Reviews can look at different aspects of a piece of work. They provide a valuable opportunity for different stakeholders to get together to understand where they are and where they need to go. Can be described as an assessment at one point in time that concentrates specifically on whether the objectives of the piece of work have been achieved and what impact has been made. It is usually carried out towards the end of a project or funding period, although mid-term evaluations are frequently undertaken. It looks backwards at what has been done and can be used to analyse and learn from the experience, to understand reasons for successes and failures, to communicate the experience to others, and see how the money has been spent.
Evaluation can be participatory or carried out by outsiders.
Evaluation requires a baseline against which to assess change, or continuous monitoring of that change. For example, to extract more general policy lessons which can be applied to other projects it may be better to look at sectors or regions rather than at individual projects. This can be described a formal process to complement the common sense, experience and judgement required to make decisions about development or emergency work. To promote a culture of self-criticism where you have to question your assumptions, justify decisions and recognise mistakes. As a way of agreeing and communicating the logic of the work.