interventions, at least in clearly attributed to quantitative terms certain beneficiaries or users, e.g. to obtain data for NRN activities which are the degree of meaningful in relation to information the stipulated added value enquired among of NRN; readers of newsletters; to number activities and outputs in a context of the degree of matchless and satisfaction of nonrecurring inquirers in search interventions; for support; to net out any observed the degree of use effects by pondering the of the website, influence of other distinguished by interventions; offers (downloads, to get reliable quantitative data over a longer period Measuring involvement of of time (as in the past stakeholders mostly qualitative information on NRN has been collected). facilitates applying quantitative approaches for quantifiable NRN Mixing of both approaches activities and qualitative ones for non-quantifiable ones; for instance, the quantitative assessment of good practice collection can be combined with the qualitative assessment of how this has contributed to increasing the knowledge base amongst stakeholders. This also allows for the cross-checking of findings from quantitative approaches with the use of qualitative ones; for instance, the quantitative results from the assessment of NRN events can be verified with the qualitative results of opinion surveys and stakeholder interviews. Step 4 - Decide on the NRN evaluation approach Apart from considering the advantages and drawbacks of different evaluation approaches, the selection of a robust evaluation approach should account for: the validity of results offered by the evaluation approach, the scale of measurement, the possibility to model output, result and impact indicators into a coherent cause-effect structure, the ability to analyse the counterfactual where it seems to be feasible, the ability to capture unintended effects and the antecedents and the actual time horizon of the intervention94F. Given the complexity of NRN evaluation, a mixed approach, combining qualitative with quantitative methods will be the appropriate choice. Particularly at the higher level of NRN objectives, at the level of NRN results and impacts, the character of NRNs implies a strong emphasis on qualitative evaluation: firstly, because the sphere of activities and influence of the NRN goes beyond the RDP beneficiaries and affects the wider range of the rural actors; secondly, NRN activities addressed to a specific target group may have an effect also on for instance, the information of a thematic exchange event targeting farmers will
interventions, at least in quantitative terms to obtain data for NRN activities which are meaningful in relation to the stipulated added value of NRN; to number activities and outputs in a context of matchless and nonrecurring interventions; to net out any observed effects by pondering the influence of other interventions; to get reliable quantitative data over a longer period of time (as in the past mostly qualitative information on NRN has been collected). clearly attributed to certain beneficiaries or users, e.g. the degree of information enquired among readers of newsletters; the degree of satisfaction of inquirers in search for support; the degree of use of the website, distinguished by offers (downloads, Measuring involvement of stakeholders Mixing of both approaches facilitates applying quantitative approaches for quantifiable NRN activities and qualitative ones for non-quantifiable ones; for instance, the quantitative assessment of good practice collection can be combined with the qualitative assessment of how this has contributed to increasing the knowledge base amongst stakeholders. This also allows for the cross-checking of findings from quantitative approaches with the use of qualitative ones; for instance, the quantitative results from the assessment of NRN events can be verified with the qualitative results of opinion surveys and stakeholder interviews. Step 4 - Decide on the NRN evaluation approach Apart from considering the advantages and drawbacks of different evaluation approaches, the selection of a robust evaluation approach should account for: the validity of results offered by the evaluation approach, the scale of measurement, the possibility to model output, result and impact indicators into a coherent cause-effect structure, the ability to analyse the counterfactual where it seems to be feasible, the ability to capture unintended effects and the antecedents and the actual time horizon of the intervention94F. Given the complexity of NRN evaluation, a mixed approach, combining qualitative with quantitative methods will be the appropriate choice. Particularly at the higher level of NRN objectives, at the level of NRN results and impacts, the character of NRNs implies a strong emphasis on qualitative evaluation: firstly, because the sphere of activities and influence of the NRN goes beyond the RDP beneficiaries and affects the wider range of the rural actors; secondly, NRN activities addressed to a specific target group may have an effect also on for instance, the information of a thematic exchange event targeting farmers will
nrn_si.docx