Smart Toolkit for evaluating information projects, products and services

Smart Toolkit for Evaluating Information Projects, Products and Services (Second Version)

Background: In 2005, The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) along with the Royal Tropical Institute (KIT), the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) and a host of other institutions and individuals from ACP countries, EU, Canada, Sri Lanka and the United States, produced the first version of the Smart Toolkit for Evaluating Information Products and Services. Although the first Toolkit has been widely accepted as a groundbreaking resource for the evaluation of information projects, products and services, there was general agreement that much more needs to be done to make it a ‘living document’.

Subsequent to this, CTA in collaboration with KIT and IICD produced the second edition of the Smart Toolkit in 2009 based on feedback on the first version and an online survey done in May 2007.

Purpose: The Smart toolkit publication has been contributing significantly to the field of information by providing practical and cost-effective methods for planning, monitoring and evaluating information to a wide range of stakeholders. The Toolkit is expected to be used mainly by information practitioners, managers of information projects, ACP partner institutions, development agencies, farmers’ organisations, non-governmental organisations and research organisations and policy-makers.

Current status of the project: The second version of the toolkit has been published. Pdf files of the main components of the toolkit as well as easily downloadble files of the tools are available on the website ( http://www.ink4dev.net/?q=toolkit ).

Since November 2009 CTA has been conducting a series of Smart toolkit training workshops and sensitisation exercises throughout the ACP. Most recently, the Centre conducted two training of trainers' workshops in the Pacific (February 2012) and Eastern Africa (September 2012) in a concerted effort to build capacities of information practitioners within the region. Plans are also underway to hold another training in Madagascar in 2013.