Expanding the Reach of Impact Evaluation (PEER)

This evaluation assesses the impact of the Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER) activity on the outcomes of program and policy impact, generation of new knowledge, and capacity building of researchers and students. The retrospective impact evaluation of the first five cycles of the PEER programming adopts a mixed-methods approach. Quantitative analysis of survey and bibliometric data utilized a quasi-experimental matching methodology. We find that the program had an effect on: researchers’ career development, level of respect from colleagues, ability to purchase equipment, and capability to support a few students deeply. Qualitative findings show there were programmatic and policy effects—ranging from local level practices to curriculum changes, opportunities for student learning, and involving local and national policymakers in research. However, in the analysis of quantitative data, we did not detect hypothesized impact on: publication output, production of technology, funding, program, or policy outcomes. In fact, we observe a negative relationship between participation in the PEER program and production of technology and patents. We explore the implications o

Source: DEC abstract, PA-00X-C2G (2021). The source's own text.