The origins of Valid Evaluations

Valid Evaluations grew out of Valid International, an organisation set up in 1999 with a view to improving humanitarian programmes by promoting and carrying out high quality evaluations with practicable and realistic findings. Valid International’s two directors, Alistair Hallam and Dr Steve Collins, both have extensive experience of humanitarian aid programme implementation, evaluation and research. Both have managed and designed relief programmes and have led and participated in many evaluations, including the 1995 Joint Evaluation of Emergency Assistance to Rwanda - the precursor to a string of reforms across the humanitarian sector. In addition, both have written more widely on humanitarian issues. Alistair Hallam was an ODI Research Fellow and authored an ODI Good Practice Review 'Evaluating Humanitarian Assistance Programmes in Complex Emergencies' while Steve Collins has written a number of ground-breaking papers on nutrition in emergencies, published in major international scientific journals. Since it was established, Valid has developed extensive experience of humanitarian aid programme design, implementation, evaluation and research. Valid Evaluations was set up last year as a separate company to increase the organisation’s focus on evaluation.

Alistair has spent part of the last few years working with ALNAP on a process of action research focusing on strengthening institutional understanding of humanitarian evaluation as well as building capacities and processes in order to better utilise and harness the power of evaluations of humanitarian action.