Short Abstract

This presentation demonstrates how scaling assessments enable evaluators to influence policy and programme change by assessing viability, costs, adaptations and risks to expand proven interventions, using practical tools and Tetra Tech case studies.

Description

Scaling assessments are an underused but powerful approach for closing the gap between evidence and large-scale change. This presentation explains how systematic scaling assessments can influence policy and programme change by providing decision makers with clear, practical judgments about whether, how and under what conditions proven interventions can be expanded to benefit many more people.

Drawing on Tetra Tech International Development experience across a range of sectors, including child safety, parenting, food security, disease prevention, biodiversity preservation and water and sanitation, we will set out a pragmatic framework for assessment. Our framework examines both intrinsic features of the model and the external systems that determine whether replication or expansion is feasible. Key dimensions include credibility, observability of results, adaptability to new contexts, affordability at scale, incentives and capabilities of adopting organisations, and the policy and budget environment. The approach uses structured checklists and scoring tools to surface strengths, identify critical risks and prioritise information gaps that need to be filled before a full scale up is attempted.

I will show how assessment outputs can be translated into actionable guidance for policy makers and programme managers. Typical products include a concise articulation of scaling challenges sequenced adaptations, monitoring priorities and a staged piloting plan. These outputs are deliberately diagnostic rather than prescriptive. They support governance decisions by clarifying trade-offs between fidelity and reach, and by specifying the evidence and implementation conditions required to preserve impact at scale.

The presentation will feature two or three short case studies from Tetra Tech practice. Each case will illustrate how assessments influenced decisions about organisational priorities; new delivery partners; and alternative and lower cost delivery models. Participants will learn practical methods for integrating scaling assessments into evaluation portfolios so that evaluations move beyond measuring effect to shaping action. I will discuss timing and sequencing to ensure assessments inform policy windows, and how to present risk balanced, politically savvy recommendations. I will also address common pitfalls, including over reliance on pilot success without context analysis, and treating scalability as a binary judgement rather than a process.

By the end of the session attendees will be able to explain what a scaling assessment is, why it matters for influencing policy and programme change, and how to design one that delivers concise, credible advice for decision makers. In resource constrained times, funders and governments must be able to distinguish between programmes that are merely beneficial and those that can be transformative at scale. Scaling assessments are a practical evaluation tool to make that distinction and to increase the likelihood that proven interventions will be successfully expanded to produce sustained, population level impact.