Tools for Designing and Conducting Social and Behavior Change Evaluations

"Social and behavior change (SBC) is a key component of effective multi-sectoral nutrition activities. High-quality evaluations of SBC components are essential to identifying what went well, what could have been done differently, and how to improve future program design."

From the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)'s flagship multi-sectoral nutrition project, USAID Advancing Nutrition, this guide provides practical tools for improving nutrition social and behaviour change (SBC) evaluations.

The first two tools show how to develop an evaluation statement of work (SOW) and evaluation questions to guide evaluation design. Tool 1 provides a framework for drafting an SOW. Each section of the framework outlines considerations to support SBC adaptations and includes sample language that can be adapted to reflect the specifics of the evaluation being proposed. Tool 2 consists of three illustrative nutrition SBC activity examples and related evaluation questions. These tools accompany the guide Evaluating Social and Behavior Change Components of Nutrition Activities: A Design Guide for USAID Staff [April 2022], which covers planning an evaluation, identifying evaluation objectives, and building a SOW.

Tool 3: How to Choose Respondents and Other Sources of Data accompanies the guide Measuring Social and Behavior Change in Nutrition Programs: A Guide for Evaluators [April 2022]. Tool 3 helps evaluation teams determine the most appropriate respondent(s) for a given activity, taking into consideration the evaluation questions, common evaluation constraints, and behaviours being promoted. Although caregivers and pregnant and lactating women are often the focus of SBC activities, they are not the only option when determining respondents due to the influence that other people and systems have on their behaviour.