#  Evaluation and Implementation Science 

 



       ![people walking on muddy road](/sites/g/files/omnuum6866/files/styles/hwp_21_9__1920x825/public/humanitarianinitiative/files/eval-imple-hero.jpg?itok=aTgMvGm0) 

 

 



 

 



 

**Founded**: 2014  
**Faculty Leads:** Phuong Pham , PhD, MPH, and Patrick Vinck, PhD  
**Status:** Active Program  
**Regions of Focus:** Central Africa, Colombia  
**Research Theme:** Humanitarian Strategies

## Description

HHI’s Program on Evaluation and Implementation Science develops assessment strategies to address the needs of individuals, families, and populations affected by war, conflict, and natural disaster. The program conducts research and training at both macro and micro levels. At the macro level, HHI researchers have developed a platform for monitoring and evaluation of population-based assessments world-wide (Peacebuildingdata.org) which assesses local community needs, monitors progress, and measures impact. At the micro level, HHI collaborates with non-governmental organizations, UN agencies, and other international humanitarian organizations, as well as local civil society organizations, to develop monitoring and evaluation research for their specific programs.

## Projects

### Evaluation of UNHCR's Regional Response to Multiple Emergencies in the Central Sahel Region

HHI is currently conducting the external evaluation of UNHCR's Regional Response to Multiple Emergencies in the Central Sahel Region in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali. The evaluation aims to analyze the extent to which UNHCR is providing a timely and effective response to the complex emergencies in the three countries, taking into account the enabling and constraining factors at the regional and country levels. The evaluation will gather evidence to guide and enhance UNHCR’s response to complex and recurrent emergencies for populations of concern, including IDPs, refugees, returnees, and others. As part of the evaluation, HHI will also implement a Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS) study to identify and estimate persons of concern in each of the three countries and better understand their displacement experiences.

### Evaluation of UNHCR's Regional Response to the Venezuela Situation in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru

In 2019 and 2020, HHI conducted the evaluation of UNHCR’s Regional Refugee Response to the Venezuela Situation (VenSit) in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. The evaluation analyzed the extent to which UNHCR provided a timely and effective response to the needs of refugees and migrants affected by the VenSit, including to better understand enabling and constraining contextual factors. The evaluation highlighted best practices and provided recommendations that could be used to reinforce the organization’s global approaches to emergency responses. During the implementation of the evaluation, UNHCR expressed the need to identify and estimate more “hidden” risk and vulnerability profiles among Venezuelan refugees and migrants. Thus, the evaluation team adopted a hybrid Respondent Driven Sampling (RDS) study to supplement the evaluation and uncover invisible profiles while considering protection concerns, especially given increasingly irregular pathways to access territory and owing to the invisibility of the population in an irregular situation. The team designed, developed, and implemented a novel remote RDS procedure implemented via either interviewer-led phone surveys (phone RDS) or self-administered online surveys (online RDS) with Venezuelan refugees and migrants in Colombia.



 

##  Team 

 



  [### Patrick Vinck, PhD

 ](/people/patrick-vinck)Director of Research

 

 

 Patrick Vinck, Ph.D. is the Research Director of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative. He is assistant professor at the Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and lead investigator at the Brigham and Women's Hospital. His... 

 

 

      ![patrick-vinck](/sites/g/files/omnuum6866/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/humanitarianinitiative/files/patrick-vinck.jpg?itok=hJSvlAbq) 

 

 

 

   [### Phuong Pham, PhD, MPH

 ](/people/phuong-pham)Director of Education

 

 

 Phuong N. Pham, PhD, MPH an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, serves as the Director of Education at the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, and is the co-founder of KoboToolbox. With an extensive... 

 

 

      ![phuong-phan](/sites/g/files/omnuum6866/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/humanitarianinitiative/files/phuong-phan.jpg?itok=2FJsixHr)