Impact Assessment in International Development: Methods, Challenges, and Applications

Impact assessment is a critical dimension of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E), focusing on long-term changes generated by development programs. Unlike output or outcome monitoring, it addresses attribution, sustainability, and equity, ensuring that interventions produce meaningful and inclusive results. This article examines the main methods of impact assessment, including experimental and quasi-experimental designs, contribution analysis, and economic evaluations such as cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis. The discussion highlights how qualitative approaches enrich understanding of impacts by capturing contextual depth and stakeholder perspectives. Particular attention is given to low-resource settings, where limited data, financial constraints, and institutional gaps require adaptive solutions such as mobile technologies, secondary data use, and local capacity building. The article concludes that robust impact assessment requires methodological pluralism, ethical transparency, and participatory engagement to ensure that evidence informs sustainable and equitable development outcomes.