Dr. Jeffrey Edmeades is the founder and principal at Demografix, an independent consulting firm providing a variety of services to public health and international development clients globally. This includes providing both strategic and technical advice to clients on research, specific thematic areas, and in monitoring and evaluation of projects. Prior to founding Demografix, Edmeades was a Senior Social Demographer at the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW). His research primarily focuses on the interaction between the development process and demographic behavior, including fertility, contraceptive use and migration as well as household decision-making processes and the role gender and other social norms play in shaping demographic and health outcomes.
Edmeades brings almost two decades of experience in studying the effects of rural poverty, gender inequality and reproductive health patterns in the developing world. In addition to his applied work, he also is an accomplished research, having published a number of peer-reviewed papers that address research methodology,the determinants of reproductive behavior and intimate partner violence, the theoretical basis for understanding reproductive agency and autonomy, and a number of additional topics. His work has appeared in academic publications such as Demography, Social Science and Medicine, Culture, Health & Sexuality, Studies in Family Planning and the Journal of Mixed Method Research.
Edmeades has extensive international experience in a number of countries including Canada, Mexico, Ghana, Honduras, Thailand, England, Ethiopia and New Zealand.
This course will help students develop critical skills in applying methodologies and strategies for the evaluation of international development projects. It will provide the conceptual and theoretical framework to help students navigate decisions about the most appropriate tools for assessing project achievements and evaluating their impact through formative, process, and summative approaches. Students will learn to identify sound evaluation questions, develop logic models to assess their utility for project monitoring and evaluation (M&E), and select performance and evaluation indicators and apply these in qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods designs. The course will provide insight into how methodological choices influence research design, data interpretation, and the strength of evaluation results. Students will learn to critique reported program results against standards of validity, reliability, efficiency, and effectiveness and will gain skills relevant for research uptake, instructing students how to present findings in appropriate formats for diverse audiences. Students will also be challenged to navigate ethical dilemmas of evaluation in the context of international development programming and reflect on appropriate alternative designs. The course will include brief lectures, in-class exercises, plenary discussions, and small group sessions.