Peer Review of Evaluations

The National Evaluation Policy Framework 2019 (NEPF) supports a hybrid approach for undertaking evaluations which means a reduced reliance on outsourcing and focusing on undertaking evaluations internally to build state capacity to undertake credible evaluations. Various options for optimising the limited state capacity are outlined in the NEPF 2019, including peer review which is an internationally accepted approach to strengthen the quality of evaluations.

Peer review is a process of self-review by a professional or a process of quality assurance involving qualified and external individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and ensure credibility. In academia peer review is often used to determine an academic paper’s suitability for publication. Another form is reciprocal peer review where peers at the same level in a department (e.g. where an evaluation is undertaken internally, evaluation practitioners and programme staff) review each other’s’ evaluation in this way they learn a lot from the process of doing reviews as well.

In the context of Government evaluations, peer review is primarily undertaken to provide quality assurance of in-process evaluation outputs by an external expert. As a subsidiary objective, peer review is also expected to contribute to learning and improvement of the evaluators in instances where the quality of an evaluation product is inadequate. This Guideline provides information on how government institutions can promote good quality evaluations through peer reviews.