Assessing the Effectiveness and Sustainability

When it comes to addressing societal challenges, developing interventions or solutions is just one part of the equation. Equally important is evaluating the effectiveness of these interventions and ensuring their sustainability over time. This stage of evaluation enables organizations and individuals to fine-tune their approaches, maximize impact, and contribute to long-term positive change.

Meet Alex, Mia, and Sam

In the bustling city of Technoville, a group of second-year computer science students, Alex, Mia, and Sam, were passionate about leveraging their skills for social good. They came up with an ambitious idea - to create a mobile app that would help local businesses reduce food waste by connecting them with customers for surplus items at discounted prices. They called it the "FoodSaver" app.

Their Effectiveness Assessment Journey

Excited by their vision, the trio embarked on their coding journey. They set clear goals for their app: reduce food waste by 30%, increase revenue for participating businesses, and engage at least 500 users within six months. As they developed the app, they also integrated a system to collect user feedback and track key metrics.

Six months later, with the app live and operational, Alex, Mia, and Sam began their effectiveness assessment. They analyzed the data they had gathered and were pleased to find that food waste had indeed decreased by 35%. They also noticed that the participating businesses had experienced a 20% increase in revenue, and they had surpassed their goal by engaging over 700 users.

The Trio’s Sustainability Assessment Adventure

With their initial success, the trio now turned their attention to ensuring the app's sustainability. They realized that for long-term impact, the app needed to remain relevant and user-friendly. They initiated regular updates, adding new features and addressing user suggestions. They also started workshops to teach local businesses about the app's benefits and how to use it effectively.

Recognizing the importance of community engagement, they formed a student club dedicated to sustainable technology solutions. This club not only fostered interest in their app but also ensured a network of support and ideas for their ongoing journey.

The Valuable Lessons

The Code for Change Initiative became a shining example of how computer science skills could drive positive change. Alex, Mia, and Sam's journey underscored the significance of assessing both the effectiveness and sustainability of interventions. Their clear goals, data-driven approach, and continuous engagement with stakeholders enabled them to make a real impact on reducing food waste.

This story of the FoodSaver app emphasizes the power of technology in solving real-world problems. Just as the trio from Technoville discovered, you have the opportunity to create transformative solutions by evaluating your projects for effectiveness and ensuring your innovations are sustainable in the long run.

❓ Discussion: Do you think the approach taken by Alex, Mia, and Sam is feasible for all types of interventions or solutions? Are there situations where effectiveness and sustainability assessment might be more challenging? Share your thoughts and engage with your peer’s view in the padlet below.

Effectiveness and sustainability are two of the six evaluation criteria listed by the OECD DAC Network on Development Evaluation. These criteria, along with relevance, coherence, efficiency, and impact, provide a standardized framework for evaluating the value of interventions such as policies, strategies, programs, projects, or activities. They form the basis for informed evaluative judgments. Effectiveness addresses the question of whether the intervention achieves its intended objectives, while sustainability delves into the long-term viability of the benefits it generates.

📖 Delve deeper into these evaluation criteria in the OECD article for a comprehensive understanding.

🪞 Reflection Activity: Imagine you are a member of a startup that developed a new app aimed at promoting recycling in your local community. Apply the evaluation criteria of effectiveness and sustainability to your app. How would you assess whether the app is effectively achieving its goal of increasing recycling rates? Additionally, how would you determine whether the app's impact on recycling is likely to be sustained over time? Share your insights on the Padlet and consider how these evaluation criteria could shape the future development of your app