Publisher's Synopsis
Humanitarian assistance has long been a part of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) in direct support of the broader strategic goals underlying U.S. policy, such as reconstruction and stabilization. Thus, although they are often short-term, such projects must be designed and implemented with a longer-term vision so they are compatible with these broader policy goals. Project assessment is central to achieving this objective. In response, the Office of the Secretary of Defense asked RAND to develop a handbook to support the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of humanitarian assistance projects to assist DoD staff and their civilian counterparts in developing, monitoring, and assessing these projects and in collaborating to achieve broader strategic-level goals. The prototype handbook includes two parts: an M&E primer, which provides a thorough introduction to M&E terms, approaches, and best practices, and a step-by-step user's guide to wal