage of patients leave the program each year? What percentage of patients die each year? For what other reasons have patients left the program? How much has been spent? How many patients have been treated and for how many years? How would your activities likely change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would additional revenue translate directly into more patient receiving ART, and up to what point? Prevention of mother-to-child transmission Related information: Prevention of mother-to-child transmission: evidence review Example organization: Mothers2mothers Questions: What role do you play? Do you buy drugs? Do you distribute them? What drug regimen do you use? Do both mother and infant receive anti-retrovirals? When do they receive them? Are drugs of high quality? How is this monitored? How are drugs distributed? Are they administered at the appropriate time? How is this monitored? Are mothers told to breastfeed or not to breastfeed? If they are told not to breastfeed, how are they instructed to feed their infant? Is their actual behavior monitored? At what rate do mothers in the program pass HIV to their infants? Is there data on how these rates compare to a suitable comparison group? Is your program replacing government services? How has government spending on PMTCT changed since the charity's program started? How much has been spent? How many mothers have received anti-retroviral drugs through the program? How would your activities likely change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would additional revenue translate directly into more more mothers receiving anti-retroviral drugs to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV, and up to what point? Public advocacy Related information: Example organization: AVAC1 Questions: How much has been spent, what programs (and where) have been advocated, and to what results? What does the future advocacy plan and budget look like, and what might be expected from it? To the extent that advocacy has succeeded, has it resulted in (a) more government funding for HIV/AIDS prevention with no offsetting cuts, i.e., increases in total medical budgets; (b) more government funding for HIV/AIDS prevention at the expense of other health spending; (c) more funding for HIV/AIDS prevention, contingent on more donor subsidies? If (a), how has the increase in funding been financed? If (b), where have cuts been made, and to what extent has funding shifted from other worthy health spending? If (c), what costs are covered by the government and is the government audited for compliance with terms and conditions? Support for patients and stigma reduction Questions: What activities are you engaged in? Is there independent evidence that these activities are effective at improving the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS? Do you conduct surveys of participants' satisfaction with the program? What have past surveys shown? To what extent do you stay in touch with participants? Have you systematically collected information on participants' experiences with living with HIV/AIDS, their health or mental health, or their success in accessing needed services and community assistance? How much has been spent? How many people have participated in the program? How would your activities likely change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would additional revenue translate directly into more participants in the program, and up to what point? Immunization Related information: Expanding immunization coverage: evidence review Example organizations: VillageReach, GAVI, UNICEF Questions: What is your role in delivering vaccines? Is there evidence that lack of this service is a bottleneck to providing vaccinations to more children? Is funding from the charity replacing government services? How has government funding for immunization changed since the organization began work there? How are areas/populations chosen for immunization services? What were immunization rates before your involvement? How many children have been vaccinated? Which which vaccines? Is a child's previous immunization status verified before s/he receives vaccination? How have immunization rates changed in the areas you work in over time? How have child mortality rates changed? How much has been spent on the program? How would your activities likely change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would additional revenue translate directly into more children vaccinated, and up to what point? Malaria Insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) Related information: Insecticide-treated net distribution: evidence review Example organization: Against Malaria Foundation Questions: Do nets reach the intended recipients? How is this monitored? What percentage of nets are targeted to high-risk populations (i.e., pregnant women and children under 5, living in areas with high rates of malaria)? Do those who receive the nets install them in their homes properly? Are recipients given the materials with which to hang the nets? Are they given instructions on how to use and maintain the nets? Do those who receive the nets utilize them consistently over the long term? What type of nets are used? How long are they expected to last? Are nets retreated with insecticide? How would your activities likely change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would additional revenue translate directly into more at-risk people receiving nets, and up to what point? Drug treatment Related information: Malaria treatment: evidence review Example organization: Partners in Health Questions: What type of drugs are used? (The World Health Organization does not recommend the use of drugs other than ACT.) Are drugs of high quality? How is this tested? How are drugs distributed? Do you have systems for checking whether drugs reach the intended recipients? Who receives treatment? How severe are their cases? What other options for receiving treatment do they have? What costs are patients required to cover? What percentage of total costs are covered by patient fees? How much has been spent on this program? How many patients have been treated? What percentage of patients recovery fully after one round of treatment? How is this monitored? How would your activities likely change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would additional revenue translate directly into more patient treated for malaria, and up to what point? Malnutrition Related information: Example organizations: Vitamin Angels, GAIN Questions: For micronutrient supplementation: What supplements are used? Who is target for supplements? Is there independent evidence that the supplements used improve health for the targeted group? How often are supplements given? Does this match the accepted recommendations? How are supplements delivered? Do supplements reach intended beneficiaries? How much has been spent on the program? How many people have received supplements? For acute malnutrition treatment: How are cases identified? Who are the patients? What methods are used to treat cases? What percentage of patients recover? Are they followed over time? If so, what percentage of patients experience acute malnutrition again? How much has been spent on the program? How many patients have been treated? For breastfeeding promotion: Who is targeted? What were breastfeeding practices among the targeted group before the program began? Do participants' knowledge of recommended breastfeeding practices and the reasons to breastfeed increase due to the program? Do breastfeeding behaviors change due to the program? Are children of participants healthier than children in a suitable comparison group? How much has been spent on the program? How many mothers have participated? Are programs replacing government spending? How has government spending on malnutrition changed since your involvement? How would your activities change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate directly into more people receiving supplements/treatment/breastfeeding information, and up to what point? Neglected tropical disease programs Related information: Neglected Tropical Diseases: overview Example organizations: Deworm the World, The Carter Center Questions: How do your funds break down between subsidies and advocacy? For subsidies: How much of the total spending on control programs has been covered by the charity, as opposed to the government? How much in total has been spent? How many treatments have been provided? How has the government been audited to ensure compliance with terms and conditions? Have cases of non-compliance been discovered? How have these been dealt with? Has funding from the charity replaced government spending? How did government spending on mass drug campaigns change following the charity's involvement? Do you intend to keep subsidies at the same level indefinitely, or does it intend for the government to take over activities? If the latter, what is your track record in accomplishing this very difficult task? Note that while we consider “sustainability” optional for some programs, it is crucial for deworming. For advocacy activities: How much has been spent, what programs (and where) have been advocated, and to what results? What does the future advocacy plan and budget look like, and what might be expected from it? To the extent that advocacy has succeeded, has it resulted in (a) more government funding for NTD control with no offsetting cuts, i.e., increases in total medical budgets; (b) more government funding for NTD control at the expense of other health spending; (c) more funding for NTD control, contingent on more donor subsidies? If (a), how has the increase in funding been financed? If (b), where have cuts been made, and to what extent has funding shifted from other worthy health spending? If (c), what are the answers to the key questions about subsidies (above)? Maternal health Related information: Maternal mortality programs: evidence review Questions: What type of interventions are provided? Is there independent evidence on the effectiveness of such interventions? For training traditional birth attendants: What is taught? How long is the training? What level of education do TBAs have? What previous training have they received? Do trainees demonstrate increased knowledge of taught concepts following the program? Do you follow up with the attendants you've trained to assess whether they are correctly applying their training? Are there high quality referral locations (such as clinics and hospitals) nearby? Are TBAs able, in practice, to refer birthing and postpartum mothers to these locations? Are the locations equipped to handle birth complications? For increasing access to skilled care: How do you assess whether skilled caregivers are attending additional births that they would have not had the funding or motivation to attend otherwise? What are the qualifications of the skilled caregivers? Are high quality facilities available for births or referrals? Are they well stocked with essential medicines and equipment? For clean birthing kits: What is contained in the kit? How are kits distributed? Are they sold or given away for free? Do they reach at risk mothers? Do you monitor whether kits used during birth and whether they used properly? Are rates of infection lower among women that receive the kits than among a suitable comparison group? Do you monitor whether pregnancy complications or maternal deaths have decreased since the start of the program? Have they decreased relative to a suitable comparison group? Were there other changes occurring at the same time which may have contributed to these improvements? How would your activities change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate directly into more pregnant, birthing, and postpartum women receiving care, and up to what point? Medical supplies Related information: Example organization: Direct Relief International Questions: How do you decide which medical centers to support? Is there evidence that grant recipients are high quality medical centers that lack needed supplies? How do you determined what supplies to send? Do you respond to requests from medical centers or determine what to provide independently? If you responds to requests, how long does it take for supplies to reach a medical center following a request? Do you monitor whether supplies reach intended beneficiaires? Do you monitor whether supplies are used and whether durable goods remain in use and in good condition? Has you evaluated whether providing cash grants would better serve the needs of medical centers? What proportion of total expenses reach medical centers as the value of medical supplies? How would your activities likely change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Are there eligible medical centers whose requests for supplies you are currently unable to fulfill? Neonatal health Questions: What type of interventions are provided? Does independent evidence exist on the effectiveness of such interventions? How is care delivered? How are serious but treatable conditions identified? Who has access to care? Do infants receive high quality care? How is this monitored? Do you monitor whether interventions are effective at decreasing infant mortality rates? Is the organization diverting skilled labor? What were staff doing before the program? Is the organization replacing government services? How has government funding for neonatal health changed since the program began? How would your activities change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate directly into more infants receiving care, and up to what point? Primary care Related information: Example organization: Partners in Health Questions: What type of conditions are treated? How serious are they? What are the qualifications of the staff? Were staff members employed before you hired them? If so, what were their jobs? Who are the patients? What is their standard of living? What other primary care services are there in the area? What services were available before you started working in the area? Do you monitor the quality of care? Has the number of patient visits grown over time? Do you survey clients to determine their satisfaction with the care they receive? Are patients required to pay a fee for care? What proportion of the cost of care is covered by patient fees? Are you replacing government services? How has government spending on primary care changed since you began working in the area? How much has been spent on this program? How many people have been served? How would your activities likely change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would additional revenue translate directly into more patient treatments for moderate to serious conditions, and up to what point? Surgery Related information: Surgery charity: overview Example organizations: Smile Train, ReSurge International (formerly Interplast) Questions: How do you increase access to surgery? For charities focusing on surgical missions (i.e., flying developed-world doctors overseas to perform procedures): Do you have volunteer surgeons available for unfunded trips? (i.e., are there trips that you could fund if you had more money, or is there a labor bottleneck?) Many surgeries require follow-up treatment (including additional surgeries). Do you have a way of providing these to patients? How do you assess whether surgeries are completed competently and appropriately? What process do you use to monitor this and can you share past results from this process? What is the rate of complications during and following surgery? For charities focusing on funding local surgeons: How do you assess whether surgeons are performing additional surgeries that they would have not had the funding or motivation to perform otherwise? Related: how do you assess whether surgeons are charging their patients for the surgeries you fund? How do you assess whether surgeries are completed competently and appropriately? What process do you use to monitor this and can you share past results from this process? What is the rate of complications during and following surgery? For charities focusing on training local surgeons: Do you follow up with the surgeons you've trained to assess whether they are correctly applying their training? What information is available on the activities - and competence - of the surgeons you've trained? Where do surgeons work after completing training? Do they serve poor patients? How much has been spent on this program? How many additional surgeries have been performed due to your work? How would your activities likely change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would additional revenue translate directly into additional surgeries, and up to what point? Training for health care personnel Related information: Example organizations: Fred Hollows Foundation. Questions: Are you training existing health care personnel or people who have not worked in the field before? For training of existing personnel: What skills are taught? What research has been done on the usefulness of these skills in the areas the personnel work in? Do trainees demonstrate increased knowledge of taught concepts following the program? Do they incorporate what they learn into their work? Do you monitor changes in the quantity and quality of patient treatments performed by personnel following the training program? For training new personnel: What were trainees doing prior to the program? Were they employed? If so, in what capacity? What do trainees do after the program? Are they able to obtain employment that uses the skills they have learned? What skills are taught? What research has been done on the usefulness of these skills locally? Do trainees demonstrate increased knowledge of taught concepts following the program? Do you monitor whether the work performed by trainees is of high quality? How much has been spent? How many people have been trained? How much training did they each receive? How would your activities likely change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would additional revenues translate directly into more people trained, and up to what point? Tuberculosis Related information: DOTS program: evidence review Example organization: Stop TB Partnership Questions: Are drugs of high quality? How is this tested? Are high quality diagnostic services available? Do patients adhere to the full drug regime? What strategies are used to encourage adherence? How is adherence monitored? What treatment success/cure rates have been achieved in the past? Are your activities replacing government services? How has government spending on tuberculosis treatment changed since you began working in the area? What costs are patients required to cover? What percentage of total costs does this account for? Are patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis treated? What proportion of patients do they account for? How much has been spent? How many patients have been treated? How would your activities likely change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would additional revenue translate directly into more patients treated for tuberculosis, and up to what point? Economic Empowerment Adult education/training programs Related information: Example organizations: Women for Women Questions: What topics are taught? How are topics chosen? Are they designed to improve participants' employment prospects, income earned, and/or ability to cope with unexpected events? Do you conduct surveys of participants' satisfaction with the program? What have past surveys shown? Does participants' knowledge of taught concepts significantly improve from the beginning to the end of the program? Do you monitor whether training results in employment, increased income, and/or increased stability? Is there evidence that these results are due to the training program? How much has been spent on this program? How many adults have been trained? How would your activities change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate directly into more trainees, and up to what point? Agriculture Related information: Agricultural aid: overview Example organizations: COMACO, Vipani Questions: What activities have been funded in the past? Have activities resulted in better results for farmers such as higher crop yields, higher incomes, greater food security, or better nutrition? Have results for farmers involved in the project been better than results for other farmers? What evidence is there that the results for farmers involved in the project are due to the project and not to other factors? If the program has resulted in greater crop yields, have these translated into improvements in the farmers' standard of living? For agricultural technologies (such as irrigation pumps, farming implements/machines, etc): Have technologies remained usable over time? Are farmers able to repair damage to technologies themselves or easily access outside help? Do you monitor whether farmers use the technologies? If technologies are subsidized, how large is the subsidy? How are farmers selected to receive the subsidized technology? Are the technologies available for purchase in the area? Have technologies been shown to increase yields in the specific context they are being used in? For agricultural inputs (such as fertilizers, seeds, etc.): Do inputs reach farmers at the appropriate times? If inputs are subsidized, how large is the subsidy? How are farmers selected to receive the subsidized inputs? Do you monitor whether farmers use the inputs? Are the inputs available for purchase in the area? Have inputs been shown to increase yields in the specific context they are being used in? For training programs: Have the techniques that are taught been tested and shown to work in the specific context they are being advocated for? Has farmers' knowledge of the techniques increased as a result of the training programs? Do you monitor whether farmers implement the recommended techniques? For marketing programs: How do prices compare to what farmers could otherwise sell their goods for? How large is the subsidy? Which goods are subsidized? How are farmers selected to participate? Do you monitor whether activities resulted in damage to the environment, in particular damage that could hurt agricultural productivity in the future? How would your activities change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate directly into more farmers served by the program, and up to what point? Direct cash transfers Related information: Cash transfers: overview Example organizations: Village Enterprise Fund, Women for Women Questions: Who is targeted for cash grants? What is their standard of living? Do cash grants successfully reach those in need, as opposed to being intercepted by more powerful interests? How is this monitored? What proportion of total expenses reach clients in the form of cash grants (as opposed to being used for other programs/expenses)? How is the size of cash grants determined? Is it carefully targeted to the needs of recipients? Is there reason to be concerned that the grants might create unexpected negative consequences on the local economy (e.g., by causing higher prices or increased crime due to one-time large influxes of funds)? How would your activities change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate directly into more poor people receiving cash grants, and up to what point? Direct job creation Questions: What type of jobs are created? What are the tasks completed? What are the hours? What were employees doing prior to being employed by you? How is the pay rate determined? How does the pay you offer compare to other jobs in the area requiring similar skill levels? What skills do employees gain from the jobs? How long do employees stay on average? What are the reasons that people leave? What do they go on to do? How much has been spent on the program? How many people have been employed and for how long? How would your activities change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate directly into more people employed, and up to what point? Gifts of livestock Related information: Gifts of livestock: overview Example organization: Heifer International Questions: Who is targeted for livestock grants? What is their standard of living? Do livestock grants successfully reach those in need, as opposed to being intercepted by more powerful interests? How is this monitored? What proportion of total expenses reach clients in the form of livestock grants (as opposed to being used for other programs/expenses)? Are the livestock in good health? How is this monitored? Do the recipients of livestock gifts have the ability, in terms of knowledge and resources, to take care of the livestock well? How is this determined? Do you monitor whether livestock are treated well and cared for by recipients? Are large numbers of animals granted to the same area? Does this result in environmental damage or economic distortions? Why do you choose to provide livestock grants instead of cash grants? How would your activities change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate directly into more livestock grants, and up to what point? Gifts of other goods Questions: Who is targeted for grants? What is their standard of living? Do grants successfully reach those in need, as opposed to being intercepted by more powerful interests? How is this monitored? What proportion of total expenses reach clients in the form of gifts (as opposed to being used for other programs/expenses)? Why have the particular gifted items been chosen? Are similar products available for sale in the area? If the products are available for sale, why has the organization decided not to provide cash grants? Are large numbers of grants provided to the same area? Does this result economic distortions? How would your activities change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate directly into grants to more people, and up to what point? Microfinance Related information: Microfinance charity: overview Example organizations: Small Enterprise Foundation, Chamroeun Questions: For organizations that support microfinance institutions: What type of assistance do you offer to microfinance institutions? If technical assistance, what evidence is there that this assistance allows microfinance institutions to offer higher quality service or provide services to a greater number of clients? If financial assistance, how do you determine the size and frequency of grants? How do you select microfinance institutions to support? Can these institutions answer the questions below? For microlending institutions: Is your institution profitable or have a history of creating profitable entities? Have you had high repayment rates in the past? Are you able to provide a full picture of its repayment history that accounts for written off, rescheduled, and late loans and which is not susceptible to distortions? Do you charge reasonable interest rates? Are you able to provide repayment schedules and full details of fees charged and savings requirements? How often do clients drop out of the program? How your drop out rate is calculated? Do you regularly calculate the drop out rate and use it to monitor your own performance? Do you monitor why clients drop out of the program? What have past reports shown? How are loan officers evaluated? Are they rewarded for providing high quality service to clients? What practices are there for preventing clients from taking on too much debt? Do you monitor whether such practices are effective at preventing over-indebtedness? What practices are there for protecting clients from harassment from loan officers and group members? Do you monitor whether such practices are effective at preventing harassment? For organizations providing savings services: What interest/fees do you offer/charge? Are savers able to access funds when they need them? Are there restrictions on withdrawals? Are branches located near where clients live? Are they consistently well staffed and open when they are supposed to be? How is this monitored? Who are the customers? What is their standard of living? How much does it cost to provide financial services to one borrower? To one saver? How would your activities change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate directly into more people receiving financial services, and up to what point? Small and medium enterprise (SME) support Questions: What type of support does the organization offer? For credit: Is your institution profitable or have a history of creating profitable lending entities? Have you had high repayment rates in the past? Are you able to provide a full picture of your repayment history that accounts for written off, rescheduled, and late loans and which is not susceptible to distortions? Do you charge reasonable interest rates? Are you able to provide repayment schedules and full details of fees charged? How often do clients drop out of the program? How this drop out rate calculated? Do you monitor why clients drop out of the program? What have past reports shown? For training: Do trainees demonstrate greater knowledge of taught concepts at the end of the program? Do you monitor whether trainees correctly applying their training? How are curricula created? Have enterprises supported in the past grown in revenue and employment? By how much? Is there evidence that this growth would not have occurred without your support? How much has been spent on this program? How many enterprises have you supported? How would your activities change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate directly into more enterprises receiving support, and up to what point? Water/Sanitation Latrine construction Related information: Example organizations: WaterAid, Charity: Water Questions: Where was human waste deposited before latrines were constructed? Did it contaminate water and/or food sources? What design of latrine is used? How long are they designed to last? What happens to latrines after they are no longer usable? Do you monitor whether latrines remain in good condition and in use over time? For how long do you do this? Is contamination in water and/or food reduced in places that receive latrines? Are diarrhea rates reduced? Do users prefer new means of depositing waste to the means they used previously? How much has been spent on this program? How many latrines have been constructed? How would your activities change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate directly into more latrines, and up to what point? Sanitation education Related information: Example organization: WaterAid Questions: What messages are communicated and how? Do those targeted have relatively easy access to the items needed to follow the messages (nearby water, sufficient soup, latrines, etc.)? Do those targeted demonstrate increased knowledge of recommended sanitation practices after the program? Do you monitor whether their behavior changes? Do you monitor whether incidence of diarrhea decreases? Do you monitor whether prevalence of other communicable diseases decreases? How much has been spent on the program and how many people have participated? How would your activities change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate directly into more people reached with sanitation education, and up to what point? Water infrastructure construction Related information: Example organizations: Water for People, Water.org Water charity: overview Questions: How far is the closest water source for the people you serve before you start construction? Do you monitor whether wells or other infrastructure you construct remain operational over the long term? How long do you do this? Can you share reports from your long-term monitoring? Do you address other sources of waterborne disease? Do you track the impact of your programs on disease incidence and prevalence over time and can you share technical reports on this impact? Do users prefer the new means of getting water to the means they used previously? How much has been spent on this program? How many wells or other infrastructure project have been constructed? How would your activities change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate directly into more wells and other infrastructure, and up to what point? Water purification technologies Questions: What harmful contaminants exist in local water sources? Which of these contaminants have the purification technologies been shown to reduce/eliminate? Is the technology applied at the point of collection or point of use? If at the point of collection, do you monitor whether water is clean at the point of use? Do you monitor whether the technology is applied to all of a household's water? How are technologies distributed? Are they sold at full price, subsidized, or given away for free? Do they reach the intended targets? Do you monitor whether recipients use the technologies consistently and correctly? Do you monitor whether purification technologies allowed users to access more convenient water sources or sources with greater quantities of water? Do you monitor whether diarrhea rates, morbidity and/or mortality rates declined among users of the technologies? Is there evidence that they declined relative to a suitable comparison group? How would your activities change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate directly into more households having access to purification technologies, and up to what point? Education Directly run private schools Related information: Developing world education: overview Example organization: BRAC Questions: Can you share information on the general quality of the schools you run? Proxies for quality might include: Teacher attendance rates Student attendance rates Percentage of students who move on to higher levels of education after graduating (particularly, the percentage who graduate 12th grade) Where do you get your personnel? Are they are local? Do you have information on what they were doing before joining your organization? Do you have information on how your salaries compare to those of other locals with comparable qualifications? To what extent do you stay in touch with former students? Have you systematically collected (and can you share the reports on) information regarding: Their satisfaction with the school they attended? Their later life outcomes? Have you tried to assess the impact of your schools on later life outcomes, compared to how students would have done without your school? Who is eligible to attend? If there are more eligible students than can be admitted, how do you narrow the field? Are students charged a fee for attending? Are scholarships available for poorer students? What percentage of total costs are paid for by student fees? How would your activities change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate into more students served or into something else? Libraries Related information: Example organization: Room to Read Questions: What is the organization's role in creating libraries? What proportion of costs and books do you provide? What type of books are provided? What proportion of books are in a local language? Are the books in readable condition? Do you monitor whether libraries and books maintained over time? Do you monitor whether books are shelved and well-organized in the libraries? How many books are checked out every year? How many individuals check out at least one book per year? How often are books lost? What are the characteristics of the individuals who use the libraries and the communities in which they are located? Is there evidence that libraries have improved students' test scores or later life outcomes? Is there evidence that the program causes other positive changes for individuals or the community? How much has been spent on this program? How many libraries have been built? How many people have been served by the libraries? How would your activities change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate directly into more libraries, and up to what point? Scholarships Related information: Scholarships: evidence review Questions: What do the scholarships cover and how much do they each cost? What expenses does your scholarship program have besides the actual funds of scholarships? What percentage of total program expenses are the actual funds of scholarships? Who is eligible for scholarships? Do you conduct audits to verify income or standard of living? Are any results from these audits available? Are there more eligible candidates than scholarships? If so, how is the field narrowed? What information is available about the quality of the schools for which you're providing scholarships? Such information might include: Teacher attendance rates Teacher qualifications Student attendance rates Percentage of students who move on to higher levels of education after graduating (particularly, the percentage who graduate 12th grade) To what extent do you stay in touch with scholarship recipients? Have you systematically collected (and can you share the reports on) information regarding: Their satisfaction with the scholarship program and the institution they're attending? Their later life outcomes? Have you tried to assess the impact of scholarships on later life outcomes, compared to how scholarship recipients would have done without the scholarships? How would your activities change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate directly into more scholarships, and up to what point? School building (construction only) Related information: School building: evidence review Questions: Prior to starting construction, do you collect information on the following? Can you share the results?: What do people do for school currently, and where do they meet? What are the qualifications of available teachers, and how often are teachers absent any current schools in the area? From relatively nearby schools (even if out of range for the locals): what percentage of students move on to higher levels of education after graduating (particularly, the percentage who graduate 12th grade)? What are the economic opportunities in the area, and what is the likely impact of an education on job prospects? After construction, do you track the following? How long after construction do you follow up? Can you share the results? How often are teachers absent from school? How often are student absent from school? What percentage of students move on to higher levels of education after graduating (particularly, the percentage who graduate 12th grade)? How would your activities change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate directly into more schools built, and up to what point? School improvement programs Related information: School improvement programs: evidence review Questions: What activities do you carry out to improve school quality? Is there evidence that similar activities have causally led to improved schools (in terms of attendance, test scores, graduation rates) in the past? In particular, is there evidence from randomized controlled trials? (See http://www.givewell.org/international/education/detail for a review of randomized controlled trials on education interventions in the developing world) Have you tracked indicators of school performance over time, both before and after your interventions (including student & teacher attendance rates, test scores, and graduation rates)? Can you share this information? Where do you get your personnel? Are they are local? Do you have information on what they were doing before joining your organization? Do you have information on how your salaries compare to those of other locals with comparable qualifications? To what extent do you stay in touch with former students? Have you systematically collected (and can you share the reports on) information regarding: Their satisfaction with your program? Their later life outcomes? Have you tried to assess the impact of your program on later life outcomes, compared to how participants would have done without the program? How would your activities change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate into more students served, and up to what point? School supplies Related information: School supplies: evidence review Questions What type of supplies are provided? What supplies are available in schools previously? How is the type of supplies provided to each school/student determined? Do you respond to requests from schools or determine what to provide independently? Do you monitor whether supplies reach intended beneficiaires? Do you monitor whether supplies are used and how long they remain in present in the classroom and in good condition? Do you monitor whether school supplies lead to better test scores or other indicators of student performance? How much has been spent on this program? What proportion of total spending has been spent purchasing supplies? How would your activities change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate directly into more classrooms provided with supplies, and up to what point? Other International Aid Adoption/foster care-oriented Questions: Do you have statistics on how often, and after how long, people in your program are adopted? How do you find children to enter into the adoption process? Are you concerned that some may have biological parents they are better off with, and if so, how do you address this concern? What are your requirements for adopting parents? Do you follow up on adoptions to determine whether the child is being taken care of appropriately and whether there have been any incidents? Can you share summary reports of such follow-ups? What sort of care do you provide for children who have not yet been adopted? Under what conditions and rules do they live, what do they eat, etc.? How much has been spent on this program? How many children have been adopted through the program? How would your activities likely change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate into more adoptions, and up to what point? Child and sexual slavery Counseling for former victims (click to show) Questions: Who is eligible for counseling? Who is targeted? How do you select your counselors? What qualifications do they have? How are they trained and assessed? What is the turnover rate for people in counseling? I.e., what is the average duration of a relationship, how many relationships last longer than a year, etc.? Do you perform any anonymous surveys on people's experiences with counseling? Can you share reports from these? How much has been spent on this program? How many people have received counseling? How much counseling have they received? How would your activities change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate directly into more people receiving counseling, and up to what point? Personnel training / enforcement monitoring Questions: Whom do you train or monitor? What is your relationship with other NGOs and government agencies in the same space? (I.e., what is your role vs. theirs in the training and monitoring?) Do you have evidence of effectiveness for your training/monitoring? Such evidence might include: For training: changes in knowledge of personnel over time (preferably a significant period of time after completion of training); changes in behavior of personnel (see immediately below) For monitoring: changes in the number of crimes reported, prosecuted, etc. under different classifications Where do you get your personnel? Are they are local, do you have information on what they were doing before joining your organization? Do you have information on how your salaries compare to those of other locals with comparable qualifications? How would your activities change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate directly into more of the same activities, and up to what point? Purchase & release activities Questions: Do you worry that you are increasing financial incentives for slave traders? How do you verify that the purchases you make involve people who are actually in slavery? What do you do with former slaves once freed? Do you follow up with them well afterward, and do you have data on their later life situations? How much has been spent on this program? How many people have been freed? How would your activities change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate directly into more people purchased and released, and up to what point? Raids Questions: Where do you get your personnel? Are they are local, do you have information on what they were doing before joining your organization? How many raids have you done in the last five years? How many confirmed former slaves have been freed? What have been the casualties both to your personnel and to others? What do you do with former slaves once freed? Do you follow up with them well afterward, and do you have data on their later life situations? What is your relationship with local law enforcement (i.e., what is your role vs. theirs)? How much has been spent on this program in the last five years? How would your activities change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate directly into more raids, and up to what point? Shelters Questions: Who is admitted to the shelter? How is their need for shelter determined? What services does the shelter offer? What type and size living space does each resident have? How long do residents stay in shelters on average? Is there a maximum time they are allowed to stay? Where do they go after they leave? Have you surveyed residents to see their satisfaction level and suggestions for improvement? How much has been spent in the past? How many person-days of shelter have been provided? How would your activities likely change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate directly into more people housed, and up to what point? Disaster relief Related information: Disaster relief: overview Example organizations: Doctors without Borders, American Red Cross Questions:Note: We recommend asking the following questions separately for each of several recent major disasters. When did you first respond to the disaster? How many staff were involved in the first response? What sort of supplies, and how many of each, were shipped? When did you first publish a fundraising target for the disaster? Over the few months following the disaster, How much did your organization raise for relief? How much did it spend? Did you revise your estimate of how much was needed at any point? If so, when and to what? Did you stop accepting new donations earmarked for the disaster at any point? On what did you spend the money? Please be as specific as possible regarding quantities (number of staff involved, number of supplies shipped). With which other organizations did you coordinate? Did you conduct any sort of later follow-up/evaluation of your immediate response, including surveying aid recipients regarding their satisfaction? Over the longer-term (the several years following the disaster): How much did you raise for reconstruction-related activities? How much did you spend? Did you revise your estimate of how much was needed at any point? If so, when and to what? Did you stop accepting new donations earmarked for the disaster at any point? On what did you spend the money? Please be as specific as possible regarding activities carried out. For each activity, please answer the questions corresponding to that activity from other sections above. Food aid Related information: Example organization: World Food Program Questions: Who is eligible for food aid? Do you monitor where food reaches intended recipients, as opposed to being intercepted by more powerful interests? What type of food is provided? Has nutritional analysis been done on the food provided? Is food culturally appropriate? How is it determined what quantity of food each beneficiary receives? Where is food grown? Are local people net buyers or suppliers of food? Have local food prices been affected by the food aid program? Is food subsidized or given away? If subsidized, how large is the subsidy? Why does the organization choose to provide food aid instead of cash grants? What proportion of total expenses are spent on food (as opposed to other costs such as transport and administration)? How would your activities change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate directly into more people receiving food aid, and up to what point? Infrastructure construction: building houses, roads, etc. Related information: Example organization: Habitat for Humanity Questions: Do you systematically survey the alternatives to what you're building, before you build it? Can you share reports from these surveys? How do you assess the needs of the people you're serving - to what extent they need assistance and to what extent the infrastructure you're building is what they most want? Can you share these assessments? How do you audit the quality of what you build, both immediately and over the long term? For how long do you generally follow up? Can you share output from these audits? How much has been spent on this program? What had been built? How would your activities change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate directly into more infrastructure projects, and up to what point? Orphanages Questions: How do you determine which children to serve? Are you concerned that some are not orphans, and how do you deal with this concern? How many orphanages do you run? How many children are served at each? Do you audit the quality of facilities and care at the orphanages? Can you share the reports generated by these audits? To what extent do you stay in touch with the people you've served? Have you systematically collected (and can you share the reports on) information regarding Their satisfaction with your institution? Their later life outcomes? How much has been spent on this program? How would your activities change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate directly into more children served, and up to what point? Social enterprises Related information: Example organizations: Acumen Fund, VisionSpring Questions: What products are sold? How are new products chosen? Do you conduct market research before launching a product or working in a new area? What proportion of costs are covered by revenues from selling products? Have profitable enterprises been created? Are the products available for sale from other sources in the area? Do you survey clients to determine their satisfaction with the products? Do you monitor whether products are used as intended? Do you monitor whether expected benefits materialize? Who sells the products? How many salespeople are employed? What incomes do they earn from selling the products? How would your activities change if you had more revenue than expected? Less? Would more revenue translate directly into more products sold or additional products marketed, and up to what point? 1http://www.avac.org (accessed October 5, 2010). Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/5tH9WhCzM.
