The Template
What the Template Contains
The Word file follows the order most clients expect. Under each heading is a short instruction, in brackets, written to help you draft and to show a reviewer what good looks like. This table gives the idea of each part and the point where drafts most often go wrong. For the reasoning behind each part, see the inception report entry. Each part answers the evaluation terms of reference; if you have not read it closely, start with the scope of work and see how to write an evaluation TOR for what a good brief contains.
| Part | What to put in it | Where drafts go wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Executive Summary | One page: the plan, the key dates and what you ask the client to approve | Written first, so the numbers no longer match the body |
| Background | Context and program overview, using the program's own figures | Long history with no link to a later choice |
| Evaluation Framework | Purpose and objectives, scope, your reading of the assignment, final questions and the evaluation matrix | Questions copied from the Terms with no sub-questions |
| Methodology | Design, desk review, quantitative and qualitative methods, sampling, ethics (consent, accessibility, data protection), tools, limitations | "We will interview stakeholders" with no numbers |
| Deliverables | Every product, its format and its due date | Dates that ignore the time the client needs to review |
The file stops at deliverables. Many clients also ask for a fieldwork timeline, team roles, risks, quality assurance, a list of changes from the Terms of Reference, a sign-off page and annexes. Add those as extra headings in the same style when your client wants them. The filled example below covers three of them.
How to Use the Word File
- Save a copy and rename it with the evaluation's name. Replace the title and date placeholders on the first page.
- Go section by section. Read the instruction, write your text beneath it, then delete the instruction.
- Write the evaluation matrix and the sampling first. They shape everything else. The evaluation matrix template has a ready table for this.
- Write the executive summary last, and check every number and date in it against the body.
- Headings use real Word heading styles, so the table of contents builds itself (References, then Table of Contents).
- Read the Terms of Reference again before you send it, and list every difference in the changes table.
Filled Example
Filled Example: Deliverables, Changes and Limitations
The example below is from a made-up midterm evaluation of a maternal and newborn health program. It is not the program in the worked example PDF. It shows three parts that reviewers check hardest: deliverables and dates, changes from the Terms of Reference, and limitations. The matrix and sampling examples are in the inception report entry.
Deliverables and Dates
| Deliverable | Format | Due | Client Review |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inception report | Word and PDF, 25 pages | Week 4 | 10 working days, then written approval |
| Data collection tools (final) | Word, in English and the two local languages | Week 7, after the pilot | 3 working days |
| Fieldwork progress notes | Two-page email, every two weeks | Weeks 8 to 14 | None |
| Preliminary findings presentation | Slides, 45 minutes online | Week 16 | Comments in the meeting |
| Draft evaluation report | Word, about 45 pages | Week 19 | 15 working days |
| Final report and four-page summary | Word and PDF | Week 22 | Approval and sign-off |
Notice that every review period is in the table. If the client is slow, the team can show the delay in the plan, not in a dispute.
Changes from the Terms of Reference
| Item in the Terms | Change Proposed | Reason | Effect on Cost and Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Question 4 (efficiency) | Narrowed to cost per facility birth against the target; value for money across all components moved to a desk review | The program's accounts do not split costs by component | None |
| 800 household interviews | 1,200 | Needed for district-level estimates at plus or minus 7 points | Two extra field days; within budget |
| Fieldwork in the rainy season | Moved to start in Week 8 | Roads to eleven facilities are closed in Weeks 5 to 7 | Delivery date unchanged |
Put every change in one place with its reason, so the client can agree to it in one decision.
Limitations
| Limitation | Effect on the Findings | How We Will Handle It |
|---|---|---|
| No comparison group | Cannot show how much change is due to the program | Report progress against targets and the baseline; use contribution reasoning for the main outcomes and say clearly what is claimed |
| Quality of facility registers | Some births may be missed or double counted | Check 10 percent of register entries against patient files and report the error rate |
| A health worker strike in early 2026 | Service numbers for two quarters may be low for reasons unrelated to the program | Compare with the same quarter of the previous year; ask facility managers about the strike |
State what the limit does to the findings, not only that it exists.
Adapt and Download
Adapting the Template
- Smaller assignment. Keep the headings, shorten each part to a paragraph or a table and combine Background with the Framework. Do not drop the matrix, the sample or the deliverables.
- Client format. Map your headings to theirs first. United Nations agencies often use the UNEG quality checklist as the standard a report is checked against.
- Different assignment type. For impact, process, real-time, meta-evaluation or baseline work, change the Methodology section most. The inception report entry lists what changes for each type.
- Ethics. Link the Methodology ethics heading to your consent and safeguarding arrangements; the ethics checklist covers what to include.
Download the Template
The worked example is a complete inception report for a made-up program. All names, places, organizations and figures in it are invented. Use it to see how the template reads once it is filled in, and write your own from the guided file.