The Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems employs, within the USAID evaluation framework, a three-step program evaluation process across all projects in its target countries. The process was constructed with the purpose of obtaining a comprehensive understanding of the short-, mid-, and long-term outcomes of project efforts, and to improve the understanding of the processes necessary for conducting impactful research for development. The three steps are as follows:

Step 1: Innovation Evaluation

Step 1 of the framework (“Innovation Evaluation”) uses methods and approaches consistent with formative or process evaluation. The goal of this step is to investigate the livestock research for development process of each project by assessing the relevance and characteristics of each new or adapted innovation (i.e., technologies and practices).

Step 2: Dissemination Studies

Step 2 of the framework (“Dissemination Studies”) will investigate if uptake of the research for development efforts has been initiated by organizations or institutions across the countries where the LSIL works, and if there has been no such action, why.

Step 3: Impact Evaluation

Step 3 of the framework (“Impact Evaluation”) will investigate (1) the impact of the innovations on policies in the Livestock Systems Innovation Lab's target countries, and (2) the dissemination and adoption of the innovations at the local and institutional levels. 

Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems is part of Feed the Future