Guidance: Evaluation Registry FAQs

This page provides answers to frequently asked questions for the Evaluation Registry.

A. The Evaluation Registry is the home for all Government evaluations. It is a website where all planned, live and published evaluations conducted or commissioned by Government Departments, and devolved administrations who choose to participate, are registered. Evaluations on the Registry can be searched and browsed by users looking to learn from previous evaluations of Government policies, projects and programmes. 

A. An “evaluation” refers to impact, process, and value for money evaluation studies conducted in line with the Magenta Book. The Magenta Book defines evaluation as “as a systematic assessment of the design, implementation and outcomes of an intervention.” Evaluations help us understand the impact of an intervention, whether it was good value for money, and whether we could have delivered it more effectively.

Q. Does my policy/project/programme need to be evaluated?

A. All policies, programmes and projects should be subject to proportionate evaluation. The Green Book states that all proposals for funding should include a proportionate budget, and a management plan, for monitoring and evaluation. 

Not all interventions will require the same level of scrutiny or have the same learning needs. In the case of a low-risk, well-evidenced and low priority intervention, a light-touch monitoring and evaluation exercise to ensure it has been delivered as intended and achieved the predicted outcomes is likely to be all that is necessary. On the other hand, a high risk, high profile, high spend and/or high learning potential intervention is likely to require a large-scale evaluation. 

Q. Does my evaluation need to be registered?