Mercy Corps Scope of Work Checklist for Commissioning Final Evaluations
About the Checklist
The importance of a well-crafted Scope of Work (SoW) in achieving high-quality evaluations is well-known. Strong SoWs ensure evaluations are accurately budgeted, well-managed, and effectively designed. They also promote good communication between clients and providers, leading to high-standard, learning-focused evaluation products.
Mercy Corps’ SoW checklist offers detailed, step-by-step guidance to help create high-quality SoWs. It includes helpful advice for both experienced and inexperienced evaluators as well as non-evaluators, such as program managers and finance/procurement staff. The checklist is flexible, providing options to meet various programmatic needs and can be easily adapted for use by other organizations.
The checklist has undergone extensive testing and improvement, including a workshop with over 100 Mercy Corps staff in May 2024 and a presentation to the American Evaluation Association (AEA) in October 2024. It will continue to be updated as new improvements are identified.
Contact
If you have questions about the toolkit, please write to either Thomas Scialfa, Ala’a Issa, Tom Clark, or Meri Ghorkhmazyan.