Participatory as can be...: a case study of an evaluation

This article describes the evaluation of a reproductive health project in which the external evaluator's main role was to identify the project's information gaps and to propose an evaluation methodology. The Adolescent Reproductive Health Education Project has been working with secondary school students in Zimbabwe since 1997, and in 1998 produced a reproductive health pack called "Auntie Stella". This evaluation took place a year later. The article describes the methodologies used (which included a logical framework and questionnaires), the positive qualities of the evaluation, to what extent the evaluation was participatory, how the concept of defection worked, and issues around affordability and shortcuts. It finishes with comments from the staff "with hindsight", and conclusions.